PLAYSTATION

■ While you can debate the point at which console gaming went mainstream – or even if it ever really has – we’d mark the Playstation as the system that got there. Despite being a newcomer to the console market, Sony had a potent piece of hardware and the key third-party support to sweep aside the old order of Sega and Nintendo. The Playstation represented everything that was cool about gaming, whether that was cuttingedge 3D capabilities, licensed soundtracks in games like Wipeout, or simply canny marketing that saw systems placed in the Ministry Of Sound. Sony sold over 100 million Playstations – more than twice the number of Saturn and N64 consoles combined.

The most popular games released on the Playstation ultimately redefined what players expected from home console games. Blockbuster hits like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil advanced a more cinematic style of storytelling, taking advantage of the CD-ROM format for dramatic FMV, full voice acting or both. Ridge Racer had been a killer app at launch, but by the end of the generation players took a more critical view of content light arcade conversions, largely thanks to the plentiful tracks and hundreds of cars of Gran Turismo. Unlockable content and substantial single-player experiences were no longer optional if you wanted your game to sell millions.

“BEING A HUGE RIDGE RACER FAN (I EVEN HAVE THE ARCADE MACHINE), I WAS BLOWN AWAY THAT IT WAS VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO THE ARCADE VERSION, WHICH ONLY APPEARED A YEAR OR SO BEFORE!” MIKE DAILLY, RETRO GAMER 188