I have to agree. Gaming culture changed in my country because of the PS1. Games like Gran Turismo, Tomb Raider, Syphon Filter and MGS that were exclusive to the platform at the time come off as mature (note, while third party exclusives conribued, NOTHING did the job like Gran Turismo). Suddenly older guys were playing games again and people had their PS1's in their car attached to a TV (before the TV attachment was released). You would be called a nerd if you discussed gaming in certain places in public, but all sorts of dudes would discuss GT and it was (as you said) "cool". After that it became easier to accept gaming and the PS2 brought it to new heights (doubling as a DVD player and all).
Playstation = The Beast from the East
Sony + Nintendo = WIN! PS3 + PSV + PS4 + Wii U + 3DS
