For years, the PlayStation brand has been synonymous with many things: fun, adventure, cinematic experiences, excitement. Just saying the name "PlayStation" conjures up so many things for so many people.
But, at the end of the day, PlayStation is still a business. And every business has its dirty little secrets. Even one dedicated to play.
Sony, the owner of PlayStation, is an international company with its hands in several different industries. With so many projects at work, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong, tensions to flare, and just plain weird stuff to happen. Take the famous Sony e-mail hacks of 2015, for example. One security breach was all it took to expose some major projects in the works at Sony, as well as some telling truths about its executives.
The hacks, however, happened in the current age of social media. Everybody heard about them because that's the world we live in. But Sony was at the center of many questionable things long before there was Twitter. PlayStation, in particular, has a long and sometimes sordid history. Some of it was Sony's fault, and some were things no one could see coming. This list contains 15 facts that Sony would probably prefer no one think about. Read on to find out the way PlayStation was born, how it can be used as a weapon of war, and what beloved classic PlayStation's creator hates with a burning passion.
via:assemblergames.com[/caption]
The original PlayStation games were printed on discs that were black on the bottom. Anyone who's ever seen a CD before knows that this is strange, as CDs have silvery bottoms. For years, gamers thought this was a stylistic choice, just Sony trying to look cool. But actually, Sony made the unique discs as a deterrent for pirates. Sony factories specially added a black film to normal discs, a process that would be difficult and time consuming for those who wanted to illegally copy PlayStation discs. They also thought that the black film would somehow interfere with disc readers, making it physically impossible to copy the disc. It's hard to say if this actually worked, but the lack of black PS2 discs might be all the answer we need.
via:businessinsider.com[/caption]
In 2000, computers were still something of an unknown to the average person. Yes, everyone had one at home, work, or school. But remember Y2K? The idea that anyone could hack into and manipulate life-changing information, or use powerful computers to take over the world was a favorite of Hollywood. Movies and TV, in turn, influenced what people thought machines were capable of. The World Net Daily, it seems, thought that the PlayStation 2 was capable of world domination. They reported that the reason for the holiday 2000 shortage of PlayStation 2 was Saddam Hussein buying thousands of them. By combining those powerful NVIDIA graphics card, Hussein was allegedly capable of creating some sort of super computer. Obviously, that didn't happen, but it is amusing to think that somewhere in an Iraqi fortress, there exists a kickass game room.
via: ps2museum.files.wordpress.com[/caption]
Back in the day (the day being 2004, of course), Sony had a fan club called PlayStation Underground. Its members would receive exclusive gifts and sneak peeks into upcoming games. For the holiday of '04, the gift came in the form of a demo disc. The disc previewed hot titles that would conveniently be available in time for holiday shopping. One of the more anticipated demos on the disk was for Viewtiful Joe 2. Unfortunately, it was also the source of a terrible glitch. When players booted up the Viewtiful Joe 2 demo with a memory card inserted into their PlayStation, the memory card would be totally erased. Once word got out on the internet, all Sony could do was apologize and warn players not to play the holiday demo disc with a memory card inserted. Too little, too late.
via: eurogamer.net[/caption]
Back in the 1990s, Nintendo was interested in moving into the disc format. It turned to Ken Kutaragi, who played a role in designing the sound chip for the Super Nintendo (SNES), to lead the creation of a Nintendo “Play Station.” This device was meant to be an attachment for the SNES that could play CDs. In the end, however, Nintendo ditched Sony to work with Philips. The reason? Nintendo wanted all of those sweet, sweet licensing rights. What wasn’t sweet was that Nintendo inadvertently gave birth to one of their biggest rivals. Kutaragi continued the PlayStation as its own thing, creating one of the pillars of console gaming. Still, Sony probably doesn’t want people to know that they wouldn’t even be in the gaming business were it not for Nintendo.
PS1 Disks Were Black Because It Made Them Harder To Pirate
[caption id="attachment_46059" align="alignnone" width="1600"]
via:assemblergames.com[/caption]
The original PlayStation games were printed on discs that were black on the bottom. Anyone who's ever seen a CD before knows that this is strange, as CDs have silvery bottoms. For years, gamers thought this was a stylistic choice, just Sony trying to look cool. But actually, Sony made the unique discs as a deterrent for pirates. Sony factories specially added a black film to normal discs, a process that would be difficult and time consuming for those who wanted to illegally copy PlayStation discs. They also thought that the black film would somehow interfere with disc readers, making it physically impossible to copy the disc. It's hard to say if this actually worked, but the lack of black PS2 discs might be all the answer we need.
