20th Anniversary Today of the PlayStation 1995 Launch!

[Kevincal]

I preordered a PlayStation summer 1995 and got it on launch day 9/9/95. What a mind blowing system that was when it came out. Toshinden, Ridge Racer, Tekken, Air Combat, NFL Gameday, Philosoma, Raiden Project, Warhawk, Wipeout, Twisted Metal all came out not long after the system was launch, and a lot of other great games too... Doom... It goes on. Will always have a soft spot for the early PS1 games. I almost forgot Jumping Flash.

[Emperor Megas]

IIRC, the Dreamcast launched on the same day, 4 years later.

[Kevincal]

IIRC, the Dreamcast launched on the same day, 4 years later.

Yep but sadly, while Dreamcast games have great graphics, they mostly pale in comparison to PS1 as far as gameplay... Like Sonic Adventure, real pretty, but a total turd to actually play. The PlayStation was pretty much a legend from day one. By the time DC came out pretty much everyone hated Sega and plus PS2 was coming out soon..........

That said, Dreamcast does have some awesome games... I was just never into it... Didn't get my first DC until the year 2003 or so. I really hate the DC analog stick too. The control is just whack on a lot of games... I regret selling my massive collection of burned DC games though, lol... Had hundreds.

[Gamevet]

Yep but sadly, while Dreamcast games have great graphics, they mostly pale in comparison to PS1 as far as gameplay... Like Sonic Adventure, real pretty, but a total turd to actually play. The PlayStation was pretty much a legend from day one. By the time DC came out pretty much everyone hated Sega and plus PS2 was coming out soon..........

That said, Dreamcast does have some awesome games... I was just never into it... Didn't get my first DC until the year 2003 or so. I really hate the DC analog stick too. The control is just whack on a lot of games... I regret selling my massive collection of burned DC games though, lol... Had hundreds.

I've never considered Sonic Adventure to be a great game, but the rest of the launch library was rock solid and much better than the launch library of the Playstation. The Dreamcast was my go to system from 1999 to 2001.

[Pr3tty F1y]

I've never considered Sonic Adventure to be a great game, but the rest of the launch library was rock solid and much better than the launch library of the Playstation. The Dreamcast was my go to system from 1999 to 2001.

The difference is that the PlayStation presented 3D graphics which were new and awe-inspiring to console gamers at the time. They never played some of these genres in the way the Playstation presented them. Hell, Warhawk is a combat flight simulator masterpiece. Twisted Metal allowed you to drive and wreck other cars. Tekken was a 3D fighters straight out of the arcades.

By the time the Dreamcast hit the scene, expectations were different.

However, I do have to admit, I love Sonic Adventure. Despite its bugs and major camera issues, it has great atmosphere.

That being said, I'm in the camp that while the Playstation was a great console, it was more great at the time it was released. Looking back, I more fondly look at my SNES than the Playstation. I love the fact that the Dreamcast brought the arcades truly home, but it definitely did lack in the quality console titles that folks expected from the Playstation era.

Personally, I feel that the Playstation would have had a greater legacy if it had more 2D titles. 3D at the time was pretty ugly and today it's even more ugly. A smattering of low grade pixels flying across the screen. But 3D was new and different, and that is why the Playstation won its generation.

[Greg2600]

I never got a PS1, mainly because I felt the graphics were substandard to my PC (they were), and was happy when the N64 returned Mario and Zelda to my living room. I only really started collecting for it when emulators because available around 2000. First it was bleem! and later ePSXe and the like. I didn't own a PS1 console for years later, sticking with emulation on PC but owning the physical games (no CDR). When Tech/G4 started running those icon episodes, I watched them, and discovered I'd missed out on quite a bit of great gaming from developers and publishers I hadn't tried before.

[celerystalker]

PS1 didn't do much for me at launch. It wasn't until about '98 or so that it won me over with Metal Gear Solid and Xenogears. Dreamcast, on thr other hand, won me over right away with Power Stone.

Playing Metal Gear Solid around the same time as Ocarina of Time made me realize how much fun I wasn't having with Ocarina. It was a game changer for me.

[Gamevet]

The difference is that the PlayStation presented 3D graphics which were new and awe-inspiring to console gamers at the time. They never played some of these genres in the way the Playstation presented them. Hell, Warhawk is a combat flight simulator masterpiece. Twisted Metal allowed you to drive and wreck other cars. Tekken was a 3D fighters straight out of the arcades.

By the time the Dreamcast hit the scene, expectations were different.

My feeling was that the Playstation brought home arcade games that were actually on-par with the real thing. There were always compromises being made on the console versions with the previous generation. Still, I feel like the DC stomped onto the scene with much more fury than the launch of the Playstation, that only managed to sell a couple hundred thousand units that 1st holiday season in North America.




However, I do have to admit, I love Sonic Adventure. Despite its bugs and major camera issues, it has great atmosphere.

That being said, I'm in the camp that while the Playstation was a great console, it was more great at the time it was released. Looking back, I more fondly look at my SNES than the Playstation. I love the fact that the Dreamcast brought the arcades truly home, but it definitely did lack in the quality console titles that folks expected from the Playstation era.

