EARLY ADVANCEMENTS IN THE PLAYSTATION - PART 1: HISTORY

    Over the next two blog posts I’ll be talking about Sony’s Playstation, involving the graphical evolution of the early games to maximise the processing power of the console as well as its interesting history.

[1] - CARCERGAMING (????) Playstation [Online Image] Avaliable from: http://koikoikoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/04sony_playstation.jpg [Accessed 13/04/14]

    In 1994, Sony released its first console, the Playstation, after a deal between Sony and Nintendo in 1988 went south. The two companies were working together, developing an add on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The add-on was planned to be produce due rise in usage of Disc based formats, along with the discs memory capabilities far succeeded the traditional cartridge memory format. This would allow games could have far more content within them to tell expansive stories and explore lore filled worlds. This wasn’t the first collaboration between these two companies though as one of Sony’s employees, Ken Kutaragi worked in secret to produce a new sound chip for the SNES[2]. This decision for him came about due to his interest in video games which developed by watching his daughter play the NES. All was going well in the production of the audio chip until the board of directors discovered what he was creating and wanted to put an end to it. Norio Ohga, the CEO of Sony stepped in and allowed Kutaragi to carry on developing the sound chip as long as the company was allowed to present it to Nintendo. The sound chip had the best audio quality of any of the competitors at the time and went on to be used in the SNES. This laid the foundations for the collaboration between the two developers, with Kutargi as the lead for the development project of the Super Disc add on[3].

The SNES featuring the CD addon.
[4] - DAILY TECH's JASON MICK (2014) SNES Disk Drive addon [Online] Avaliable from: http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/SNES_CD_Nintendo_and_Sony_Wide.jpg [Accessed 13/04/2014]

    With this collaboration, Sony was allowed to develop their own branded console which could run both cartridge and disc based SNES games as well as having large amount of control over licensing for the upcoming format. It was rumoured that Nintendo was not happy with the deal and turned to Philips, Sony’s rival, in secret to negotiate a more favourable deal for a CD based add-on. This deal gave Philips the right to use some of Nintendo’s most well known characters in their own games on the Philips CD-I.

Concept of Sony's Brand Console which could run both cartridges and CDs.
[5] - NINTENDO NERDS (2011) Concept of Sony's Prototype Console. Avaliable from: http://www.nintenerds.com.br/2011/01/prototipos-da-nintendo.html [Accessed 13/04/14]

    At the 1991 Summer Consumer Electronics show, the Nintendo Play Station was announced to the public, having a port for the SNES Cartridge, and a disk drive. The day after the announcement it was believed that Nintendo would confirm the collaboration with Sony, they instead announced a partnership with Sony’s rival, Philips. This betrayal of trust and infringement on the Japanese rules of business infuriated Ohga, but Kutaragi stood in and informed Ohga that the project could be savaged and a stand alone console could be produced. Ohga out of spite convinced the board of directors to continue with the project. Nintendo on the other hand did not have the rights to the Sound Chip, so the two companies had to retain friendly relations.
    As autumn 1992 was in full progress, the storm of the previous year between Sony and Nintendo had calmed and the contract between the two reworked[6]. Both companies CD drives would be compatible with one another while most of the licensing royalties was awarded to Nintendo. Either due to the restrictive nature of the contract, or the end of the cartridge era, the collaboration between the two giants came to an end, with Sony releasing the Playstation, and Nintendo following afterwards, two years later with the Nintendo 64. During this time Philips did not produce the desired add on for the SNES, ending the relationship between them and Nintendo.

 Bibliography

[1] - CARCERGAMING (????) Playstation [Online Image] Avaliable from: http://koikoikoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/04sony_playstation.jpg [Accessed 13/04/14]
 
[2] - DID YOU KNOW GAMING. (2014) Playstation - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Caddicarus. Avaliable from: http://normalboots.com/video/playstation-know-gaming-feat-caddicarus/ [Accessed 13/04/2014]

[3] - MARY BELLIS (????) History of Sony Playstation [Online] Avaliable from: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_playstation.htm [Accessed 13/04/2014]

[4] - DAILY TECH's JASON MICK (2014) SNES Disk Drive addon [Online] Avaliable from: http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/SNES_CD_Nintendo_and_Sony_Wide.jpg [Accessed 13/04/2014]

[5] - NINTENDO NERDS (2011) Concept of Sony's Prototype Console. Avaliable from: http://www.nintenerds.com.br/2011/01/prototipos-da-nintendo.html [Accessed 13/04/14]

[6] - IGN STAFF (1998) History of the Playstaion [Online] Avaliable from: http://uk.ign.com/articles/1998/08/28/history-of-the-playstation [Accessed 13/04/2014]