In celebration of the PlayStation's 20th anniversary, Sony has unveiled a limited-edition PlayStation 4 with an "original gray" finish similar to that on the original PlayStation.
The first PlayStation was released in Japan in 1994, followed by a U.S. and European release in September 1995.
"The mid-'90s were an exciting time for game developers, driven by the explosion of powerful but affordable 3D graphics-rendering hardware and the birth of many young and adventurous development studios," said Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studio in a blog post. "The original PlayStation was meant to embody that sense of adventure and discovery, that sense that anything was possible."
The PlayStation was designed to compete with the likes of the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn. With games such as Tekken and Crash Bandicoot being among the first releases, the PlayStation was the first console to sell 100 million units. It also spawned the likes of the PlayStation 2 in 2000, the PlayStation 3 in 2006 and the PlayStation 4 in 2013.
The name "PlayStation" comes from a partnership between Sony and Nintendo to develop a new CD-ROM format. Sony backed out of the partnership and Ken Kutaragi, a Sony employee, was almost fired for his involvement with Nintendo. Eventually he was able to persuade Sony that gaming was not a short-lived fad.
Only 12,300 units will be launched of the limited edition PlayStation 4. They will be shipped worldwide with a price tag of around $499. Users will be able to purchase the console directly from the Sony online store.
The console includes an x86 processor and enhanced graphics, as well as 8 GB of unified memory. It comes with the new DualShock 4 controller, which also comes in the original gray finish. According to some reports, 12,300 more units may be added to stock, but it is important to remember that the limited-edition consoles will not be available via traditional purchase channels.
The PlayStation 4 is one of the most popular gaming consoles today, taking on the likes of the Xbox One. In August it was reported the PlayStation 4 had sold a whopping 10 million units, while the Xbox One had sold "roughly half of that." Despite this, the Xbox One dominated Black Friday sales, with approximately 62 percent of gaming console sales during the shopping day being accounted for by the Xbox One.
