PS1 Reaches 100million mark!

[Ladic]

PlayStation: 100,000,000 served

Sony's first console did pretty well.

May 19, 2004 - Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that as of 5/18/2004, the original PlayStation console has managed worldwide shipments of 100,000,000 units. This, according to the company, makes it the first home game console to achieve this feat.

When split across the world, shipments for the PlayStation have been most impressive in North America with Europe coming in a close second. Since release on 9/9/1995, North America has seen shipments of 39,670,000 units. Europe, since release on 9/29/1995, has seen shipments of 39,610,000 units. Japan and the rest of Asia has managed shipments of 20,720,000 units.

The PlayStation system has seen release in a total of 120 countries throughout the world. The company attributes the 2000 PS One redesign and its effect on overseas sales as having contributed to the record hardware units sold, a feat which comes nine and a half years following the PlayStation's original Japanese release on 12/3/1994.

Other impressive figures come from software associated with the system. Worldwide, 7,300 PlayStation titles have seen release (we presume this figure includes multiple versions of the same game released in different territories) totaling 949,000,000 million pieces of software.

And the system continues to sell. 2003 saw shipments of 3.31 million PSOne systems and 32,000,000 pieces of PlayStation-compatible software as the system approaches its tenth anniversary.

http://psx.ign.com/articles/516/516828p1.html

[Apollo Leader]

Very impressive! I wonder what console system ranks #2? It's probably either the NES/Famicom or SNES/Super Famicom.

[SuperOstrich]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

[Ali Sama]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

I still have mine. and it works.

[NSJ23]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

I had 4 PS1's I only bought two. But the three that died were due to the old swap trick so I can't blame that on the crappy motor in the PS1.

[Ladic]

I've had 2 PS1's actually, one I sold to my cousin and the other one (used to be my brothers) I kept, and still works, and it's mod chiped.

[Max Jenius]

I never saw mine die, but I know a shitload of people w/ broken ones. That system is awesome though. Definitely was there for me when N64 didn't deliver.

[areaseven]

Bought mine modded in 1999. Sold it to a friend in 2001, who then sold it to another friend. Eventually got it back from that guy for free in 2002 when he got himself an XBOX.

Until now, it still works. Occasionally, I dust it off if I'm in the mood for VF-X2, Macross Plus Game Edition or Kamen Rider.

[Skull Leader]

Amen. There is a system with some staying power (the only other console to meet that in my eyes was the Neo Geo). I had two (one regular and one modchipped). I sold my regular one when I bought my PS2.

[Bloodcat]

Ahh the PS1. Never has a more crappy system done so well and been almost as poorly manufactured as the Atari 5200.

Well, the PS2 is trying of course.

Sony: Selling shoddily designed systems and still making money!

[Winkle]

The strenght of the PSX was that it's games were so easily pirated, and the system so easily modded for so cheap.

I wouldn't be surprised if like more then a 1/3 of the PSX sold were brought for that very reason.

And I got my PSX in 1996... it was a Japanese model that my uncle brought for me... we modded it and I had it going until 2000 just fine. Of course it eventually broke about 2 months before the PS2 launch because my buddy and I wore the motor down by playing it non-stop for about 48 hours... and then I got mad and chucked it at the wall, furthering the damage.

[Druna Skass]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

But still, even if someone had to buy another unit because one became kaput, they still bought another unit and Sony still sold another unit.

[Ali Sama]

The strenght of the PSX was that it's games were so easily pirated, and the system so easily modded for so cheap.

I wouldn't be surprised if like more then a 1/3 of the PSX sold were brought for that very reason.

And I got my PSX in 1996... it was a Japanese model that my uncle brought for me... we modded it and I had it going until 2000 just fine. Of course it eventually broke about 2 months before the PS2 launch because my buddy and I wore the motor down by playing it non-stop for about 48 hours... and then I got mad and chucked it at the wall, furthering the damage.

then the dreamcast should have been #1. thoes games are damn easy to burn and boot. NO chip needed.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I myself had three PS1's. First one was a first gen that you could spoof... motor went up in flames. Bought the next one when they switched from the 3 sepparate RCA jacks to the unified speical cable... that one's laser stopped working. Bought the third and last one when it became the "PSOne", the smaller white one. It lives to this day in a box in my closet next to my Super Nintendo in the land of forgotten games.

I loved my PS1 but damn that thing was a piece of crap.

