PlayStation
Encyclopedia
The is a 32-bit
fifth-generation
video game console
first released by Sony Computer Entertainment
in Japan on December 3, .
The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation
series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2
was the console's successor in 2000. The PlayStation was the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units, which it had reached 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch.
In 2000, a re-designed, "slim" version was released, called the PSone. This marked the end of the original grey console.
The last game for the system was FIFA Football 2005
released in October 2004, and the last PSone units were sold on Christmas 2004 when 102 million units were shipped, but games continued to sell until Sony ceased 100% production of PlayStation games on March 23, 2006; eleven years after it was released.
had been attempting to work with disc-based technology since the Famicom, but the medium had problems. The Famicom Disk System's rewritable magnetic discs could be easily erased (thus leading to a lack of durability), and they lacked any sort of copy protection, thus were vulnerable to piracy. Consequently, when details of CD-ROM XA
(which had neither of those problems) were released to the public, Nintendo was interested. Simultaneously developed by Sony and Philips
, CD-ROM/XA was an extension of the CD-ROM format that combines compressed audio, visual, and computer data, allowing all to be accessed simultaneously. Nintendo approached Sony to develop a CD-ROM
add-on, tentatively titled the "SNES-CD". A contract was signed, and work began. Nintendo's choice of Sony was due to a prior dealing: Ken Kutaragi
, the person who would later be dubbed "The Father of the PlayStation", was the individual who had sold Nintendo on using the Sony SPC-700
processor for use as the eight-channel ADPCM sound set in the Super Famicom/SNES
console through an impressive demonstration of the processor's capabilities.
Sony also planned to develop a Super Famicom-compatible, Sony-branded console, but one which would be more of a home entertainment system playing both Super Nintendo
cartridges and a new CD format which Sony would design. This was also to be the format used in SNES-CDs, giving a large degree of control to Sony despite Nintendo's leading position in the video gaming market.
The SNES-CD was to be announced at the May 1991 Consumer Electronics Show
(CES). However, when Nintendo's Hiroshi Yamauchi
read the original 1988 contract between Sony and Nintendo, he realized that the earlier agreement essentially handed Sony complete control over any and all titles written on the SNES CD-ROM format. Yamauchi decided that the contract was totally unacceptable and he secretly canceled all plans for the joint Nintendo-Sony SNES CD attachment. Instead of announcing a partnership between Sony and Nintendo, at 9 am the day of the CES, Nintendo chairman Howard Lincoln
stepped onto the stage and revealed that Nintendo was now allied with Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V
, and Nintendo was planning on abandoning all the previous work Nintendo and Sony had accomplished. Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa
had, unbeknownst to Sony, flown to Philips headquarters in Europe and formed an alliance of a decidedly different nature—one that would give Nintendo total control over its licenses on Philips machines.
After the collapse of the joint project, Sony considered halting their research, but ultimately the company decided to use what they had developed so far and make it into a complete, stand-alone console. As a result, Nintendo filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract
and attempted, in US federal court
, to obtain an injunction
against the release of the PlayStation, on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction and, in October 1991, the first incarnation of the new PlayStation was revealed. However, it is theorized that only 200 or so of these machines were ever produced.
By the end of 1992, Sony and Nintendo reached a deal whereby the "Play Station" would still have a port for SNES games, but Nintendo would own the rights and receive the bulk of the profits from the games, and the SNES would continue to use the Sony-designed audio chip. However, Sony decided in early 1993 to begin reworking the "Play Station" concept to target a new generation of hardware and software. As part of this process the SNES cartridge port was dropped and the space between the names "Play Station" was removed becoming "PlayStation", thereby ending Nintendo's involvement with the project.
on November 15, 1995. The launch price in the American market was US$
299 and Sony enjoyed a very successful launch with titles of almost every genre, including Battle Arena Toshinden
, Doom, Warhawk, Air Combat
, Philosoma
, and Ridge Racer. Almost all of Sony's and Namco
's launch titles went on to spawn numerous sequels.
. However, it can be noted that on 07/26/07 in Japan and 03/18/08 in the US, Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection was released, which contained new printings of the game Metal Gear Solid in the original PlayStation format. Also in 2011, Capcom released Resident Evil 15th Anniversary Collection, which contains reprinted PlayStation copies of Resident Evil, 2 and 3.
The OK and Cancel buttons on most of the Japanese PlayStation games are reversed in their North American and European releases. In Japan, the
button (maru, right) is used as the OK button, while the 
button (batsu, wrong) is used as Cancel. North American and European releases have the button or the buttons as the OK button, while either the 
or the 
button is used as Cancel (some titles like Xenogears
used the button for cancelling actions and selections, along with the PlayStation 2 system browser and the XrossMedia Bar on the PlayStation 3 and the PSP). However, a few games, such as Square's
Vagrant Story
, Final Fantasy VII
(which used the button as cancel) and Final Fantasy Tactics
, Namco's Ridge Racer Type 4, and Konami
's Metal Gear Solid
, have the buttons remain in the same Japanese configurational layout. Some other games, like the Japanese version of Gran Turismo
, had used different controls that are similar to North American games. These Japanese button layouts still apply to other PlayStation consoles. This is because in the early years Sony America (SCEA), Sony Europe (SCEE), and Sony Japan (SCEJ) had different development and testing documents (TRCs) for their respective territories.
The PlayStation went through a number of variants during its production run, each accompanied by a change in the part number. From an external perspective, the most notable change was the gradual reduction in the number of external connectors on the unit. This started very early on—the original Japanese launch units (SCPH-1000) had an S-Video
port, which was removed on the next release. This also led to the strange situation where the US and European launch units had the same part number series (SCPH-100x) as the Japanese launch units, but had different hardware (Rev. C silicon and no S-Video port)—they were the same as the Japanese SCPH-3000, so for consistency should have been SCPH-3001 and SCPH-3002 (this numbering was used for the Yaroze machines, which were based on the same hardware and numbered DTL-H3000, DTL-H3001, and DTL-H3002). Also, the first models (DTL-H1000, DTL-H1001, DTL-H1002) had some problems with printf
function and developers had to use another function instead. This series of machines had a reputation for CD drive problems—the optical pickup sled was made of thermoplastic, and eventually developed wear spots that moved the laser into a position where it was no longer parallel with the CD surface—a modification was made that replaced the sled with a die-cast one with hard nylon inserts, which corrected the problem.
