PlayStation is a home console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released on December 1994 in Japan before releasing in North America and Europe in September 1995. It is the first console in the PlayStation line, and was a competitor during the fifth generation of consoles. It competed with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn, and was Sony's main game platform between 1994 to 2000, before getting discontinued in 2006.
The original PlayStation console, it was developed following a failed venture Sony had with Nintendo, to develop a CD-ROM system for Nintendo's SNES console. It was primarily designed by Ken Kutaragi, who would become the founder and first president of SCE. The console was designed to be streamlined and inclusive, which drew strong support from third-party developers. Sony founded or acquired several developers during and after the lifespan of the PlayStation console, including Psygnosis, Japan Studio, 989 Studios, Polyphony Digital, Bend Studio and Naughty Dog, while also receiving support from the likes of Insomniac Games, SingleTrac and Media.Vision.
In mid 2000, near the end of its lifecycle as Sony's primary console, the PlayStation was redesigned with a slimmer version called PS one, to distinguish it from its successor, the PlayStation 2.
The PlayStation console received critical acclaim for its strong game library, game prices and push towards 3D graphics, and was responsible for Sony's rise in power in the gaming industry. It enjoyed strong sales, and became the first computer game console to ship over 100 million units throughout its lifetime. The system continued to receive new titles until its discontinuation in 2006, a little less than a year before the debut of its second successor, the PlayStation 3. As of 2020, it is the third best-selling PlayStation, after the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4.