[SuperOstrich]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

But still, even if someone had to buy another unit because one became kaput, they still bought another unit and Sony still sold another unit.

That's irrelevant. The numbers they print up during the lifetime of a system are used to show retailers how many potential game buyers there are out there. When in fact there are far less due to this very reason. There might be 100 million PS1's manufactured and shipped to stores, but I'll bet that less than a quarter of them still exist.

[Jolly Rogers]

Do the numbers still matter? I mean, are people actually still buying PS1 and PS1 games these days?

[Black Valkyrie]

It has my beloved Action/RPG of all time VALKYRIE PROFILE and what a soundtrack it has

[Black Valkyrie]

Do the numbers still matter? I mean, are people actually still buying PS1 and PS1 games these days?

Yes there are some people will still buy PSOne stuff, some of my friends do the PSOne books or Greatest Hits.

[JB0]

Ahh the PS1. Never has a more crappy system done so well and been almost as poorly manufactured as the Atari 5200.

Well, the PS2 is trying of course.

Sony: Selling shoddily designed systems and still making money!

HEY! I LIKE the 5200.

...

And it's only the controllers that are poorly engineered.

The PS1 ... is amazing.

How many companies can turn a product that overheats and dies just from being left plugged in while powered off(the first couple models of the PS1 had this flaw, including the first run of US decks) into a major success?

It's among the worst systems ever made, AND one of the most successful.

I blame this in large part on

A. Nintendo's incredible tardiness on Project Reality, as it was known when the PS1 and Saturn started dukign it out,

and B. the Saturn's near-total failure in America.

That left Sony with the only viable console for the largest part of the video game market untill Nintendo's system(renamed Ultra 64, then again to Nintendo 64) hit the shelves. And that was too little too late.

The PS2 is even more amazing. They turned a product that WAS NOT AVAILABLE into the hottest gift of the holiday season. They had people paying upwards of 1,000$ on eBay just to be the first to own a system with almost no games(and if you think that none of those eBay auctions were by Sony America...)

[Druna Skass]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

But still, even if someone had to buy another unit because one became kaput, they still bought another unit and Sony still sold another unit.

That's irrelevant. The numbers they print up during the lifetime of a system are used to show retailers how many potential game buyers there are out there. When in fact there are far less due to this very reason. There might be 100 million PS1's manufactured and shipped to stores, but I'll bet that less than a quarter of them still exist.

I thought the point was to see how many units they sold, not how many units are out there functioning.

[JB0]

I'm gonna say that without a doubt those numbers are misleading. How many people here had to buy more than one PS1 due to malfunction?

But still, even if someone had to buy another unit because one became kaput, they still bought another unit and Sony still sold another unit.

That's irrelevant. The numbers they print up during the lifetime of a system are used to show retailers how many potential game buyers there are out there. When in fact there are far less due to this very reason. There might be 100 million PS1's manufactured and shipped to stores, but I'll bet that less than a quarter of them still exist.

I thought the point was to see how many units they sold, not how many units are out there functioning.

That would be what they say.

What they IMPLY is that all of those systems are in use.

They want people to THINK there are 10 million people out there with PS1s.

[Commander McBride]

I blame the PS1's success on the strength of it's games, not on its hardware. The sheer number of great games, as opposed to the number of great games on N64 or Saturn made it a winner.

I can think of one game that was really a great game, the game that made you buy the console, on N64, and that was Goldenye.

In comparison, with PS1, you had Gran Turismo, MGS, FFVII-IX, Rige Racer, NFS, and so on.

Saturn had....what the hell did saturn have that was worth buying the console for, anyway?

[Jolly Rogers]

Saturn had....what the hell did saturn have that was worth buying the console for, anyway?

I didn't get mine until the system was virtual dead but there were quite a few great games on the system:

- Sakura Wars 1 & 2 (thankfully these have been ported to other consoles)

- Deep Fear (much better than Resident Evil - it's like a more sinister version of Cameron's The Abyss)

- the original Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren's Greed (what I bought the system for)

- The House of the Dead

- Evangelion games

- Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Remix

Of course, there's also the slew of 2D fighters that played better than their PS1 counterparts thanks to the ROM expansions.

[Druna Skass]

Saturn had....what the hell did saturn have that was worth buying the console for, anyway?

Well there was...

Macross DYRL

Guardian Heros

Well thats all I can come up with...