With the release of the next series (SCPH-500x), the numbers moved back into sync. A number of changes were made to the unit internally (CD drive relocated, shielding simplified, PSU wiring simplified) and the RCA jacks and RFU power connectors were removed from the rear panel. This series also contained the SCPH-550x and SCPH-555x units, but these appear to have been bundle changes rather than actual hardware revisions. Starting with this series, PAL variants had the "power" and "open" buttons changed from text to symbols and the printed text on the back was changed to reliefs of the same.
These were followed by the SCPH-700x and SCPH-750x series—they are externally identical to the SCPH-500x machines, but have internal changes made to reduce manufacturing costs (for example, the system RAM went from 4 chips to 1, and the CD controller went from 3 chips to 1). A slight change of the startup screen was made. The diamond is seen as longer and thinner and the trademark symbol
(™) is now placed after "COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" instead of after the diamond, as it was on the earlier models. Also new to the SCPH-7xxx series was the introduction of the "Sound Scope" - light show music visualizations. These were accessible by pressing the Select button while playing any normal audio CD in the system's CD player. While watching these visualizations, players could also add various effects like color cycling or motion blur. These music visualizations were kept in all future PlayStation 1 models.
The final revision to the original PlayStation was the SCPH-900x series—these had the same hardware as the SCPH-750x machines with the exception of the removal of the parallel port and a slight reduction in the size of the PCB. The removal of the parallel port was probably partly because no official add-on had ever been released for it, and partly because it was being used to connect cheat cartridges that could be used to defeat the regional lockout
s and copy protection
.
The PSone was based on substantially the same hardware as the SCPH-900x, but had the serial port removed, the controller / memory card ports moved to the main PCB and the power supply replaced with an AC/DC converter that was also on the main PCB. Also the overall system menu received a graphical simplicity overhaul, along with a surround sound/echo effect being added to the CD player menu.
With the early units, many gamers experienced skipping full-motion video or physical "ticking" noises coming from their PlayStations. The problem appears to have come from poorly placed vents leading to overheating in some environments—the plastic moldings inside the console would warp very slightly and create knock-on effects with the laser assembly. The solution was to ensure the console was sat on a surface which dissipated heat efficiently in a well vented area, or raise the unit up slightly by propping something at its edges. A common fix for already affected consoles was to turn the PlayStation sideways or upside-down (thereby using gravity to cancel the effects of the warped interior) although some gamers smacked the lid of the PlayStation to make a game load or work.
Earliest series had potentiometer
s on the board for adjusting the reading mechanism, named BIAS, GAIN and an unknown one.
By connecting a voltmeter
between the upper-most metering point near the BIAS potentiometer and the chassis, the resulting voltage could be read. The supposed right values are 1.70 V when a CD is spinning at 1x speed and 1.85 V when a CD is spinning at 2x speed. Further tuning was also possible on the unique potentiometer present on the CD drive. Later series featured an automatic laser calibration mechanism.
Sony then released a version dubbed "Dual Shock", which included a controller with two analog sticks and a built-in vibration-feedback feature.
Another version that was colored blue (as opposed to regular console units that were grey in color) was available to game developers and select press. Later versions of this were colored green—on a technical level, these units were almost identical to the retail units, but had a different CD controller in them that did not require the region code found on all pressed disks, since they were intended to be used with CD-R media for debugging. This also allowed the use of discs from different regions, but this was not officially supported; different debug stations existed for each region. The two different color cases were not cosmetic—the original blue debug station (DTL-H100x, DTL-H110x) contained "Revision B" silicon, the same as the early retail units (these units had silicon errata that needed software workarounds), the green units (DTL-H120x) had Rev. C hardware. As part of the required tests, the user had to test the title on both. Contrary to popular belief, the RAM was the same as the retail units at 2 MB. The firmware was nearly identical—the only significant change was that debug prints got sent to the serial port if the title did not open it for communications—this used a DTL-H3050 serial cable (the same as the one used for the Yaroze).
. However, the increased availability of cheap CD burners at this time led Sony to introduce several methods to make PlayStation discs difficult to copy:
The installation of a modchip
allowed the PlayStation to play games recorded on a regular CD-R
. It also allowed the console's capabilities to be expanded in other ways, such as playing games from other regions. By the end of the system's life cycle almost anyone with minimal soldering experience was able to perform these modifications. This created a wave of games developed without official approval using free
, unofficial tools, as well as the reproduction of original discs. With the introduction of such devices the console became very attractive to programmers and illegal copiers alike, as well as those who merely wished to protect the lifespan of their lawful, original discs.
Some companies (notably Datel
) did manage to produce discs that booted on unmodified retail units, but this required special equipment and could only be done with "pressed" discs.
was also produced. It was more expensive than the original PlayStation, colored black instead of the usual gray, and most importantly, came with tools and instructions that allowed a user to be able to program PlayStation games and applications without the need for a full developer suite, which cost many times the amount of a PlayStation and was only available to approved video game developer
s. Naturally, the Net Yaroze lacked many of the features the full developer suite provided. Programmers were also limited by the 2 MB of total game space that Net Yaroze
allowed. The amount of space may seem small, but games like Ridge Racer ran entirely from the system RAM (except for the streamed music tracks). It was unique in that it was the only officially retailed PlayStation with no regional lockout
; it would play games from any territory. It would not however play CD-R discs, so it was not possible to create self-booting Yaroze games without a modified PlayStation.
. The PSone is fully compatible with all PlayStation software.
There were five differences between the PSone and the original PlayStation. The first was a major cosmetic change to the console, it became much smaller. The second was the system menu Graphical User Interface
. The third was an added protection against the use of modchips (by changing the internal layout and making previous-generation modchip devices unusable). The fourth is a lack of the original PlayStation's parallel and serial ports. These ports allowed multiple consoles to be connected for multiplayer, connecting a console to debugging software, as well as third-party game enhancement devices such as the GameShark
. The fifth is that when the console is started up, instead of a trademark symbol
(™) beside the words "COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" there is a registered trademark symbol
(®).
