PlayStation (brand)

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The PlayStation brand is a line of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, occupying the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations. The numbered series and PlayStation Portable has shipped a total of over 310 million units.

Contents 1 Distinguishing features 2 Consoles 2.1 PlayStation 2.2 PlayStation 2 2.3 PlayStation 3 2.4 Comparison 3 Handheld systems 3.1 PocketStation 3.2 PlayStation Portable 4 Media Centers 5 References

[edit] Distinguishing features

Unlike its competitors, which largely use face buttons on their controllers denoted by letters (generally A, B, C, X, Y, Z), PlayStation controllers uses shapes; namely ('Triangle'), ('Circle'), ('X') and ('Square'). The 'X' button was mentioned as a 'Cross' in some Playstation games, but not in many.

The Select button is a raised rectangular button while Start is a raised right-pointing triangle. It was the first controller design to feature 4 buttons on the top [L1, L2, R1, R2] (named by the side [L=Left, R=Right] and 1 or 2 [top or bottom] and commonly referred to as shoulder buttons).

Beginning with the PlayStation 3, a 'PlayStation button' (featuring the incorporated PS logo and similar in function to the Xbox 360 "X" logo button, but the PSP had the "home" feature before the Xbox, and at E3 2005, the PS3 was shown with the "home" button) was added to the controller, in place of the 'Analog' button.

The Analog button activated the analog sticks on the Playstation and Playstation 2 Dual Analog, DualShock and DualShock 2 controllers.

On the Playstation 3 Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers they are either both in use and have different purposes.

The PS button on the PS3 brings up the PlayStation 3 home screen (similar to a PC "desktop" screen) while holding it down brings up system options (such as quit the game, change controller settings, turn off the system, and turn off the controller).

[edit] Consoles

[edit] PlayStation

The original PlayStation, released in December 1994, was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation series of console and hand-held game devices, which has included successor consoles and upgrades including the Net Yaroze (a special black PlayStation with tools and instructions to program PlayStation games and applications), "PSone" (a smaller version of the original) and the PocketStation (a handheld which enhances PlayStation games and also acts as a memory card). By March 31, 2005, the PlayStation and PSone had shipped a combined total of 102.49 million units,^[1] becoming the first video game console to reach the 100 million mark.^[2]

[edit] PlayStation 2

Released in 2000, 15 months after the Sega Dreamcast and a year before its other competitors, the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube, the PlayStation 2 is part of the sixth generation of video game consoles, and is backwards-compatible with most, if not all, original PlayStation games. It has also been released as a media center configuration and also, like its predecessor, a slimmer redesign. It is the best-selling console to date,^[3][4] having reached over 140 million units in sales as of July 20, 2008.^[5] On November 29, 2005, the PS2 became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch. This achievement occurred faster than its predecessor, the PlayStation, which took "9 years and 6 months since launch" to reach the same benchmark.^[2]It is the most popular console in the series.

[edit] PlayStation 3

Announced at E3 2005, the PlayStation 3 is the third and current iteration in the series. It was released on November 11, 2006. It competes with the Xbox 360 and the Wii in the seventh generation of video game consoles. It introduces the use of the Sixaxis wireless controller along with other features, such as Blu-ray and being also to see in Full High-definition resolution. The PlayStation 3 comes in 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, and 160 GB which is the current model. As of July 1st, 2009, the PlayStation 3 has sold 35 million units worldwide, according to Sony Computer Entertainment.^[6]

