Sony is a multinational conglomerate known for its innovations in consumer electronics.
But to many others, it's an icon in entertainment and gaming. Most notably, through its PlayStation brand, the company has been a major force in the gaming industry, redefining how games are developed, played, and experienced.
It all began in December 1994, when the first PlayStation was released in Japan and September 1995 globally. It was nonetheless, revolutionary, as it introduced CD-ROM gaming, 3D graphics, and extensive third-party developer support.
The original PlayStation (PS1) was best-known for titles like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil, which have all redefined pop culture ever since.
30 years later, in 2024, Sony celebrates the 30th anniversary of the brand, by creating a dedicated webpage on its website to document its history.

The webpage in question documents the five home PlayStation consoles, two handheld systems, and VR headsets.
Visitors to the webpage can explore 30 years of PlayStation history, from the original PS1 to the latest PS5, and everything in between.
Starting with the PS1, Sony details about the console's sales, standout games, internal specs, and variations of both the system and its controllers.
Moving on to the PS2, the page provides similar insights.
The PS3 section highlights innovations like 3D gaming and the iconic XrossMediaBar interface.
The PS4 portion delves into its legendary game titles and the introduction of PSVR.
Finally, the PS5 section covers Sony's recent strides, including its PC gaming initiatives, the revamped PS Plus, and the popular PS Portal device.

The webpage transparently provides the sales numbers of the consoles, which are as follows:
- PlayStation with 102 million sold (from 1994 to 2006).
- PlayStation 2 with 160 million sold (since 2000).
- PlayStation 3 with 87 million sold (since 2006).
- PlayStation 4 with 117 million sold (since 2013).
"Since launch, the original PlayStation console went on to sell over 102,000,000 consoles worldwide from 1994-2006," proudly said Sony on the dedicated webpage.
Most notably, the webpage officially confirms that Sonly has sold over 160 million PS2 units.
Before, former Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan stated this during an episode of the Official PlayStation Podcast in March. But his statement was not reflected on any official website, even on Sony Interactive Entertainment’s own 'Business Data Sales' page.
What this means, PS2 is Sony's highest-selling console of all time, and also the highest-selling consoles of all time, ever.
According to sales reports from other brands, PS2 surpassed two Nintendo consoles: the Nintendo DS at 154.02 million units sold, and the Nintendo Switch at 146 million consoles sold.

Sony detailed that PS2 made its debut in the year 2000, and that it was considered "giant steps forward in home console gaming, with augmented reality, online multiplayer gaming, and more ambitious, large-scale games on DVD discs."
PS2 was powered by a Emotion Engine (294.9 MHz) CPU, designed for advanced 3D rendering, Graphics Synthesizer (147 MHz) GPU, capable of producing up to 66 million polygons per second, and a 32 MB of system memory and 4 MB of video memory.
While ancient to the modern standard, these specifications were cutting-edge at the time.
Due to the fact that it was born during the internet boom, PS2 was PlayStation's first steps towards embracing the internet.
Online gaming came to the PS2 console in 2001, with the Network Adaptor add-on.
Some iconic PS2 games include titles like Twisted Metal: Black, God of War, Resident Evil 4, among many others.
In all, PS2's success can be attributed to a combination of the hardware, combined with a massive library of games, and multimedia functionality.
The 30th-anniversary festivities continue this week on the PlayStation Podcast
This time the crew looks back at their top PSP and PS3 games: https://t.co/AFdjEfQOgf pic.twitter.com/a1hmwAFgWm— PlayStation (@PlayStation) November 22, 2024