Sony also released a small LCD
screen and an adaptor to power the unit for use in cars.
* All models feature A/V Direct Out, Parallel Port and Serial Port; none feature Sound Scope
* All models use a low-quality CD drive.
* All models can boot software with any region code.
successor to the PlayStation is the PlayStation 2
, which is backwards compatible
with its predecessor in that it can play almost every PlayStation game.
The third generation of the PlayStation known as the PlayStation 3
(abbreviated PS3), was launched on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe. The PlayStation 3 was initially backward compatible with all games that were originally made for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, but due to the removal of the PlayStation 2 Emotion Engine Chip after the introduction of the 40 GB version, the capability to play PlayStation 2 discs is limited now to software emulation, and the capability to play original PlayStation games is still possible. While PS3 games are not region-locked, PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games still only play on a PS3 console from the same territory. The redesigned "Slim" form factor PS3 introduced in 2009 has had the ability to play PlayStation 2 games entirely removed, though it can still play games from the original PlayStation.
The PlayStation Portable
(abbreviated PSP) is a handheld game console
first released in late 2004. The PSP is capable of playing PlayStation games downloaded via Sony's online store, and can also play any PlayStation game by using the PlayStation 3's remote play feature while the disc in the PlayStation 3. Sony hopes to release nearly all PlayStation games on a gradual basis.
It is also possible to convert original PlayStation disc images into executable binaries using freely available software. These games are then playable on PSPs that have been modified to run unsigned code.
.
Nintendo was very public about its skepticism toward using CDs and DVDs to store games, citing longer load times and durability issues. It was widely speculated that the company was even more concerned with copyright infringement, given its substantial reliance on licensing and exclusive titles for its revenue.
The increasing complexity of games (in content, graphics, and sound) pushed cartridges to their storage limits and this fact began to turn off third party developers. Also, CDs were appealing to publishers due to the fact that they could be produced at a significantly lower cost and offered more flexibility (it was easy to change production to meet demand).
unit whose case and all movable parts were completely made out of plastic. Over time, friction caused the plastic tray to wear out—usually unevenly. The placement of the laser unit close to the power supply accelerated wear because of the additional heat, which made the plastic even more vulnerable to friction. Eventually, the tray would become so worn that the laser no longer pointed directly at the CD and games would no longer load. Sony eventually fixed the problem by making the tray out of die-cast
metal and placing the laser unit farther away from the power supply on later models of the PlayStation.
Some units, particularly the early 100x models, would be unable to play FMV
or music correctly, resulting in skipping or freezing. In more extreme cases the PlayStation would only work correctly when turned onto its side or upside down.
Geometry transformation engine
Data decompression engine
drive
Bios
Memory Card
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
fifth-generation
History of video game consoles (fifth generation)
The fifth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at stores...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
first released by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
in Japan on December 3, .
The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
was the console's successor in 2000. The PlayStation was the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units, which it had reached 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch.
In 2000, a re-designed, "slim" version was released, called the PSone. This marked the end of the original grey console.
The last game for the system was FIFA Football 2005
FIFA Football 2005
FIFA Football 2005, also known as FIFA Soccer 2005, FIFA 2005 or simply FIFA 05, is a football video game released in . It was developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, mobile...
released in October 2004, and the last PSone units were sold on Christmas 2004 when 102 million units were shipped, but games continued to sell until Sony ceased 100% production of PlayStation games on March 23, 2006; eleven years after it was released.
Development
The first conceptions of the PlayStation date back to 1986. NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
had been attempting to work with disc-based technology since the Famicom, but the medium had problems. The Famicom Disk System's rewritable magnetic discs could be easily erased (thus leading to a lack of durability), and they lacked any sort of copy protection, thus were vulnerable to piracy. Consequently, when details of CD-ROM XA
CD-ROM XA
CD-ROM XA is an extension of the Yellow Book standard for CD-ROMs that combines compressed audio, video and computer data, allowing all to be accessed simultaneously. It was intended as a bridge between CD-ROM and CD-i and was developed by Sony and Philips...
(which had neither of those problems) were released to the public, Nintendo was interested. Simultaneously developed by Sony and Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, CD-ROM/XA was an extension of the CD-ROM format that combines compressed audio, visual, and computer data, allowing all to be accessed simultaneously. Nintendo approached Sony to develop a CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
add-on, tentatively titled the "SNES-CD". A contract was signed, and work began. Nintendo's choice of Sony was due to a prior dealing: Ken Kutaragi
Ken Kutaragi
is the former Chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment , the video game division of Sony Corporation. He is known as "The Father of the PlayStation", and its successors and spinoffs, including the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation 3.Before this...
, the person who would later be dubbed "The Father of the PlayStation", was the individual who had sold Nintendo on using the Sony SPC-700
SPC700
The Nintendo S-SMP is the audio CPU of the SNES video game console.The SNES contains a sound module called APU which is almost completely separate from the rest of the system: it is clocked at a nominal 24.576 MHz in both NTSC and PAL systems, and can only communicate with the main board via 4...
processor for use as the eight-channel ADPCM sound set in the Super Famicom/SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
console through an impressive demonstration of the processor's capabilities.
Sony also planned to develop a Super Famicom-compatible, Sony-branded console, but one which would be more of a home entertainment system playing both Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
cartridges and a new CD format which Sony would design. This was also to be the format used in SNES-CDs, giving a large degree of control to Sony despite Nintendo's leading position in the video gaming market.