Saddam Hussein Was An Avid PlayStation Collector
[caption id="attachment_46053" align="alignnone" width="1904"]
via:businessinsider.com[/caption]
In 2000, computers were still something of an unknown to the average person. Yes, everyone had one at home, work, or school. But remember Y2K? The idea that anyone could hack into and manipulate life-changing information, or use powerful computers to take over the world was a favorite of Hollywood. Movies and TV, in turn, influenced what people thought machines were capable of. The World Net Daily, it seems, thought that the PlayStation 2 was capable of world domination. They reported that the reason for the holiday 2000 shortage of PlayStation 2 was Saddam Hussein buying thousands of them. By combining those powerful NVIDIA graphics card, Hussein was allegedly capable of creating some sort of super computer. Obviously, that didn't happen, but it is amusing to think that somewhere in an Iraqi fortress, there exists a kickass game room.
The Holiday Gift Gone Wrong
[caption id="attachment_46054" align="alignnone" width="1920"]
via: ps2museum.files.wordpress.com[/caption]
Back in the day (the day being 2004, of course), Sony had a fan club called PlayStation Underground. Its members would receive exclusive gifts and sneak peeks into upcoming games. For the holiday of '04, the gift came in the form of a demo disc. The disc previewed hot titles that would conveniently be available in time for holiday shopping. One of the more anticipated demos on the disk was for Viewtiful Joe 2. Unfortunately, it was also the source of a terrible glitch. When players booted up the Viewtiful Joe 2 demo with a memory card inserted into their PlayStation, the memory card would be totally erased. Once word got out on the internet, all Sony could do was apologize and warn players not to play the holiday demo disc with a memory card inserted. Too little, too late.
PlayStation Was Born From a Failed Collaboration With Nintendo
[caption id="attachment_46048" align="alignnone" width="1280"]
via: eurogamer.net[/caption]
Back in the 1990s, Nintendo was interested in moving into the disc format. It turned to Ken Kutaragi, who played a role in designing the sound chip for the Super Nintendo (SNES), to lead the creation of a Nintendo “Play Station.” This device was meant to be an attachment for the SNES that could play CDs. In the end, however, Nintendo ditched Sony to work with Philips. The reason? Nintendo wanted all of those sweet, sweet licensing rights. What wasn’t sweet was that Nintendo inadvertently gave birth to one of their biggest rivals. Kutaragi continued the PlayStation as its own thing, creating one of the pillars of console gaming. Still, Sony probably doesn’t want people to know that they wouldn’t even be in the gaming business were it not for Nintendo.
Sega Didn't Think Sony Had What It Took To Make Games
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via: megagames.com[/caption]
If getting shafted by Nintendo wasn’t enough, Sony also got rejected by Sega. Sega were bitter rivals of Nintendo in the 90s, so the idea of “the enemy of your enemy is your friend” applied quite nicely here. Sony’s USA branch approached Sega’s USA branch proposing a collaboration on disc-based video games. They readily agreed, and went to Japan together to show an idea for a joint console to Ken Kutaragi. Kutaragi loved the idea, and wanted to move forward with a Sega-Sony console. Unfortunately, the dream was brutally destroyed by Sega’s Japanese board. They vetoed it hard, saying that “Sony doesn’t know how to make hardware.” This naturally soured the relationship between Sony and Sega. Sega even went as far as to release the Sega Saturn to ruin the PlayStation's launch.
via:gamesradar.com[/caption]
With all this talk of PlayStation, it's easy to forget that Sony also has an entire movie division. Or that they have the movie rights to Spider-Man, for that matter. But back during the PlayStation 3's creation, there was no Marvel Cinematic Universe. There was only the excellent, Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 (We don't talk about the other one). For some reason, the font created for the titles of the Spidey movies was also applied to the PlayStation 3. This weird synergy lasted for three years, until Sony decided to rebrand the console as simply "PS3" to make it easier to read. The new branding came complete with a new font, and just in time. No one would've wanted to see PS4 try to link up with the Amazing Spider-Man movies.
