In the early 1990s, Ken Kutaragi and Sony sought to partner with Nintendo to develop an early version of the PlayStation, envisioned as a CD drive for the SNES. When this collaboration fell through, Kutaragi and Sony pressed on, launching the original PlayStation in 1994. Despite the console's eventual transformation of the video game industry, Kutaragi reflects on the skepticism he faced both within and outside Sony 25 years ago.
"We aimed to convey our enthusiasm," Kutaragi stated at the Tokyo Games Show, as reported by VGC. "We wanted to understand their expectations and what they didn't anticipate, so we engaged with them. We visited numerous companies, possibly hundreds, and met with many game developers. It was a memorable experience. They were uninterested. They merely advised, 'Don't pursue this. Multiple companies had tried and failed. You will too.' That was their counsel."
It's not surprising that not everyone shared Kutaragi's fervor for the project. Upon the PlayStation's market entry, Nintendo and Sega were the only significant console manufacturers. While Sony boasted more robust hardware than the Genesis, the SNES, or the 32X peripheral, Sega's Saturn was also launching around the same time. Had that system gained traction like Sony's PS, the console wars might have unfolded quite differently.
Microsoft encountered a comparable scenario in 2001 when it had to compete with Sega's Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. Sega soon withdrew from the console market, leaving Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft as the primary players. Across four console generations, Sony has remained one of the most influential companies in video games, all stemming from Kutaragi and his team's vision for gaming's future.