The SNES-CD was to be announced at the May 1991 Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
(CES). However, when Nintendo's Hiroshi Yamauchi
Hiroshi Yamauchi
is a Japanese businessman. He was the third president of Nintendo, joining the company in 1949 until stepping down on May 31, 2002, to be succeeded by Satoru Iwata. Yamauchi is credited with transforming Nintendo from a small hanafuda card-making company in Japan to today's multi-billion dollar...
read the original 1988 contract between Sony and Nintendo, he realized that the earlier agreement essentially handed Sony complete control over any and all titles written on the SNES CD-ROM format. Yamauchi decided that the contract was totally unacceptable and he secretly canceled all plans for the joint Nintendo-Sony SNES CD attachment. Instead of announcing a partnership between Sony and Nintendo, at 9 am the day of the CES, Nintendo chairman Howard Lincoln
Howard Lincoln
Howard Charles Lincoln is an American lawyer and businessman, known primarily for being the former chairman of Nintendo of America and the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, representing absentee majority owner Hiroshi Yamauchi...
stepped onto the stage and revealed that Nintendo was now allied with Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, and Nintendo was planning on abandoning all the previous work Nintendo and Sony had accomplished. Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa
Minoru Arakawa
was the founder and first president of Nintendo of America from 1980 to 2002.Born in Kyoto, Japan, he attended Kyoto University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1972, he was hired by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni as part of their international staff, with the responsibility of...
had, unbeknownst to Sony, flown to Philips headquarters in Europe and formed an alliance of a decidedly different nature—one that would give Nintendo total control over its licenses on Philips machines.
After the collapse of the joint project, Sony considered halting their research, but ultimately the company decided to use what they had developed so far and make it into a complete, stand-alone console. As a result, Nintendo filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
and attempted, in US federal court
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
, to obtain an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against the release of the PlayStation, on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction and, in October 1991, the first incarnation of the new PlayStation was revealed. However, it is theorized that only 200 or so of these machines were ever produced.
By the end of 1992, Sony and Nintendo reached a deal whereby the "Play Station" would still have a port for SNES games, but Nintendo would own the rights and receive the bulk of the profits from the games, and the SNES would continue to use the Sony-designed audio chip. However, Sony decided in early 1993 to begin reworking the "Play Station" concept to target a new generation of hardware and software. As part of this process the SNES cartridge port was dropped and the space between the names "Play Station" was removed becoming "PlayStation", thereby ending Nintendo's involvement with the project.
Launch
The PlayStation was launched in Japan on December 3, 1994, North America on September 9, 1995, Europe on September 29, 1995, and OceaniaOceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
on November 15, 1995. The launch price in the American market was US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
299 and Sony enjoyed a very successful launch with titles of almost every genre, including Battle Arena Toshinden
Battle Arena Toshinden
is a weapons-based fighting game for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC in 1994. It was one of the first fighting games to boast polygonal characters in a 3D environment, and it is credited for taking the genre into "true 3-D" due to its introduction of the sidestep maneuver.It was an early killer...
, Doom, Warhawk, Air Combat
Air Combat
Air Combat, released in Japan as Ace Combat, is a semi-realistic flight-sim/action game developed and released by Namco in 1995 for the PlayStation. It is part of the Ace Combat series. All subsequent games retained the original Ace Combat name.Air Combat is also an arcade game from Namco in 1992...
, Philosoma
Philosoma
Philosoma is a video game for the Sony PlayStation, released in 1996 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment America.-Story:A recently colonized alien planet named Planet 220 reports a devastating attack by an unknown force and requires assistance. Alpha and Bravo teams are called in, but...
, and Ridge Racer. Almost all of Sony's and Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's launch titles went on to spawn numerous sequels.
Functions
In addition to playing games, the PlayStation has the ability to read and play audio CDs. The CD player has the ability to shuffle the playback order, play the songs in a programmed order, and repeat one song or the entire disk. This function, as well as a memory card manager, can be accessed by starting the console either without inserting a game or keeping the CD tray open, thereby accessing a GUI for the PlayStation BIOS. The original PlayStation and PSone GUIs differ. The PlayStation GUI has a dark blue background and buttons that are designed like rainbow graffiti; the PSone has a blocked grey background with 2 icons; one for memory cards management, the other for CD player access (some versions of the original PlayStation have the blocked grey background, however, the memory card and CD player icons are different). If the CD lid is closed with a game inside at any time while at the menu, the game will immediately start.Titles
As of September 30, 2007, a total of 7,918 software titles have been released worldwide (counting games released in multiple regions as separate titles). As of March 31, 2007, the cumulative software shipment was at 962 million units. The very last game for the system released in the United States was FIFA Football 2005FIFA Football 2005
FIFA Football 2005, also known as FIFA Soccer 2005, FIFA 2005 or simply FIFA 05, is a football video game released in . It was developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, mobile...
. However, it can be noted that on 07/26/07 in Japan and 03/18/08 in the US, Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection was released, which contained new printings of the game Metal Gear Solid in the original PlayStation format. Also in 2011, Capcom released Resident Evil 15th Anniversary Collection, which contains reprinted PlayStation copies of Resident Evil, 2 and 3.
The OK and Cancel buttons on most of the Japanese PlayStation games are reversed in their North American and European releases. In Japan, the
Xenogears
is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
used the
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story
is a Japanese-developed console role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in 2000, and has been re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles eleven years later...
, Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
(which used the
Final Fantasy Tactics
is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It is the first game of the Final Fantasy Tactics series and was released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998...
, Namco's Ridge Racer Type 4, and Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
, have the buttons remain in the same Japanese configurational layout. Some other games, like the Japanese version of Gran Turismo
Gran Turismo (video game)
is a racing simulator designed by Kazunori Yamauchi. Gran Turismo was developed by Polyphony Digital and first published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1997 for the PlayStation video game console...
, had used different controls that are similar to North American games. These Japanese button layouts still apply to other PlayStation consoles. This is because in the early years Sony America (SCEA), Sony Europe (SCEE), and Sony Japan (SCEJ) had different development and testing documents (TRCs) for their respective territories.
