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Sony Creates the PlayStation
1994's launch of the Japanese PlayStation will forever be remembered as the moment at which the industry began to change hands. In only a few years' time, Nintendo and Sega would be relegated to a distant second and third, respectively, and Sony would have the most successful console ever created. But who could have predicted this outcome back in 1994? Indeed, at that time Sony was little more than a brash newcomer to the gaming market. How could it hope to succeed?  From little acorns do mighty oaks grow... By the time the second half of 1994 rolled around, Sega and Sony were ready to debut their next-generation machines in Japan. Sega had the Saturn; Sony called its console the PlayStation, a direct reference to Nintendo's earlier transgression. While the Saturn actually had a better holiday season, it soon became apparent that PlayStation was the technologically superior machine. It was only a matter of time (and software) before the PlayStation began outselling the Saturn in Japan. By the time Nintendo 64 came out, the PlayStation was clearly established as the system to beat. And, of course, the problem-fraught N64 couldn't come close. As often happened, events transpired differently in America. In 1995, an inept Sega of America completely botched the launch of the Saturn, and the market was Sony's to take. It did. Thanks to good foresight and excellent, adult-friendly hardware design, Sony was able to decimate the Saturn right from the start and truly bring gaming into the American mainstream. So really, throughout the development and launch of the PlayStation, Sony exhibited all three qualities that we're flagging in this article. It made a smart move when it continued its console development, and a smart move when it aimed it at adults; it made good predictions as to what it should be able to do, and it had the blind luck to market the machine just as Sega was entering the lowest point in its history. The result? The closest thing we've seen to total market domination since Nintendo rode high on the NES. 
Ben: It's almost like one age of video-games ended and another began when the PlayStation launched. Not only do you have the obvious leap from 16-bit to 32-bit, but also the true dawn of 3D console gaming. If Sega had followed its original plan (before getting wind of the PlayStation's capabilities), the Saturn would have been even less 3D-friendly than it turned out, and gaming might be quite different today. PlayStation truly led gaming into the mass-market, with all the good and bad that come from that. Like it or not, Sony's freshman effort turned out to be one of the most important consoles ever.
Psylancer: Though the Sega Genesis did a decent job at appealing to the "cool kids," Sony took it to a much higher level. Fueled by the slickest marketing campaign the industry had ever seen, the PlayStation made gaming acceptable to the mainstream. No longer was gaming an activity just for the unsociable youth with poor skin that rarely saw the light of day. The PlayStation was positioned as the "slick" system and everyone bought into it. The pale, blemished, and antisocial kid was now joined by the frat boy, the uber jock, and the gangster rapper. I even recall the PlayStation being described as part of the "bling-bling" lifestyle along with hot cars, expensive jewelry, and fast women.
Because the PlayStation appealed to millions of people, Sony was able to grow the industry like never before. The launch of the PlayStation is a tremendous reason why the video-game business is considered an entertainment juggernaut comparable to the movie and music industries. 
Delsyn: They say hindsight is 20/20, and nowhere is that more true in my case than with the rise of the PlayStation. I was working for a game company in New York just before the console launched and I got to see some of the early prototypes and dev stations for the PSX (as it was then called). Sure, the stuff looked great, the 3D graphics were amazing, and Battle Arena Toshinden nearly blew my mind. Still, I don't like fighting games, the PlayStation is a dorkily named console being put out by a company with no video-game experience, and how important could 3D actually be? No way was this console ever going to get off the ground!
Shows how much I know. Of course, who was I? The irony was that there were people at Sega and Nintendo who were making the exact same mistakes! Unlike me, their opinions would steer those companies in exactly the wrong directions and hand total market domination over to Sony, a domination the company held on to when the next generation of hardware came out, something unprecedented in video-game history. By the way, I still think PlayStation is a dorky name. 
hardcore_pawn: Sony's PlayStation remains one of the single-biggest positive steps ever made in this industry. The PSX hardware had the muscle to lead the way into 3D gaming in the home, and the quality of the first- and third-party games was amazing. I recall my close university friend importing a PSX from Japan to the U.K. just after its initial release. He parted with over $800 for the basic machine, one memory card, and a copy of Ridge Racer. Needless to say, he ate nothing but raw potatoes and drank tap water for the rest of the academic year. The PSX was a masterful move on Sony's behalf, and things in the world of console gaming have never been the same since.
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