Sony made gaming cool.

Mnementh

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Mnementh on 14 November 2013

MikeRox said:

Mnementh said:

Don't forget, back then it wasn't the european union, the countries had different currencies, different taxes, different customs duties. Sony already had established contacts into europe with their other products.

Actually the European Union in it's current form was established in 1993. It actually dates back to the 50s as the European Economic Community.

I think you're confusing the EU with the Euro, which is a currency some countries within the EU have adopted. Taxes are still different in countries that don't have the Euro. Though it is more straight forward than it used to be.

I'm aware of that (I only thought Playstation was earlier). But the different currencies are a problem for international companies. And since then we are free of customs duty in the european union? Also norms, since then we have more unified norms, like CE.

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MikeRox on 14 November 2013

Yeah the flat import duty was introduced in 1993 with the EU making it much simpler for non EU countries. I think the Euro has probably been a bigger benefit for multinationals though. Especially as it's held a very stable value. Previously costs were ridiculous in some smaller EU countries because companies had to factor in potential fluctuations.

So for the 32/64 bit era, all the companies would have benefited from that. Sony definitely had much better European distribution channels though.

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Agente42 on 14 November 2013

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/email-why-were-the-ps1-and-ps2-so-successful/

About the mith of PS1 and PS2

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prayformojo on 14 November 2013

attaboy said:

I see that a lot. Sony and the PS1 are what expanded the gaming industry, made it something that was more than just for kids, released the mature games, etc. I got a PS1 back in 1997 and enjoyed it. It was a great console but really, what did Sony do?

Mature games? Nothing new. Mortal Kombat, Chiller, Shadowgate, etc. were available long before Sony entered the market.

Great IPs? Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Mega Man, Street Fighter etc. were already available elsewhere.

Sports games? Madden, NHL, WWE, FIFA, MLB, etc. were staples of gaming since the 80's.

CD Roms? Tons of consoles already released CD Rom games.

Even some of the bigger PS1 titles (Tomb Raider, Resident Evil) were available on Sega Saturn. So, what was it about the PS1 that made the industry explode the way it did? I experienced it and I still don't get it! Did everyone just fuck up so much that Sony won by default? Were Sony such masters of gaming and marketing right out of the gate? Enlighten me.

I'm not going to argue individual points but, I was 16 in 1995 and I witnessed it first hand. All of a sudden, it was "cool" to play video games and everybody wanted this new game system called Playstation.

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Azhraell on 14 November 2013

MontanaHatchet said:
Sony's main triumph was reaching consumers in Europe and emerging markets IMO. Both the SNES and Genesis sold about 8 million in Europe. The PS1 sold about 33 million. Sony made gaming into a true worldwide phenomenon.

This. I couldn't have said it better. Besides, the PS1 was the perfect combination of first and third-party support, no one can deny that.

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MikeRox on 14 November 2013

Agente42 said:
http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/email-why-were-the-ps1-and-ps2-so-successful/

About the mith of PS1 and PS2

Interesting article, but flawed in it's conclusions. It views the marketplace as if it only exists in Japan and the US.

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Fusioncode on 14 November 2013

They marketed themselves to teenagers and adults rather than eight year olds. They also completely destroyed Nintendo's image by branding them as a kiddie company, a label which still holds to this day.

MikeRox said:

Agente42 said:
http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/email-why-were-the-ps1-and-ps2-so-successful/

About the mith of PS1 and PS2

Interesting article, but flawed in it's conclusions. It views the marketplace as if it only exists in Japan and the US.

The PSP and PS3 were successful, both sold around 80 million units so far. 7th and 8th best selling consoles in history. Vita is the only failure for Sony at the moment.

Sigs are dumb. And so are you!