Variants
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
port, which was removed on the next release. This also led to the strange situation where the US and European launch units had the same part number series (SCPH-100x) as the Japanese launch units, but had different hardware (Rev. C silicon and no S-Video port)—they were the same as the Japanese SCPH-3000, so for consistency should have been SCPH-3001 and SCPH-3002 (this numbering was used for the Yaroze machines, which were based on the same hardware and numbered DTL-H3000, DTL-H3001, and DTL-H3002). Also, the first models (DTL-H1000, DTL-H1001, DTL-H1002) had some problems with printf
Printf
Printf format string refers to a control parameter used by a class of functions typically associated with some types of programming languages. The format string specifies a method for rendering an arbitrary number of varied data type parameter into a string...
function and developers had to use another function instead. This series of machines had a reputation for CD drive problems—the optical pickup sled was made of thermoplastic, and eventually developed wear spots that moved the laser into a position where it was no longer parallel with the CD surface—a modification was made that replaced the sled with a die-cast one with hard nylon inserts, which corrected the problem.
With the release of the next series (SCPH-500x), the numbers moved back into sync. A number of changes were made to the unit internally (CD drive relocated, shielding simplified, PSU wiring simplified) and the RCA jacks and RFU power connectors were removed from the rear panel. This series also contained the SCPH-550x and SCPH-555x units, but these appear to have been bundle changes rather than actual hardware revisions. Starting with this series, PAL variants had the "power" and "open" buttons changed from text to symbols and the printed text on the back was changed to reliefs of the same.
These were followed by the SCPH-700x and SCPH-750x series—they are externally identical to the SCPH-500x machines, but have internal changes made to reduce manufacturing costs (for example, the system RAM went from 4 chips to 1, and the CD controller went from 3 chips to 1). A slight change of the startup screen was made. The diamond is seen as longer and thinner and the trademark symbol
Trademark symbol
The trademark symbol, designated by ™ , is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark. Use of this symbol does not mean that the trademark has been registered. Registered trademarks are indicated using the Registered trademark symbol...
(™) is now placed after "COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" instead of after the diamond, as it was on the earlier models. Also new to the SCPH-7xxx series was the introduction of the "Sound Scope" - light show music visualizations. These were accessible by pressing the Select button while playing any normal audio CD in the system's CD player. While watching these visualizations, players could also add various effects like color cycling or motion blur. These music visualizations were kept in all future PlayStation 1 models.
The final revision to the original PlayStation was the SCPH-900x series—these had the same hardware as the SCPH-750x machines with the exception of the removal of the parallel port and a slight reduction in the size of the PCB. The removal of the parallel port was probably partly because no official add-on had ever been released for it, and partly because it was being used to connect cheat cartridges that could be used to defeat the regional lockout
Regional lockout
Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, chip, or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country.-Video games:...
s and copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
.
The PSone was based on substantially the same hardware as the SCPH-900x, but had the serial port removed, the controller / memory card ports moved to the main PCB and the power supply replaced with an AC/DC converter that was also on the main PCB. Also the overall system menu received a graphical simplicity overhaul, along with a surround sound/echo effect being added to the CD player menu.
With the early units, many gamers experienced skipping full-motion video or physical "ticking" noises coming from their PlayStations. The problem appears to have come from poorly placed vents leading to overheating in some environments—the plastic moldings inside the console would warp very slightly and create knock-on effects with the laser assembly. The solution was to ensure the console was sat on a surface which dissipated heat efficiently in a well vented area, or raise the unit up slightly by propping something at its edges. A common fix for already affected consoles was to turn the PlayStation sideways or upside-down (thereby using gravity to cancel the effects of the warped interior) although some gamers smacked the lid of the PlayStation to make a game load or work.
Earliest series had potentiometer
Potentiometer
A potentiometer , informally, a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used , it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on...
s on the board for adjusting the reading mechanism, named BIAS, GAIN and an unknown one.
By connecting a voltmeter
Voltmeter
A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale in proportion to the voltage of the circuit; digital voltmeters give a numerical display of voltage by use of an analog to...
between the upper-most metering point near the BIAS potentiometer and the chassis, the resulting voltage could be read. The supposed right values are 1.70 V when a CD is spinning at 1x speed and 1.85 V when a CD is spinning at 2x speed. Further tuning was also possible on the unique potentiometer present on the CD drive. Later series featured an automatic laser calibration mechanism.
Sony then released a version dubbed "Dual Shock", which included a controller with two analog sticks and a built-in vibration-feedback feature.
Another version that was colored blue (as opposed to regular console units that were grey in color) was available to game developers and select press. Later versions of this were colored green—on a technical level, these units were almost identical to the retail units, but had a different CD controller in them that did not require the region code found on all pressed disks, since they were intended to be used with CD-R media for debugging. This also allowed the use of discs from different regions, but this was not officially supported; different debug stations existed for each region. The two different color cases were not cosmetic—the original blue debug station (DTL-H100x, DTL-H110x) contained "Revision B" silicon, the same as the early retail units (these units had silicon errata that needed software workarounds), the green units (DTL-H120x) had Rev. C hardware. As part of the required tests, the user had to test the title on both. Contrary to popular belief, the RAM was the same as the retail units at 2 MB. The firmware was nearly identical—the only significant change was that debug prints got sent to the serial port if the title did not open it for communications—this used a DTL-H3050 serial cable (the same as the one used for the Yaroze).
Copy protection
Prior to the PlayStation, the reproduction of copyrighted material for gaming consoles was restricted to either enthusiasts with exceptional technical ability, or others that had access to CD manufacturersCD manufacturing
Compact disc manufacturing is the process by which commercial compact discs are replicated in mass quantities using a master version created from a source recording. This may be either in audio form or data form...
. However, the increased availability of cheap CD burners at this time led Sony to introduce several methods to make PlayStation discs difficult to copy:
- Sectors 12 through 15 contain an invalid zeroised EDC/ECC checksum, so if the PS reads and does not see an invalid EDC/ECC then it knows that the CD in the drive is a copy. The error is pressed into the disc at the time of manufacture, and cannot be reproduced on most CD-R recorders because the recorder will automatically regenerate the 'corrupt' sector's checksum.
- The PlayStation uses a mixed-mode format with most data in Mode 2/Form 1 and streaming audio/video data in Mode 2/Form 2. Most CD-R drives at the time could not handle this variation well, but newer drives are able to.
