Sony PlayStation evolution: From 480p to 4K

A triangle, a circle, a square and a cross walked into a bar. What came out was the world’s most popular gaming console series of all time. Nearly 30 years since its inception, Sony’s PlayStation consoles have sold over 500 million units.

To give you some context, that number is greater than the population of the US, UK and Canada put together. It only gets DualShock-ing when you realise Sony wasn’t even in the gaming business until consoles reached their fifth generation, and names like Atari and Nintendo had become mainstream for over a decade.

Ahead of the new PlayStation 5 Slim hitting stores across the world, here’s a look at the history and evolution of the Sony PlayStation series, from its 32-bit beginnings in the 90s to today’s models capable of gaming in Virtual Reality. Let’s go!

Sony PlayStation (1994)

The first Sony PlayStation was launched on December 3, 1994 in Japan. The console had a very different design compared to today’s PlayStations, but largely consisted of a central console and a wired DualShock controller with buttons to control gameplay and to navigate through menus.

ALSO READ: How to connect a PlayStation to a TV

The original Sony PlayStation was a fifth-gen gaming console, which meant it belonged to the 32-bit era and was among the first devices capable of recreating 3D graphics. An optical disc storage allowed the console to load games of up to 650MB. The specifications included 2MB RAM and 1MB VRAM.

The first PlayStation could indulge in games that included the very first Gran Turismo, a racing title which went on to become the best-selling PlayStation game with 10.85 million units shipped. The game maxed out at 480p at the time, which is 1/8^th the size of 1080p titles of today.

Needless to say, the PlayStation was revolutionary in the gaming and the technology space at large. It gave gaming and games an interactive experience like never before, and one that continues to shape the ethos of console and PC gaming to date.

Six years after the launch of the PlayStation, Sony also launched the PlayStation One (or the PS One) a revamped version of the console with small changes. The new console was smaller, more compact, and featured support for accessories like a 5-inch LCD add-on and a car cigarette lighter adapter. However, the year 2000 would be known for the launch of the real successor to the Sony PlayStation – the PlayStation 2, which also launched the same year.

Sony PlayStation 2 (2000)

The Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) succeeded the PlayStation and the PS One and was Sony’s first sixth-generation gaming console. Next-gen 128-bit graphics not only brought more realism to the 3D gaming from the PS One, but also improved on connectivity aspects including internet connectivity and storage. The latter, by including a new DVD drive that could understand and interact with advanced DVD discs instead of standard CDs, allowing bigger game sizes.

Influence from other consoles at the time also influenced the PS2 era. This included a network adapter that could allow users to directly connect their ethernet port into the console, something that rival console Microsoft Xbox had by default at the time. This made online gaming a possibility for many gamers for the first time, and multiplayer gaming began growing exponentially.

Games for the PlayStation 2 including early titles like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Grand Theft Auto III. Later ones like God of War II and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas were higher resolution and could leverage advanced specifications like the 29.25MB RAM and 8.94 times faster CPU speeds to deliver a more varying gaming experience. Racing games now had more cars and tracks, while open world titles could load bigger worlds. Multiplayer and co-op gaming also improved with the Sony PlayStation 2.

Just like its predecessor, the Sony PlayStation 2 also had multiple versions, including the 2004 PS2 Slimline which was yet again, a slimmer version of the original console. There was also a lesser-known Sony Bravia KDL-22PX300, a 2010 TV with a built-in PS2 console!

Looking back, the PlayStation 2 wasn’t just the successor, but also a gaming console that made 3D gaming popular. That’s because the console would go on to become the best-selling game console of all time, selling over 155 million units, and supporting over 4,000 games until 2012 when Sony stopped selling the console in favour of later models, including the Sony PlayStation 3.

Sony PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita

Breaking the monotony of generational PlayStation upgrades every few years was the Sony PlayStation Portable, or as fans would recall it, the PSP. Unlike other models, the PlayStation Portable was aimed at bringing the PS gaming experience in the palm of your hands for when you’re away from home.

It featured a 4.3-inch TFT colour display with the usual DualShock controller buttons on either side. The approach was an instant-hit, and the PSP quicky started turning into a staple during road-trips, picnics and other outings.

A seventh-generation console, the PSP was capable of 3D gaming with graphics that were ahead of most of the handheld consoles at the time, including the Nintendo DS and the Gameboy. But there was more.

Beyond gaming, the PSP was also a very capable multimedia device. Sony CEO Ken Kutaragi also called the mini console the “Walkman of the 21st century,” praising its landmark multimedia capabilities.

The compact optical disc drive of the console also allowed it to read UMD discs which were available for both games and movies at the time. This also gave the PSP an edge over rivals like the Nintendo DS. All this made the Sony PSP an all-round entertainment device that you could take with you anywhere.

The PSP would get numerous revisions and editions, including the PSP 1000, 2000, 3000, the PSP Go, which featured sliding controls, and the PSP Street. Sony would go on to succeed the PSP with the PlayStation Vita years later in 2011, adding more performance and networking capabilities in line with the then flagship console, the PlayStation 3.

Sony PlayStation 3 (2006)

The Sony PlayStation 3 was the very first PlayStation I could understand, and more importantly, appreciate as a 10-year-old in 2006. Just like the last upgrade, the PS3 improved on the same pillars – storage, performance and connectivity.