PS3 Used The Same Font As The Raimi Spider-Man Movies
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via:gamesradar.com[/caption]
Sony Quietly Settled A Lawsuit And Gave Customers Amazing Rewards
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via:twitter.com/CauseWereGuys[/caption]
In 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Sony Canada, and Toys R Us Canada were involved in a lawsuit over a PS2 defect. PS2s in North America allegedly displayed an error saying that there was no disc in the system, even when there clearly was. This left gamers unable to play certain games because the disc simply wouldn't read. A class action suit resulted in the three companies reaching a settlement. According to the terms of the settlement, qualifying PS2 owners were entitled to $25 USD, a free PS2 game from a pre-selected list, or free system repairs. How did one qualify? Well, they had to submit proof of purchase or repair via a website or postmarked claim to Sony. These claims also had to be filed within four months of the announcement. The kicker, though, was that Sony still stated that they were not at fault. It was just cheaper to settle than to fight in court.
The PS3 Sold At A Loss of $300 For Three Years
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via:dailystar.co.uk[/caption]
When it debuted in 2006, the PlayStation 3 was a huge risk. Sure, the PS2 was the most successful console of all time, but that had a lot to do with it also being a fantastic DVD/CD player. For PS3, Sony was pushing the untested format of Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray may be the standard now, but back in '06 its future was uncertain. There was the equally viable HD DVD, which was backed by Microsoft. Making Blu-Ray the PS3's selling point was not only risky, but costly. As were many other components inside the PS3. The NVIDIA Reality Synthesizer, the PS3's graphics chip, was the most expensive piece of hardware. The Blu-Ray player was second. Third was a CPU made by IBM. These costs added up to Sony losing $300 on each individual PS3 for its first three years.
For 15 Years, PlayStation Was Banned By the Chinese Government
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via:independent.co.uk[/caption]
China is one of the world's biggest gaming markets. They love World of Warcraft, in particular, even going as far as the make the badly-reviewed Warcraft movie a top-grossing film. With such an eager market, one would imagine that Sony would be tripping over itself to sell PlayStations in China. Unfortunately, from 2000-2015, it was illegal to do so. The government, fearing that the youth of China would be corrupted by video games, banned the sale of consoles. It didn't do a lot of good, however, as people still managed to get consoles into China via the grey market. Still, the Chinese market is dominated by mobile gaming. So Sony must've breathed a sigh of relief when the ban was lifted. No longer would they feel the sting of losing Saddam Hussein's massive console purchases.
Steve Jobs Emulated PS1 On Mac On Stage
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via: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrO44gTO1LIJSnnidZbul8w[/caption]
At MacWorld 1999, Steve Jobs took the stage for one of his famous demonstrations. At first, it was nothing too unusual. He unveiled the Power Mac G3 and new iMac. He talked specs and poked fun at Windows. But then, he did something very unusual. Crazy, one might even say. He booted up one of the new Macs and played Crash Bandicoot. On Stage.Via an unofficial emulator. Yes, to show the power of Mac, and to soothe fears that Macs can't run games, he played an illegal emulator of a PlayStation game in front of the press. Sony obviously wasn't happy. They took the emulator's developer, Connectix, to court. The result? The judge ruled in Connectix's favor. Great day for Apple, not so much for Sony.
Glasstron: The PlayStation VR's Dad
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via:theverge.com[/caption]
Virtual reality is a big thing in gaming these days. Stores still give demos, and there are always lines to strap on a headset and enter a new world. Perhaps one reason there are always lines for VR is because no one can actually afford it. Good VR headsets run around $800. Sony tried to make VR more consumer-friendly with the PlayStation VR, a $400 piece that works with the common PS4. It sold well during the 2016 holiday season, showing that people are willing to adopt VR once it's made affordable. But what many PSVR enthusiasts might not know is that Sony once sold a terribly expensive headset. The Glasstron ran for $800 in the mid-1990s, and didn't even feature full 3D graphics. Not many games actually used the Glasstron, so it ended up being pushed aside by history as a mere predecessor of the PSVR.