- Discs were manufactured with a dark blue-colored plastic (transparent only to the infrared radiation used by CD-ROM lasers), and it was theorized that the PlayStation's drive was engineered to require these tinted discs. However, this is easily disproven, as PlayStation CD-ROMs can be read by most CD drives, and the PlayStation will read most recordable CDs.
The installation of a modchip
Modchip
A modchip is a small electronic device used to modify or disable built-in restrictions and limitations of computers, specifically videogame consoles...
allowed the PlayStation to play games recorded on a regular CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
. It also allowed the console's capabilities to be expanded in other ways, such as playing games from other regions. By the end of the system's life cycle almost anyone with minimal soldering experience was able to perform these modifications. This created a wave of games developed without official approval using free
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, unofficial tools, as well as the reproduction of original discs. With the introduction of such devices the console became very attractive to programmers and illegal copiers alike, as well as those who merely wished to protect the lifespan of their lawful, original discs.
Some companies (notably Datel
Datel
Datel is a UK-based electronics and game console peripherals manufacturer. The company is best known for producing a wide range of hardware and peripherals for home computers in the 1980s, for example replacement keyboards for the ZX Spectrum, the PlusD disk interface and the Action Replay series...
) did manage to produce discs that booted on unmodified retail units, but this required special equipment and could only be done with "pressed" discs.
Net Yaroze
A version of the PlayStation called the Net YarozeNet Yaroze
The is a development kit for the PlayStation video game console. It was a promotion by Sony Computer Entertainment to computer programming hobbyists in 1997. Yarōze means "Let's do it together!"....
was also produced. It was more expensive than the original PlayStation, colored black instead of the usual gray, and most importantly, came with tools and instructions that allowed a user to be able to program PlayStation games and applications without the need for a full developer suite, which cost many times the amount of a PlayStation and was only available to approved video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
s. Naturally, the Net Yaroze lacked many of the features the full developer suite provided. Programmers were also limited by the 2 MB of total game space that Net Yaroze
Net Yaroze
The is a development kit for the PlayStation video game console. It was a promotion by Sony Computer Entertainment to computer programming hobbyists in 1997. Yarōze means "Let's do it together!"....
allowed. The amount of space may seem small, but games like Ridge Racer ran entirely from the system RAM (except for the streamed music tracks). It was unique in that it was the only officially retailed PlayStation with no regional lockout
Regional lockout
Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, chip, or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country.-Video games:...
; it would play games from any territory. It would not however play CD-R discs, so it was not possible to create self-booting Yaroze games without a modified PlayStation.
PSone
The PSone is Sony's smaller, redesigned version of its PlayStation video game console. The PSone is considerably smaller than the original PlayStation (dimensions being 38 mm × 193 mm × 144 mm versus 45 mm × 260 mm × 185 mm). It was released on July 7, 2000, and went on to outsell all other consoles throughout the remainder of the year—including Sony's own brand-new PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. The PSone is fully compatible with all PlayStation software.
There were five differences between the PSone and the original PlayStation. The first was a major cosmetic change to the console, it became much smaller. The second was the system menu Graphical User Interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
. The third was an added protection against the use of modchips (by changing the internal layout and making previous-generation modchip devices unusable). The fourth is a lack of the original PlayStation's parallel and serial ports. These ports allowed multiple consoles to be connected for multiplayer, connecting a console to debugging software, as well as third-party game enhancement devices such as the GameShark
GameShark
GameShark is the brand name of a line of video game cheat cartridges and other products for a variety of console video game systems and Windows based computers. Currently, the brand name is owned by Mad Catz, who actively markets GameShark products for the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and Sega game...
. The fifth is that when the console is started up, instead of a trademark symbol
Trademark symbol
The trademark symbol, designated by ™ , is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark. Use of this symbol does not mean that the trademark has been registered. Registered trademarks are indicated using the Registered trademark symbol...
(™) beside the words "COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" there is a registered trademark symbol
Registered trademark symbol
The registered trademark symbol, designated by ® , is a symbol used to provide notice that the preceding mark is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office...
(®).
Sony also released a small LCD
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
screen and an adaptor to power the unit for use in cars.
Summary of PlayStation models
The last digit of the PlayStation model number denotes the region in which it was sold:- 0 is Japan (Japanese boot ROM, NTSC:J region, NTSC Video, 100 V PSU)
- 1 is USA/Canada (English boot ROM, NTSC:U/C region, NTSC Video, 110 V PSU)
- 2 is Europe/Australia/PAL (English boot ROM, PAL region, PAL Video, 220 V PSU)
- 3 is Asia (Japanese boot ROM, NTSC:J region, NTSC video, 220 V PSU)
Consumer models
| Model: | Case: | BIOS: | Hardware: | Region: | A/V Direct Out: | Parallel Port: | Serial Port: | Sound Scope: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCPH-1000 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (09/22/94) | Rev. A | NTSC-J | FMV skipping issues. S-Video S-Video Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma... direct out. |
||||
| SCPH-1001 | Original (Grey) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-U/C | FMV skipping issues. Based on the SCPH-3000 series. |
||||
| SCPH-1002 | Original (Grey) | 2.0 (05/10/95) | Rev. B | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-1002 | Original (Grey) | 2.1 (07/17/95) | Rev. B | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-1002 | Original (Grey) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. B | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-3000 | Original (Grey) | 1.1 (01/22/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-J | FMV skipping issues. Earliest units had a PU-7 board, further units featured a PU-8 board like the SCPH-1002. | ||||
| SCPH-3500 | Original (Grey) | 2.1 (07/17/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-5000 | Original (Grey) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | FMV skipping issues. | ||||
| SCPH-5001 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | CD-ROM drive re-located on right side of CD bay. Lens carriage reinforced and power simplified, fixing FMV skipping issues. A/V direct out and RFU power connector removed. Model numbers synchronized worldwide. Lens assembly attuned specifically to the black disks to circumvent piracy. SCPH-5552: A very rare Men in Black Men in Black (film) Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Marvel Comics. The film featured the creature effects... promotional model exists with a black case and the film's logo on the CD lid. SCPH-5903: Only model capable of playing Video CD Video CD Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc... movies. This model also has RCA plugs, like earlier PlayStation models. |