[JB0]

I blame the PS1's success on the strength of it's games, not on its hardware. The sheer number of great games, as opposed to the number of great games on N64 or Saturn made it a winner.

During the PS1 VS Saturn period it was a lot of mediocre or bad games VS a few good or great games.

In comparison, with PS1, you had Gran Turismo, MGS, FFVII-IX, Rige Racer, NFS, and so on.

Should I point out that most of those were released after the Saturn folded in America?

And personally, out of that list the only must-have title I see is MGS.

The others range from "don't care about racing games" to "moderately good" to "OH GOD WHY DID I SUBJECT MYSELF TO THIS?"(FF8).

Most of my favorite games haven't been the reason I got the system, they've been titles I picked up because I owned the system.

Things like Tales of Destiny, Valkyrie Profile, Bushido Blade... stuff most people overlooked, but turn out to be damn fine games once you get a copy.

The reason I got the system was Lunar: Silver Star Story.

Which turned out to be something of a slap to the face as a long-time Lunar fan.

Yes, The Silver Star needed a remake.

But completely rewriting the plot, making villians out of heroes, stripping out all the major "scary badguy actions" like enslavement and muder of entire cities of poor widdle humans, and just in general making a mockery of everything I loved about the game?

No thanks.

...

But that's a rant for another thread.

Saturn had....what the hell did saturn have that was worth buying the console for, anyway?

Enough, since in Japan it was going equal to PS1 untill Sega axed it for Dreamcast.

The Panzer Dragoon series would be my specific nomination, though. Or Albert Odyssey. Others might go for Shining Force 3, but I personally never cared much for strategy RPGs.

Heck, if Sega hadn't pissed Wokring Designs off, we might have got the Lunar remakes on he Saturn, and a good bit sooner than the PS1 versions.

But I can generate a list of reasons to own a Jaguar. Or even a Virtual Boy.

Every system has a few must-have games. EVERY system.

[JB0]

Of course, there's also the slew of 2D fighters that played better than their PS1 counterparts thanks to the ROM expansions.

ROM packs were rarely used. RAM expansions were what helped most games.

[Jolly Rogers]

Of course, there's also the slew of 2D fighters that played better than their PS1 counterparts thanks to the ROM expansions.

ROM packs were rarely used. RAM expansions were what helped most games.

Typo...

[Black Valkyrie]

Yup the Saturn was doing good in Japan and the far east, I have friends and cousins till now collect Saturn stuff.

The bad thing I really hate about the PS1 and PS2 is the controller very bad D button design especially with the fighting games MAN ! I broke so many of them and I never did this with any other system except with the SNES . The best controller of all time for me are Genesis and Saturn pads.

[JB0]

Yup the Saturn was doing good in Japan and the far east, I have friends and cousins till now collect Saturn stuff.

The bad thing I really hate about the PS1 and PS2 is the controller very bad D button design especially with the fighting games MAN ! I broke so many of them and I never did this with any other system except with the SNES . The best controller of all time for me are Genesis and Saturn pads.

Never had the tolerance to kill a PS1 pad.

Though it's given me a few blisters(there IS a reason I use 3rd party pads almost exclusively).

[Mechabuilder]

PSX was a grey piece of crap system that had LOTS of more crappy games!

The controller is only good for rpgs, and some driving once the dual shock came out. The d-pad is retarded, the buttons sink into the controller when pressed.

It was supposed to be the SNES cd-rom anyway.. Maybe thats why it never really felt like a finished system to me.

The PS2 is only different from the PSX in color, its a black piece of crap system that cannot show bright, vivid colors or any high contrast.

Also, the lenses are cheap. But it makes a great vaccum to suck up the dust in the carpet so later on you get the DRE. I made $140 in PS2 repairs just this morning! And they just keep on coming.

Whats sad is, the PSX actually lasts longer than the PS2. >_< YUCK!

PS: DISCLAIMER, Please, these are my OPINIONS

[SuperOstrich]

I thought the point was to see how many units they sold, not how many units are out there functioning.

Why? They sell hardware for either a loss or no-profit. They make ALL the money on the games, not the hardware. If most of those systems are not functioning or locked away in a closet, what's the point of printing the numbers? I'll tell you why. It makes the system appear more successful than it really is, which looks good to retailers. That's it.

The only numbers worth printing are software sales.

[Ladic]