The Video Game Critic

Seeing as this year is the 20th anniversary of the Playstation brand I thought it would be an idea for a thread to discuss the Playstation.

There can be no argument that Playstation was the brand that brought gaming into the main stream and effectively targeted gamers older than teenagers.

They've had successes and failures, great games and has some Iconic branding but what's your opinion of Playstation down the years ?

Ps. On a side note the PS4 anniversary limited edition in original PS colours looks great.

[QUOTE=Sut]There can be no argument that Playstation was the brand that brought gaming into the main stream and effectively targeted gamers older than teenagers. [/QUOTE]

You honestly believe both parts of that statement?  I will argue it helped gaming go mainstream, but the second part I could not feel was further from the truth.  To me, the system is THE teenager system.  The old Crash platformer ads, Lara Croft's butt, Twisted Metal, the teen angst of Final Fantasy VII, Tony Hawk, etc.  That system was very clearly directed AT teenagers.  It was the system that said it wanted teens playing more than kids.  It certainly didn't say "play as an adult" in any way I can see, or to anyone I knew.  The first systems I remember large numbers of adults owning were the Xbox and PS2 (not counting the 2600 of course, which the whole family owned).  The PS1 had the smell of the basement dweller still about it in every way I can imagine.  From marketing to genres to packaging, this was a teenager's system.

Ah, Playstation. My constant companion throughout the years.

I consider myself to have been born at a fortuitous time for gaming. I became a teenager when the PS2 reached its heyday and the medium itself reached heights it has not matched since. Game production wasn't as risky as it is today, allowing all sorts of crazy ideas to surface in the AAA space.

I got my first Playstation at age 8, prompted by an amazing Final Fantasy VIII television spot. I can't find the exact one but it was similar to this:

http://youtu.be/DxnzNVIAxCY

To me at the time, the Playstation brand meant "more." Longer, more complex games. Bigger, more detailed visuals. A focus on storytelling that I had not seen before.

The PS2 was the first console launch that nearly resembled a religious event. The consoles were sold out for weeks, fetching sky-high prices on the resale market. Early PS2 titles failed to live up to the massive hype, but before long, Metal Gear Solid 2, Final Fantasy X, and Gran Turismo 3 swept in to fuel the momentum.

When the PS3 came, I don't think I was even aware of its existence until a full year after launch. I had seen plenty of 360s, but I had not the slightest clue what a PS3 looked like, what games it played, and how much it would cost me until almost 2009. I was in college, and had seen trailers for Final Fantasy Versus XIII and The Last Guardian, both of which I'm still friggin waiting on! My time with the PS3 wasn't all disappointment, though. I discovered Demon's Souls, which turned out to be my favorite game of all time. Final Fantasy XIII was enjoyable enough and I could play my old PS1 games again.

Who knows if there will ever be another the PS2. It was such a singular moment for gaming that the realities of modern development have all but buried in the past.

As I've gotten older, I've become more of a brand loyalist, I'm sorry to say. I've got nothing against Microsoft--their products are very well-made and well-designed most of the time. It's just that Playstation has this huge legacy that ties together East and West, whereas Xbox is a younger brand that primarily draws Western support. The situation has gotten a little better over time, but Playstation is still the brand that represents most of the types of games I would want to play.

[QUOTE=Atarifever]To me, the system is THE teenager system.  The old Crash platformer ads, Lara Croft's butt, Twisted Metal, the teen angst of Final Fantasy VII, Tony Hawk, etc.  That system was very clearly directed AT teenagers.  It was the system that said it wanted teens playing more than kids.  It certainly didn't say "play as an adult" in any way I can see, or to anyone I knew[/QUOTE]

I must say I don't remember it that way (I'm not saying I'm right, just my opinion). Every Monday some mates and I would have a Playstation night (in my early twenties at this point) the games were International Superstar Soccer, Gran Turismo and Wipeout. Some of my friends actively took chemical substances to play Wipeout as it was seen (by them) as a great drug enhanced game, don't ask me why I've never took them myself.
But the point I'm trying to make is, no other system prior to that point had gangs of late teens and early twenty something's having gaming nights.

It became a 'thing' once a week, month lads would have a PS night. This was not unusual my brother and his friends had similar nights, friends at work also had PS nights. It was suddenly socially acceptable for this age group to discuss games and not be dismissed as 'nerds'.

Playstation made games 'cool' and not just for the kids.
On this point I would have to disagree you Atarifever this was the era where you could discuss games as comfortably as discussing films on a night on the town.

Versus XIII has since been reborn as Final Fantasy XV.

[QUOTE=Sut][QUOTE=Atarifever]To me, the system is THE teenager system.[/QUOTE]

I must say I don't remember it that way...no other system prior to that point had gangs of late teens and early twenty something's having gaming nights...It was suddenly socially acceptable for this age group to discuss games and not be dismissed as 'nerds'.

Playstation made games 'cool' and not just for the kids...this was the era where you could discuss games as comfortably as discussing films on a night on the town [/QUOTE]

I think you both have something of the truth. The Playstation had lots of teen games, but adults did seem drawn to it too. Those graphics we sneer at today like curdled milk were so novel.

We should also recognize that the playstation reigned as the computers went mainstream as well. Usenet was for geeks, but anyone south of sixty got on the world wide web, and they were shopping, dating, cursing dial up and AOL, praising the nekkid pictures, and oh yes, playing video games.

Where before then there were serious games like flight simulator, it was just a blip on the radar. Yet by the mid 90s, PC were more capable, and games like Doom, the 7th Guest, and in my circle Myst and Mechwarrior, brought adults into gaming too. Even Freecell and Minesweeper were games mind you, and they were played so often by so many it became a problem at work.

So, the PS was great fun for teens, but it was also part of the mainstreaming of computer and gaming culture (while the other consoles of the day did not bubble up to the larger culture)

The PlayStation One was the catalyst to a bright future of putting games on CD's, DVD's/HD-DVD's, and now Blu-Ray. Musicians (I hate the word "AudioPhile") in my family used it as their primary CD player at home, it had nearly unrivaled audio capabilities which keeps the original hardware sought after even today.

In my opinion, I could care less about age-range statistics. The Playstation One appeals to all audiences.

Still holds up to modern consoles, much like its successor.