||||
| SCPH-5002 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-5003 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-5500 | Original (Grey) | 3.0 (09/09/96) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-5501 | Original (Grey) | 3.0 (11/18/96) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | |||||
| SCPH-5502 | Original (Grey) | 3.0 (01/06/97) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-5503 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-5552 | Original (Grey) | 3.0 (01/06/97) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-5903 | Original (White) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-7000 | Original (Grey) | 4.0 (08/18/97) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | DualShock DualShock The DualShock is a line of vibration-feedback gamepads by Sony for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The DualShock was introduced in Japan in late 1997, and launched in the North American market in May 1998... now standard. Introduction of Sound Scope. Major manufacturing cost reductions took place from this model onwards. The number of memory chips and CD-ROM controllers were reduced, other components were simplified. SCPH-7000, SCPH-7001, and SCPH-7002: Available in midnight blue as promotional item to celebrate the 10 millionth PlayStation sold. |
||||
| SCPH-7001 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | |||||
| SCPH-7002 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-7003 | Original (Grey) | 3.0 (11/18/96) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-7500 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-7501 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | |||||
| SCPH-7502 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-7503 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-9000 | Original (Grey) | 4.0 (08/18/97) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | Parallel port removed (hidden under case on earlier 9000 units, completely removed on later 9000 models.). Motherboard PCB reduced in size. Higher quality CD-Rom than previous models. |
||||
| SCPH-9001 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | |||||
| SCPH-9002 | Original (Grey) | 4.1 (12/16/97) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-9003 | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | |||||
| SCPH-100 | PSone (White) | 4.3 (03/11/00) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | Redesigned smaller case. Controller and memory card ports integrated onto motherboard. Serial port removed. Has external power supply. |
||||
| SCPH-101 | PSone (White) | 4.5 (05/25/00) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | |||||
| SCPH-102 | PSone (White) | 4.4 (03/24/00) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-102 | PSone (White) | 4.5 (05/25/00) | Rev. C | PAL | |||||
| SCPH-103 | PSone (White) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. C | NTSC-J |
Specialty models
| Model: | Case: | BIOS: | Hardware: | Region: | | Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTL-H1000 | Original (Blue) | Unknown (09/22/94) | Rev. A | NTSC-J | S-Video direct out. | Debugger Debugger A debugger or debugging tool is a computer program that is used to test and debug other programs . The code to be examined might alternatively be running on an instruction set simulator , a technique that allows great power in its ability to halt when specific conditions are encountered but which... . Can boot CD-R CD-R A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session.... copies. |
| DTL-H1000H | Original (Grey) | 1.1 (01/22/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-J | ||
| DTL-H1001 | Original (Blue) | 2.0 (05/07/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-U/C | ||
| DTL-H1001H | Original (Grey) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. B | NTSC-U/C | ||
| DTL-H1002 | Original (Blue) | 2.0 (05/10/95) | Rev. B | PAL | ||
| DTL-H1100 | Original (Blue) | 2.2 (03/06/96) | Rev. B | NTSC-J | Has external power supply. | |
| DTL-H1101 | Original (Blue) | 2.1 (07/17/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-U/C | ||
| DTL-H1102 | Original (Blue) | 2.1 (07/17/95) | Rev. B | PAL | ||
| DTL-H1200 | Original (Green) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. C | NTSC-J | ||
| DTL-H1201 | Original (Green) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. C | NTSC-U/C | ||
| DTL-H1202 | Original (Green) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. C | PAL | ||
| DTL-H3000 | Original (Black) | Unknown (Unknown) | Rev. B | NTSC-J | Net Yaroze Net Yaroze The is a development kit for the PlayStation video game console. It was a promotion by Sony Computer Entertainment to computer programming hobbyists in 1997. Yarōze means "Let's do it together!".... hobbyist development system. Can not boot CD-R copies. |
|
| DTL-H3001 | Original (Black) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. B | NTSC-U/C | ||
| DTL-H3002 | Original (Black) | 2.2 (12/04/95) | Rev. B | PAL | ||
Successors
Sony'sSony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
successor to the PlayStation is the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, which is backwards compatible
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
with its predecessor in that it can play almost every PlayStation game.
The third generation of the PlayStation known as the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
(abbreviated PS3), was launched on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe. The PlayStation 3 was initially backward compatible with all games that were originally made for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, but due to the removal of the PlayStation 2 Emotion Engine Chip after the introduction of the 40 GB version, the capability to play PlayStation 2 discs is limited now to software emulation, and the capability to play original PlayStation games is still possible. While PS3 games are not region-locked, PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games still only play on a PS3 console from the same territory. The redesigned "Slim" form factor PS3 introduced in 2009 has had the ability to play PlayStation 2 games entirely removed, though it can still play games from the original PlayStation.
The PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
(abbreviated PSP) is a handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
first released in late 2004. The PSP is capable of playing PlayStation games downloaded via Sony's online store, and can also play any PlayStation game by using the PlayStation 3's remote play feature while the disc in the PlayStation 3. Sony hopes to release nearly all PlayStation games on a gradual basis.
It is also possible to convert original PlayStation disc images into executable binaries using freely available software. These games are then playable on PSPs that have been modified to run unsigned code.
Legacy
The success of the PlayStation is widely believed to have influenced the demise of the cartridge-based home console. While not the first system to utilize an optical disc format, it was the first success story, and ended up going head-to-head with the last major home console to rely on proprietary cartridges—the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
.
Nintendo was very public about its skepticism toward using CDs and DVDs to store games, citing longer load times and durability issues. It was widely speculated that the company was even more concerned with copyright infringement, given its substantial reliance on licensing and exclusive titles for its revenue.
The increasing complexity of games (in content, graphics, and sound) pushed cartridges to their storage limits and this fact began to turn off third party developers. Also, CDs were appealing to publishers due to the fact that they could be produced at a significantly lower cost and offered more flexibility (it was easy to change production to meet demand).
