30 years later, PlayStation’s biggest developers fondly remember the console’s early days

I was 7 years old When the PlayStation was launched in 1994fueling a growing love for video games. I wouldn’t get my own console for a few years, so I managed it by spending every free minute at a neighbor’s house. exchange blows Tekken and delivery of the controller between levels of crash bandicoot. I shudder to think of the poor parents of the boy whose friend wouldn’t leave but I just couldn’t get enough.

Now, 30 years laterIt’s easy to view games from that era as rudimentary or simplistic. But back then it was a challenge for my son’s mind to comprehend the technological leap between SNES and Sony’s first effort at a dedicated video game console. Move a character three dimensions? Fathomless. And yet the evidence was there on our CRT television, enthralling me with polygons instead of elves, eight directions instead of four.

Of course, all the fancy hardware in the world means nothing if there’s no software to back it up; True nostalgia comes from great games. Fortunately, PlayStation was packed with titles that proved that 3D gaming was more than just a gimmick.

For me it was Final Fantasy VII that killed me. I was 10 when this classic was released, just the right age to be fascinated by its sci-fi world of airships, magic, and giant swords. More than that, its ecological story triggered an awakening of environmental awareness that I carry with me to this day.

It was also the first game to really show what a first generation Playstation could do. It will come out three years after launch (and three years before PS2).”Final Fantasy VII It was a game of firsts,” says director Yoshinori Kitase. Reverse. “It was the first final fantasy game that was released on PlayStation. was the first final fantasy to be done in 3D. “It was the first to include computer-generated movie scenes that allowed the team to reach a truly global audience and deliver a new type of gaming experience.”

“We had the desire to do final fantasy series something that would continue for decades to come.” – Yoshinori Kitase, Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII famous began development as a Super Nintendo title, but the technical limitations of the 16-bit platform prompted the development team to look elsewhere. For Kitase, whose directorial credits include Final Fantasy VI, Chrono trigger, Final Fantasy VIIIand Final Fantasy XIt was important to use the right technology for the first 3D entry in the acclaimed role-playing game franchise.

“During the development of Final Fantasy VIIthe games industry was starting to move from 2D to 3D,” explains Kitase. “We wanted to produce a title that would take advantage of this new dimension to bring the characters and story to life more vividly than ever before in the series. We had the desire to do final fantasy series something that would continue for decades to come.”

In many ways, Final Fantasy VII and the first PlayStation are the reason why I consider myself first and foremost an RPG fan. The console was home to dozens of quality titles in the genre, and I played as many as I could get my hands on. Suikoden, Legend of Legaia, Xenogears, wild weapons, Parasitic Eve, Legend of the Dragon, Crono Cruz, Shadow Madness, Breath of Fire III and IV; I consumed them all with voracious hunger.

“Or you were old enough to play resident Evil either silent hill and terrified, or technically too young to play and therefore even more terrified.” – Louise Blain, Blumhouse Games

Of course, that was just my journey. PlayStation revolutionized more than just the role-playing game genre when it launched in 1994. With the advent of 3D technology and CD-based storage, almost every style of gaming found new life. Sports became more fluid and natural, platforming became more complex, and horror became more immersive and terrifying. Titles like those from 1989. sweet home for NES and the 1992 PC hit alone in the dark It may have created the survival horror style of game, but PlayStation established it as a go-to genre for many gamers. resident Evil and silent hilltwo series that still exist today, have become synonymous with survival horror and have their origins in the original PlayStation.

“Or you were old enough to play resident Evil either silent hill and terrified, or technically too young to play and therefore even more terrified,” recalls Louise Blain, creative lead at Blumhouse Games. “I think the earliest memories of horror games across generations are intrinsically tied to the original PlayStation.”

Jun Takeuchi, executive producer of Capcom’s Development Division 1, has fond memories of working on the original. resident Evil.

“the first (resident Evil) the game… is excellently designed from start to finish, exceptionally harnessing the power of the original PlayStation.” –Jun Takeuchi, Capcom

“Creating the first resident Evil “The game was incredibly difficult since we were figuring everything out as we developed it,” Takeuchi says. Reverse. “But actually none of my memories from that time are unpleasant. The development team was able to participate in many different ideas. We took everything we could think of and turned those ideas into something tangible, which made me very happy.

“Since then we have expanded the resident Evil series and continue to do so, but to this day I believe that the first game, with its horror theme, is excellently crafted from start to finish, exceptionally harnessing the power of the original PlayStation,” he continues. “It’s such a solid, beautiful game that when we start developing a new game, I always look at it as an example of what an ideal game is.”

“One of my first PlayStation memories was watching my friend play Edge of the soul.” – Matthew Allen, Sega of America

For Matthew Allen, vice president of product marketing at Sega of America, it was the fighting genre that hinted at what Sony’s new technology meant for the gaming industry. Many players, myself included, remember the 1994 game fondly. Tekkenbut Allen points to a different title as the catalyst for his moment of epiphany.

“One of my first PlayStation memories was watching my friend play soul edge” says Allen Reverse. “From that moment on, I knew that 3D was the future of console gaming. I have had the privilege of calling some of the great people at Sony friends and colleagues for over 20 years. They are truly the pioneers of cutting-edge technology. From the years of the Walkman, Trinitron and Bravia TV to the current PlayStation 5 Pro, Sony has always been and will continue to be synonymous with quality hardware.”

soul edgeOf course, it would become the first entry in the almacalibur series, which saw its sixth numbered release in 2018.

While the PlayStation served as a respectable base for Sony’s foray into the video game business, it was its successor that cemented the brand as a true giant in the market. The PlayStation 2 launched in both Japan and North America in 2000 to staggering sales, and to this day remains the best-selling video game console of all time, ahead of even titans like Nintendo’s Wii and Switch consoles.

Several new series and characters debuted on Sony’s second-generation video game console, many of which are still brand mascots today: franchises such as Ratchet and clank, Jack and Daxterand Foxy Cooper. It was during this generation that I developed a love for platform games. The early 2000s are arguably the golden age of the genre, and the PlayStation 2 helped catapult it to popularity. There are far fewer platform games on the market today, but Sony Astrobot seems to wear the mantle very good.

It’s hard to believe that the PlayStation is 30 years old. It seems like last week I was renting a console from Blockbuster Video and spending the weekend racing. Jet Motorcycle and levels of Klonoa. Now, three decades later, the PlayStation brand has influenced not only the technology industry, but all of popular culture. Players who grew up in Spyro the Dragon and Solid metal gear Are they the people who now create games or help their own children find their own game? Final Fantasy VIIthe spark that will ignite love and appreciation for the medium of video games.

There’s a lot to be said for the uncertainty and volatility of today’s video game business, but the warmth of nostalgia will always be a constant. Insert a record into that gray rectangle and listen to it spin, play Chrono Cross until the sun came up, and advancing levels to beat the next boss are core memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I am grateful to PlayStation for the past 30 years and hope to create more memories in the future.