How a decades-old snub by Japan’s Nintendo created a gaming giant
At the beginning of the 1990s, Sony had no intention of launching its own games console – until a conflict led to the PlayStation’s birth
Technically, the first Sony console was superior to the devices of its powerful competitors. But while Nintendo and Sega offered gamers a choice of hundreds of games, Sony only had a handful.
At that time, the company’s presence in traditional electronics and hi-fi stores was mainly limited to televisions and stereo systems. However, the successful models of the competition – in particular the Game Boy and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) from Nintendo, as well as the Mega Drive from Sega – were sold in toy shops, where the Sony brand was rarely seen.
The fact that Sony was unable to optimally prepare for the market launch of the PlayStation in 1994 has to do with an unusual backstory. As a major producer of consumer electronics, which had celebrated particular success with video recorders and the Walkman, the Sony Corporation kept its distance from game consoles.
