With three decades under its belt as one of the most iconic video game consoles to date, the PlayStation 1 is now a beloved source of nostalgia for many – but former Sony lead Shawn Layden says that not everyone in the company wanted to be associated with its debut console.
Speaking in a recent interview with Eurogamer, Layden explains how ecstatic he felt upon first seeing the original PlayStation. “I remember having a presentation early on where they brought the PlayStation prototype to the chairman’s office, and we got to see what they were building. I remember back in mid ’94 before the launch, standing up in a boardroom playing Ridge Racer and going, ‘Oh my god, this is going to be fucking amazing.'”
Even though Layden himself was impressed, however, many higher-ups at the time within Sony were not – and it all has to do with other massive industry names already dominating in the gaming sphere, including the likes of Nintendo and Sega. “But within Sony,” according to the former CEO, “I think a lot of the leadership at the time didn’t take it seriously. They thought: ‘Oh my god, Sega and Nintendo own this thing [the console industry].'”
Layden continues, describing what the skeptical leads thought: “‘You think Sony’s going to come in sideways and try to divvy that thing up into a three-piece pie?’ It was a ‘fool’s errand,’ I think some of them might have even called it at the time. But [then-Sony president Norio] Ohga-san was a believer. A lot of people thought we were taking a risk. It was a fight to get the Sony name onto the machine – they didn’t want to be associated with it.”
Despite the initial worries that some may have had, however, I’d argue it’s safe to say that the PlayStation 1 turned out to be a smash success. It has stood the test of time as one of the best consoles to release, with Sony’s own data confirming more than 102.4 million total sales for the PS1. It’s also arguably helped produce some of the greatest franchises and game series to date – I’m personally looking at you, Metal Gear and Silent Hill.
Love the OG PlayStation, too? Here are some of the best PS1 games of all time.