Alternate history: Sony don't join the console race

[pokoko]

Otter said:

I do think people are attributing too much to playstation...

A lot of that "cool" was just games evolving into something which isn't just 2D Sprites. Playstation was a fresh new comer and as the more consumer friendly/dev friendly device definitely were at the forefront of making that cool a reality... But IMO a lot of it would of happened on N64 & subsequently the Dreamcast.

I mostly agree with you, which is why I emphasized Final Fantasy 7.  As I said before, it would have happened eventually.

We do still need to acknowledge that the PS1 was the perfect device for it, though.  Being CD based allowed it to play audio CDs, which was a big deal at the time, and they absolutely killed it with some of the advertisements.  I think the brand image of Sony itself helped a lot.

Their competitors were also making the wrong choices.  I don't see the N64 having the same effect on public perception.  I was a Nintendo fan at the time and I remember being resentful about Sony's ads, but I wasn't going to admit that to anyone back then.  It was specifically the FF7 tv commercial that pushed me over and made me pick the PS1. 

The Dreamcast, however, is a huge "what-if".  Amazingly cool console.