Ps2 Has Netflix Capabilities, But Only In Brazil
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via:forum.outerspace.com.br[/caption]
In the current age of consoles, Netflix is a given. The average American household uses their PlayStation 4 or Xbox One to binge watch as often as they use it for gaming, if not more so. That trend started with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Or so we thought. In reality, the Ps2 was perfectly capable of streaming Netflix. However, doing so required the insertion of a special disk. A disk that was only ever made available in Brazil. There's no explanation given by Sony or Netlfix as to why this is the case. At that point, the PS3 was available in the US, so perhaps it's as simple as Sony not wanting to draw attention to the aging console. We'll certainly never know, and Sony likes it that way.
The Forgotton Mascot
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via: wikipedia.com[/caption]
When the PlayStation first launched in Japan, it didn't have a mascot. This is understandable, as even Nintendo took the time to turn Mario into the icon that he is today. But Sony of America wanted something to throw their marketing efforts into, so they created Polygon Man. Polygon Man was a polygonal purple head who appeared in various commercials leading up to the PlayStation's North American launch. But his vital role in the company seemed to be decided without the consent of Ken Kutaragi, head of all things PlayStation. The story goes that he saw Polygon Man for the first time at Sony's E3 1995 booth. When he saw the would-be mascot plastered on the side of the booth, he threw a huge fit. After E3 was over, Polygon Man was never heard from again. (At least until he became a boss in PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale).
via:huffingtonpost.com[/caption]
Rebel armies have to be resourceful. They can literally live and die by their ability to make use of their surroundings. One group of rebels in Syria decided to make use of a knockoff PlayStation 3 controller to control their homemade tank’s weapon systems. Built on top of a regular car chassis, the “Sham II” had five cameras positions around the exterior. The gunner had a screen that displayed all of the camera’s feeds, and used the PlayStation-esque controller to aim the tank’s 7.62 mm machine gun. A YouTube video showing off the tank went viral back in 2012. They say no press is bad press, but Sony probably didn’t like its station of play being associated with a devastating conflict.
via: wikipedia.com[/caption]
When the PlayStation first launched in Japan, it didn't have a mascot. This is understandable, as even Nintendo took the time to turn Mario into the icon that he is today. But Sony of America wanted something to throw their marketing efforts into, so they created Polygon Man. Polygon Man was a polygonal purple head who appeared in various commercials leading up to the PlayStation's North American launch. But his vital role in the company seemed to be decided without the consent of Ken Kutaragi, head of all things PlayStation. The story goes that he saw Polygon Man for the first time at Sony's E3 1995 booth. When he saw the would-be mascot plastered on the side of the booth, he threw a huge fit. After E3 was over, Polygon Man was never heard from again. (At least until he became a boss in PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale).
Syrian Rebels Made A Tank That’s Controlled By a PS3 Controller
[caption id="attachment_46050" align="alignnone" width="1200"]
via:huffingtonpost.com[/caption]
Rebel armies have to be resourceful. They can literally live and die by their ability to make use of their surroundings. One group of rebels in Syria decided to make use of a knockoff PlayStation 3 controller to control their homemade tank’s weapon systems. Built on top of a regular car chassis, the “Sham II” had five cameras positions around the exterior. The gunner had a screen that displayed all of the camera’s feeds, and used the PlayStation-esque controller to aim the tank’s 7.62 mm machine gun. A YouTube video showing off the tank went viral back in 2012. They say no press is bad press, but Sony probably didn’t like its station of play being associated with a devastating conflict.
Ken Kutaragi Hated Crash Bandicoot
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via:emaze.com[/caption]
Perhaps Kutaragi just really hates the idea of mascots. Either way, reports say that he was staunchly opposed to Crash Bandicoot both as a character and a game. When Naughty Dog brought in the game, Kutaragi went on a tirade, calling it crap and too kiddie for the PlayStation brand. More measured accounts say that he was only trying to avoid PlayStation occupying a space already filled by Nintendo and Sega. To make Crash the face of PlayStation would be to make the console just another game machine with a cartoon mascot. However, he was outvoted, and Crash served his time appearing in commercials and being a beloved gaming icon. But perhaps he was right, as Crash did eventually disappear, and the PlayStation brand continues to be strong even without a specific mascot. It's almost like the man is a genius.