[edit] Comparison

Name	PlayStation 1	PlayStation 2	PlayStation 3
Console Launch price	¥39,800[7] US$299[8] £299[9]	¥39,800[7] US$299[8] £299[9]	¥49,980 (20 GB)[7] US$499 (20 GB),[8] US$599 (60 GB)[8] €599 (60 GB)[9] €449 (160GB)[10], £350 (160GB)[10]
Release date	JP December 3, 1994[7] NA September 9, 1995[8] EU September 29, 1995[9] AUS November 1995[11]	JP March 4, 2000[7] NA October 26, 2000[8][12] EU November 24, 2000[9] AUS November 30, 2000	JP November 11, 2006[7] NA November 17, 2006[8] EU March 23, 2007[9] More...
Units sold	102.49 million shipped, including 28.15 million PS one units (as of March 31, 2007)[1]	140 million (as of July 20, 2008)[5]	21 million (as of February 1st 2009)[6]
Best-selling game	Gran Turismo, 10.85 million shipped (as of April 30, 2008)[13][14]	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 17.33 million shipped (as of March 26, 2008)[15]	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, 4.5 million (as of December 31, 2008)[16]
Media	CD-ROM-based media	DVD-ROM/CD-ROM	2x BD-ROM (72 mbit/s), 8x DVD, 24x CD, 2x SACD
Included accessories and extras	RFU Adapter Controller	DualShock 2 Controller Composite AV cable	Internal hard drive (20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80GB or 160GB included with purchase) Wireless DualShock 3/SIXAXIS controller Composite AV cable Ethernet cable USB cable
Accessories (retail)	Multitap (up to 8 players) Fishing reel controllers (Bass Landing and Reel Fishing) Dual Analog Controller DualShock GunCon Jogcon Konami Justifier NeGcon PocketStation Flightstick Memory Card S-Video cable AV Cable (Composite) Euro-AV Cable (RGB-SCART) RFU Adapter	Driving Force Steering Wheels with Force Feedback DualShock 2 Onimusha 3 Katana controller PlayStation 2 HDD Internal hard drive supported by PlayStation 2 Expansion Bay (model 30000 and 50000 only) Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controller EyeToy PlayStation 2 Headset PlayStation 2 DVD remote control Network adapter Built-in for slim case model (PSTwo, model 70000) Memory Card (8MB) (for Playstation2) Guitar Hero SG Controller 'Buzz' Controllers (with all versions of Buzz) Trance Vibrator (Japanese Special Edition of Rez) Light gun (GunCon 2) Multitap (multi-controller adaptor) Component AV cable S-Video cable Euro-AV Cable (RGB-SCART) AV Cable (Composite) AV Adaptor RFU Adapter Microphones (with Karaoke Revolution and SingStar games only) USB Mouse & Keyboard Headset Vertical Stand Horizontal Stand	PlayStation Eye SIXAXIS Wireless Controller DualShock 3 Wireless Controller Blu-ray Remote Control S Video Cable Component AV Cable HDMI Cable AV Cable (Composite) PlayTV Guitar Hero III Gibson Les Paul Controller RockBand 1&2 Fender Stratocaster Controller Ion Drum Rocker RockBand Drums RockBand Mic Guitar Hero IV Guitar Controller Guitar Hero IV Gibson Les Paul Bass Guitar Controller Guitar Hero IV Drums Controller Guitar Hero IV Mic
CPU	MIPS R3000A-compatible (R3051) 32bit RISC chip running at 33.8688 MHz	300 MHz MIPS "Emotion Engine"	Cell Broadband Engine (3.2 GHz Power Architecture-based PPE with eight 3.2 GHz SPE)
GPU	N/A	147 MHz "Graphics Synthesizer"; fill rate 2.352 gigapixel/sec; 1.1 gigapixel w. 1 texture(defuse); 588 megapixel/sec w. 2 textures (2 defuses or 1 defuse map and other(0 around 74 mill, 1 around 40 mill, 2 around 20 mill); 2 textures per pass Capable of multi-pass rendering; Connected to VU1 on cpu (a vector only for visual style coding things with 3.2Gflops) to deliver enhanced shader graphics and other enhanced graphics	550 MHz RSX (based on NVIDIA G70 architecture)
Online service	N/A	Non-unified service	PlayStation Network Arcade Currency based store Internet browser Webcam (including PlayStation 2 EyeToy), headset, PlayStation Home
Backward compatibility	N/A	PlayStation	20 GB, 60GB: All Playstation 2 titles Original 80GB: Most PlayStation 2 titles; future firmware updates will provide more compatibility.[17] European version offers limited compatibility, but HDTV upscaling to 720p or 1080i.[18] 40GB: No support for PlayStation 2 titles, support for PlayStation titles. 80 GB models sold after August 2008 price cut: No support for PlayStation 2 titles, support for PlayStation titles. 160GB: No support for PlayStation 2 titles, support for PlayStation titles.
System software	N/A	proprietary OS, Linux DVD Playback Kit	XrossMediaBar (XMB)
System software features	N/A	N/A	Operating Systems can be installed and run via a hypervisor Audio file playback (ATRAC3, AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA) Video file playback (MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264-AVC, DivX ) Image editing and slideshows (JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP) Mouse and keyboard support Folding@Home client with visualizations from the RSX
Consumer programmability	Requires the Net Yaroze kit	Yabasic software, Linux for PlayStation 2	Development on console via free Linux platform or PC.

[edit] Handheld systems

[edit] PocketStation

Created as a peripheral for the PlayStation entertainment system, the PocketStation can also function as a clock and PlayStation format Memory Card. Multiplayer gaming is achieved through infrared data link.

[edit] PlayStation Portable

First unveiled by SCEI in 2004, the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was released in March 2005. It utilizes an all-new proprietary optical storage medium known as UMD (universal media disc). The first major hardware revision, Slim and Lite, was released in September 2007. As of June 26, 2008, 37 million PSP units have been sold. The current revision of the PSP, the PSP 3000, added some additional features, including a microphone for use in Skype, as well as an updated screen.^[19]

[edit] Media Centers

The PSX was all-in-one digital video recorder with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 integrated. Was released in Japan only.

[edit] References

v • d • e The PlayStation brand Consoles PlayStation · PlayStation 2 (PSX) · PlayStation 3 Handhelds PocketStation · PlayStation Portable (Slim and Lite · 3000 · Go) Games PlayStation Games (PSOne Classics) · PlayStation 2 Games · PlayStation 3 Games · PSP Games · PlayStation Network Games Greatest Hits · Platinum · The Best Online services PlayStation Network · PlayStation Store · PlayStation Home · Qore · VidZone · Adhoc Party for PlayStation Portable Controllers Analog Joystick · Dual Analog · DualShock · Sixaxis · PlayStation motion controller Cameras EyeToy · PlayStation Eye · Go!Cam Kits Net Yaroze · Linux for PS2 · Linux for PS3 · PlayTV System software PS3 · PSP · XrossMediaBar Media PlayStation Official Magazine · PSM3 · PlayStation: The Official Magazine · Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine · Official UK PlayStation Magazine · PlayStation World