Personally, I feel that the Playstation would have had a greater legacy if it had more 2D titles. 3D at the time was pretty ugly and today it's even more ugly. A smattering of low grade pixels flying across the screen. But 3D was new and different, and that is why the Playstation won its generation.

The Dreamcast never had the chance to become what the Playstation did; It's not like the Playstation sold in the millions within its 1st year. Yeah, the Playstation library was amazing for its time, but a lot of it has aged horribly (Warhawk). I could easily put it in my top 5 consoles of all-time, but it would be sitting behind the likes of the PS2, SNES and Saturn.

[FieryReign]

My feeling was that the Playstation brought home arcade games that were actually on-par with the real thing. There were always compromises being made on the console versions with the previous generation. Still, I feel like the DC stomped onto the scene with much more fury than the launch of the Playstation, that only managed to sell a couple hundred thousand units that 1st holiday season in North America.




The Dreamcast never had the chance to become what the Playstation did; It's not like the Playstation sold in the millions within its 1st year. Yeah, the Playstation library was amazing for its time, but a lot of it has aged horribly (Warhawk). I could easily put it in my top 5 consoles of all-time, but it would be sitting behind the likes of the PS2, SNES and Saturn.

Hey. Warhawk will always be the shit. The fmv is great. Game is fun.

[o.pwuaioc]

Anyone see Game-Rave's video of all US retail games?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTOGw2IZj_I

[Gamevet]

Hey. Warhawk will always be the shit. The fmv is great. Game is fun.

I loved playing that game back then. I think the fmv is totally cheesy though, with those horrible 3D blue-screen backdrops and wooden acting. The FMV was like a really bad B-movie.

I'd love to see a real remake of that game. The crap they brought to the PS3 was insulting.

[Gentlegamer]

I had been a lapsed gamer during my last years of high school, and didn't get into that gen until 1997, when I bought a N64. I was a big Star Wars fan, so Shadows of the Empire was the deciding factor, and I thought Sony PlayStation was some lame system like Philips CD-i (I hadn't read game magazines in years, so I was waaaaay out of the loop). Shadows of the Empire cost $75(!).

I played through Shadows of the Empire in a couple weeks, then looked around for other games. Super Mario 64 was out, but I had been a Nintendo gamer for years and was "tired" of Mario. There was literally nothing else out for N64 or announced to come out soon. I consulted with a more knowledgeable friend, and exchanged the N64 for a PlayStation.

I picked up Greatest Hits versions of Tekken, Tomb Raider, and Twisted Metal, each for $20. I was amazed that such great games were available for so cheap at retail.

I never looked back.

[Raptor1313]

My parents didn't have the money to get me much back then, and I went with the N64. I only managed to get a Playstation between 2000 and 2002. I bought it used from a pawn shop and it only worked half the time. The only games I ever really got to play for it were The Legend of Dragoon and Final Fantasy Tactics. I only ever beat The Legend of Dragoon and it is, in my opinion, very underrated. One of my favorite games. I don't regret going with the N64 back then, but I do wish I could've gotten a PS when it was new. I had just started getting some of the old titles off PSN on my PS3 when we lost our house to a fire a couple months ago. Some kid decided to help himself to my PS3 when we were getting our things from the house since my room was on the opposite side of the house from the fire. I never got to play some of the games I had just downloaded.

[otaku]

I had an uncle with a launch PS1 and recall playing tomb raider and some other titles on it back in the day. Come 2000 or so my bro and I got a ps1 (redesigned unit) that we would often trade for a friends dreamcast on weekends lol

[Niku-Sama]

Its the one time my parents made me wait and see what the other systems were going to be like before they got me anything. And I'm glad i did.

I have a bunch of n64 and psx consoles now but looking back i feel that psx was the better choice at the time.

I still to this day can't get past the controller and how much it sucks

[Kevincal]

The PS1 controller does not suck! its a great design. The d-pad is not the best but its not that bad either. The button size and layout is very good. for instance playing Doom with a PS1 controller controller is the best thing ever. The PS1 analog stick murdered / killed the N64 stick. Much better. N64 wasn't bad but the Ps1 analog was just perfect. As was the PS2 and so on. The dreamcast has a god awful analog stick and overall weird design controller with the wire coming out of the bottom and always getting in the way. and crap shoulder buttons.

that ps1 youtube video someone posted up there was EPIC. every single US ps 1 game... Well over a thousand games. There might be twice that many Japanese ps1 games...

You had to experience a ps1 back in 1995. It was epic as hell. But then the N64 launch in '96 was also epic with the first 3 games being incredibly great in Mario 64, pilotwings 64 and then Waverace 64...... In these 3 games, probably the best game of all time period, one of the best flight / flying games ever and also one of the best racing games ever...

[Niku-Sama]

I was saying n64 controllers sucked duder person

[Kevincal]

Here is me in late 1995 early 1996 in my man cave with my ps1 and long box games :) and stacks of gaming magazines!8310

[M.Buster2184]

Love that photo. Makes me nostalgic even though I don't know you Kevincal. The old CRT, your Playstation proudly displayed on top and the longbow PS games. While I wasn't a huge Playstation fan back in the day, I still love seeing stuff like this.