PlayStation 1 – The King of all consoles

Sony released its first console way back in 1994 under the simple moniker PlayStation. That name would spend the next 20 years thrilling gamers and bankrupting parents, and continues to grow in strength with its latest iteration, the PlayStation 4.

But without the original PlayStation, The King of all consoles, we would not have the powerful gaming machines we have today.

Despite not boasting the best specs of its generation, it pushed the limits of visuals and gameplay; it made games on discs and memory cards the norm; it introduced the vibrating controller; and it was home to many great exclusives.

The PS1 was the first console to sell over 100 million units, with the last console sold over Christmas in 2004.

Let’s take a look back at what made the PlayStation great.

The games

As of June 2007, a total of 7,918 titles had been released for the PS1, with 962 million units of software sold. The last game released for the console was Fifa 2005.

We all have fond memories of Abe’s Oddysee, Silent Hill, Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Crash Bandicoot – the list goes on.

Here are the games that scored highest on the platform.

*Scores based on Metacritic aggregation.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 – 98
Tekken 3 – 96
Gran Turismo – 96
Final Fantasy IX – 94
ISS Pro Evolution – 94
Chrono Cross – 94
Metal Gear Solid – 94
Gran Turismo 2 – 93
Street Fighter Alpha 3 – 93
Wipeout XL – 93

Even though the PS1 was released in Japan in 1994 and in the West in 1995, it was not until 1998 that it received its bestselling titles. Here are the titles that raked in the most sales.

Gran Turismo – 10.85 million
Final Fantasy VII – 9.72 million
Tekken 3 – 8.5 million
Crash Bandicoot Warped – 7.13 million
Metal Gear Solid – 7 million

A longing to go back, a tear in the eye

In my humble opinion, here are the titles that made the console exceptional. Be warned, watching these videos will make you wish you were 10-years-old again, and may bring a lump to your throat.