Ken Kutaragi once again looks back at the birth of the PlayStation console

2025-10-20 21:53:50|Myriagame |source：minecraft skins

The birth story of PlayStation is already familiar: Sony teamed up with Nintendo, only to be betrayed on the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) booth and Nintendo instead announced a partnership with Philips.But PlayStation founder Ken Kutaragi does not regard Nintendo's console as a competitor, but believes that it "needs improvement."In the Japanese NHK documentary "New Project

During the interview, host Yoshio Arima described Kutaragi’s first encounter with the Famicom as “fated.”He bought one even before his children asked for it."Press the button, and there will be an immediate response; insert the cassette, and there will be a 'beep, beep, beep,' sound immediately, and the game will start immediately." Kutaragi recalled the shock at the time, and he immediately took apart the console.

"But this is another company's product, isn't it?" Yoshio Arima asked.Kutaragi responded simply: "Even if it belongs to others - no, it does not belong to 'others'. These things are part of the shared use and life of all of us."

"If a rice cooker doesn't work, you'll naturally think, 'Why is this thing designed like this?' You'll think you can change it. No, it's not 'should', it's 'must be'." Kutaragi then added, "In the final analysis, progress is continuous innovation, not just simple improvement."

It was this philosophy that ultimately led him to collaborate with Nintendo.At first, he participated in the research and development of the SFC sound chip, and later proposed a joint project: "Nintendo PlayStation".But this high-profile "Super Nintendo CD-ROM expansion component" project eventually fell through, and Kutaragi was furious.However, he finally saw a glimmer of hope in this "betrayal".

"In a way, this was an opportunity," he recalled. "We no longer had to be limited to Nintendo's platform, but we could target the entire computer entertainment field and launch a new project on our own terms."

Kutaragi established a small internal team and teamed up with Toshiba engineer Masahide Ohashi to re-develop PlayStation hardware from scratch.Before long, they faced an uphill battle convincing game developers to support the console.Unfortunately, since Sony is still new to the gaming industry, many developers aren't buying it.

"Let's wait until you sell 3 million units." Masatoshi Suzuki, deputy senior vice president of Sony's semiconductor department, once said at the time.

Luckily, Namco decided to take the plunge.The arcade giant also hoped to enter the home console market at the time, and its early support also led to other manufacturers.Soon, 60 companies (about 300 developers) joined the project.In December 1994, PlayStation was officially launched in Japan, and the 100,000 consoles prepared by Sony were sold out instantly.

The rest of the story has naturally been recorded in the history of gaming.The documentary ends with a warm feeling. This episode is specially dedicated to Masahide Ohashi, who died of cancer in February 1996.Currently, "New Project X" can be watched on the NHK official website, but you need to use a Japanese IP address and subscribe to the NHK Plus service.

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