But if you ask me, I feel Sony also stepped up its design-game when it came to the PS3, now offering a minimal, sleeker looking chassis that looked futuristic compared to the older versions. But then again, it was years ahead in terms of technology.

This is because the Sony PS3 was the first console ever to use a Blu-Ray disc drive as its primary storage medium, which could store exponentially more data than CDs and DVDs. The component also allowed the PS3 to double-up as a Blu-Ray player.

However, due to Blu-Ray perks being an untapped pool at the time, the PS3 would receive criticism in its early years for its higher prices compared to previous iterations. The reception would get better in the years to come as more games would leverage the capabilities of the PS3. Additionally, the PS3 sported DualShock 3 controllers which were now wireless for the first time.

Speaking of its capabilities, the Sony PlayStation 3 also integrated the PlayStation Network into its architecture, adding a social touch to gaming. With concepts like in-game friends and leaderboards coming into the picture, gaming was gradually transforming into a more social experience where you could ‘challenge’ friends, flaunt achievements and more.

Other improvements, besides a more powerful processor and GPU, included HDMI support, which allowed the PS3 to connect better with televisions and displays. The performance bump also meant the PS3 could now play high definition (HD) games that had much more resolution and detail, while elements like in-game lighting and shadows took a big step towards the more realistic graphics games are associated with today.

The Sony PS3 also had a slim model, as well as a super-slim model that launched in the later years. Like you’d expect, these offered a compact design to the PlayStation 3 formula, with few, minor changes in terms of internal hardware and software.

Sony PlayStation 4 (2013)

Entering the era of PlayStation consoles that are still popular and in use, we have the Sony PlayStation 4, which launched in 2013 as the brand’s first eighth-generation console.

The Sony PlayStation 4 brought in a lot of next-gen changes compared to its predecessor, including HDR10 support, a new DualShock wireless controller with improved analog sticks, buttons and an integrated touchpad which made navigation a breeze in menus. The Sony PS4 was also the first console to use an AMD CPU at its core.

The console was able to read Blu-Ray discs thrice as fast as the PS3 and came with both Wi-Fi and ethernet connectivity, offering users the choice to go wired or wireless. Alongside two USB ports and an auxiliary port, the PS4 also came with a new Orbis operating system that featured more customisability, and the interface could also directly access streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video.

Livestreaming support was added to the new console, which allowed gamers to stream their gameplay in real-time to platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, while also watching others’ streams for guided walkthroughs or simply for fun. The PS4 also added voice input functionality, letting users speak to the console to execute tasks like starting games or taking screenshots.

The PS4 also got a Slim version in 2016, but more important was the PlayStation 4 Pro, which also launched in the same year. Sony’s first Pro iteration of one of its consoles, the PS4 Pro was capable of delivering up to 4K resolutions instead of 1080p, allowing users with higher-end displays to make the most of the extra pixels. The Pro featured an overclocked CPU and a more powerful GPU to make this possible.

Sony PlayStation 5 (2020)

Nearly three years ago in 2020, Sony announced the much-awaited Sony PlayStation 5. The new console massively improved on the gaming performance and capabilities of the console.

With more powerful internals than ever before, a switch to Solid State Drive (SSD) storage with near-instant load times, and support for UHD Blu-Ray discs, the Sony PS5 became a hit right at launch. Along with factors like the global chip shortage, this meant that for most of the world, the console was hard to get without paying marked up prices for a whole year after launch.

Next-gen was an understatement for the Sony PlayStation 5. The console was capable of 4K resolution gameplay just like the PS4 Pro, but at 120 frames per second, making gameplay much smoother on supported titles. Hardware-accelerated ray-tracing also helped lighting and reflections look much more realistic. The PS5 also supports 8K, which isn’t widely adopted yet, but does makes the console future-proof.

Major changes also came to the new DualSense controllers, which now featured adaptive triggers for adaptive and varying feedback on the trigger buttons, as well as a built-in microphone for in-game voice chats, all packaged in a new design. This was succeeded by the DualSense Edge earlier this year, which added more customisability to the controller.

The Sony PS5 also became the first in the to come in two distinct versions right at launch. The PS5 Disc Edition and PS5 Digital Editions were launched together, with the latter omitting the UHD Blu-Ray Disc drive in favour of a more affordable launch price. This was possible because of the growing popularity of digital games, and is a trend Sony could continue to follow in the coming years.

The PlayStation 5 is also joined by Sony’s entry in the gaming accessories segment, from gaming headphones under the InZone brand to PS5 accessories like the Pulse 3D headset, the PlayStation Portal, and the PlayStation VR series, which use a headset and redesigned, individual controllers to enable gameplay in Virtual Reality (VR) for supported titles.

The way forward

While we’re still years away from a proper PS5 successor and the next generation of gaming consoles, some of Sony’s newer products have painted a picture of what we could expect.

ALSO READ: Sony PS5 Slim makes the beloved PlayStation 5 slimmer, lighter

With technology increasingly heading to the AR/VR space, expect the next PlayStation console to pack more support for headsets. I also see games being more social than ever, and elements like multiplayer and co-op gradually becoming the default in gaming. While I don’t feel the same way about Blockchain integration to power in-game non-fungible tokens (NFTs), that’s a mystery I’ll leave for the days ahead.