Quality of construction
The first batch of PlayStations used a KSM-440AAM laserLaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
unit whose case and all movable parts were completely made out of plastic. Over time, friction caused the plastic tray to wear out—usually unevenly. The placement of the laser unit close to the power supply accelerated wear because of the additional heat, which made the plastic even more vulnerable to friction. Eventually, the tray would become so worn that the laser no longer pointed directly at the CD and games would no longer load. Sony eventually fixed the problem by making the tray out of die-cast
Die casting
Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process...
metal and placing the laser unit farther away from the power supply on later models of the PlayStation.
Some units, particularly the early 100x models, would be unable to play FMV
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
or music correctly, resulting in skipping or freezing. In more extreme cases the PlayStation would only work correctly when turned onto its side or upside down.
Technical specifications
Central processing unit
R3051- MIPS R3000AR3000The R3000 is a microprocessor chip set developed by MIPS Computer Systems that implemented the MIPS I instruction set architecture . Introduced in June 1988, it was the second MIPS implementation, succeeding the R2000 as the flagship MIPS microprocessor...
-compatible 32-bit RISC chip running at 33.8688 MHz - The chip is manufactured by LSI Logic Corp. with technology licensed from SGISilicon GraphicsSilicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
. - Features:
- Operating performance of 30 MIPS
- Bus bandwidthBandwidth (computing)In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
132 MB/s - 4 kBKilobyteThe kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
Instruction Cache - 1 kB non-associative SRAMStatic random access memoryStatic random-access memory is a type of semiconductor memory where the word static indicates that, unlike dynamic RAM , it does not need to be periodically refreshed, as SRAM uses bistable latching circuitry to store each bit...
Data Cache - 2 MB of main RAM
Geometry transformation engine
- Resides inside the main CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
chip, giving it additional vector math instructions used for 3D graphics - Features:
- Operating performance of 66 MIPS
- 360,000 polygons per second
- 180,000 texture mapped and light-sourced polygons per second
Data decompression engine
- Also residing within the main CPU, it is responsible for decompressing images and video.
- Documented device mode is to read three RLERun-length encodingRun-length encoding is a very simple form of data compression in which runs of data are stored as a single data value and count, rather than as the original run...
-encoded 16×16 macroblocks, run IDCT and assemble a single 16×16 RGB macroblock. - Output data may be transferred directly to GPU via DMADirect memory accessDirect memory access is a feature of modern computers that allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system memory independently of the central processing unit ....
. - It is possible to overwrite IDCT matrix and some additional parameters, however MDEC internal instruction set was never documented.
- Features:
- Compatible with MJPEGMJPEGIn multimedia, Motion JPEG is an informal name for a class of video formats where each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is separately compressed as a JPEG image...
and H.261H.261H.261 is a ITU-T video coding standard, ratified in November 1988. It is the first member of the H.26x family of video coding standards in the domain of the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group , and was the first video codec that was useful in practical terms.H.261 was originally designed for...
files - Operating Performance of 80 MIPS
- Directly connected to CPU Bus
- Compatible with MJPEG
Graphics processing unit
Name unknown- Handles 2D graphics processing separate from the main 3D engine on the CPU
- Features:
- Maximum of 16.7 million colors (24-bit color depth)
- Resolutions from 256 × 224 to 640 × 480
- Adjustable frame buffer
- Unlimited color lookup tables
- Emulation of simultaneous backgrounds (for parallax scrollingParallax scrollingParallax scrolling is a special scrolling technique in computer graphics, popularized in the 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol. In this pseudo-3D technique, background images move by the camera slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D video game and adding to the immersion...
) - Flat or Gouraud shadingGouraud shadingGouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes...
and texture mappingTexture mappingTexture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:... - 1 MB of VRAMVRAMVideo RAM, or VRAM, is a dual-ported variant of dynamic RAM , which was once commonly used to store the framebuffer in some graphics adapters....
Sound processing unit
Name unknown- Supports ADPCM sources with up to 24 channels
- Sampling rateSampling rateThe sampling rate, sample rate, or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per unit of time taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz , sometimes noted as Sa/s...
of up to 44.1 kHz - 512 kB of memory
Other
CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
drive
- 2x, with a maximum data throughput of 300 kB/s
- XA Mode 2 Compliant
- CD-DA (CD-Digital Audio)
- 32 kB buffer
Bios
- Stored on 512 kB ROM
Memory Card
- 128 kB of space in an EEPROMEEPROMEEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices to store small amounts of data that must be saved when power is removed, e.g., calibration...
Connectivity
- AV Multi Out
- RCA Composite videoComposite videoComposite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...
and StereoSTEREOSTEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
out (SCPH-100x to 3xxx only) - RFURF modulatorAn RF modulator is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal....
DC Out (SCPH-100x to 3xxx only) - S-Video Out (SCPH-1000 only)
- Serial I/O (used for PlayStation Link CablePlayStation Link CableThe PlayStation Link Cable is a peripheral cable for the PlayStation console. Utilizing the serial I/O port located on the back of most PlayStation models, it allows for two consoles to be connected in order to play compatible multiplayer games on separate consoles.The cable is a 12-pin inline...
, not on PSone) - Parallel I/O (no official use, SCPH-100x to 750x only)
See also
- List of PlayStation 1 games
- LibcryptLibcryptLibcrypt is a copy protection mechanism developed by Sony for use in their PlayStation systems. The protection consists of a two-stage verification algorithm: the first stage attempts to validate the game disc as an original PlayStation disc; following that, a checksum is then calculated from the...
- PlayStation Demo Discs
- PlayStation Sound Format
- Runix
- PlayStation palmar hidradenitisPlayStation palmar hidradenitisPlayStation palmar hidradenitis is a medical condition where a person develops painful lesions on their palms and fingers. It differs from palmoplantar hidradenitis, in that it affects only the hands...
External links
- PlayStation Home (Europe)
- PlayStation Home (US)
- PlayStation Home (Japan)
- Canadian PlayStation Website Home
- SCEA PlayStation Products Home
- The PlayStation Museum, dedicated to preserving the history of the PlayStation, complete with retail and prototype game screenshots and information
- The PlayStation Datacenter, a complete PlayStation 1 games database with game screenshots, controls, cheats, covers, etc.