PS1 History

Lara Croft on the cover of Next Generation in 1996. (Via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive.) #ps1 #psx #tombraider #playstation

The Japanese cover for Street Fighter Zero on the PS1 (the game was released as Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams in English). Image via MobyGames. #psx #playstation

Two designers wearing suit shirts and ties sat and stood behind an array of five monitors of various sizes, two of them small PVMs on a shelf, along with keyboards and other computer tools. Various development screens for Final Fantasy VII can be seen.

🕹️ Bytes of Gaming History ⌛

From the pages of Gamest magazine: a photographic glimpse into the heart of Squaresoft's offices in Japan during the development of Final Fantasy VII in 1996.

That's one helluva multi-monitor setup they've got there!

Amazing! Do you know which specific issue of Gamest this was in?

Part of an advert for Tekken 2 in Electronic Gaming Monthly, focusing on the assassin Nina Williams. (Via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive.) #ps1 #psx #playstation

Art included with U.S. release of Xenogears. (Image via MobyGames.) #psx #playstation #ps1

The third one reminds me a lot of the art from Xenogears!

Part of an advert for the American release of Chrono Cross (2000) in PSM. (Via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive.) #playstation #psx #ps1

PAL PS1 copies are quite expensive, congrats on picking one up!

Tekken 3 on the cover of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (May 1998), via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive. #psx #ps1

A drawing of Spyro the Dragon, stitched together from multiple drawings. There is whiteout visible on the drawings as they iterated on the character's design.

Closeup on art detail and whiteout.

Here's a big one...

Craig Stitt allowed us to scan the original concept art for Spyro the Dragon. The Insomniac artists matched heads and bodies together until they found the right design.

We scanned this at high resolution so you can see all the detail.

archive.gamehistory.org/item/86406ba...

YouTube video by GoldfingerVEVO Goldfinger - Superman (Official Audio)

'Superman' by Goldfinger was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (1999) on PS1. #playstation #psx
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvzi...

When I say Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the most important games ever made, this is why. I'm beyond excited Yasumi Matsuno is returning to this game, and a new generation gets a chance to experience it.

Final Fantasy IX, Alexandria. (Via Square Enix Music Channel.) #psx #playstation #ps1

A fun GDC surprises: A PS1-in-a-briefcase that PlayStation’s in-house preservation team believes may have been used to market the system in Europe the 90s

Sony’s @somecronzaguy.bsky.social brought it to his talk about how PlayStation is saving its history. More to come in Game File next week

Art included in the US release for The Legend of Dragoon on PS1. (Via MobyGames.) #playstation #psx

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on the cover of Electronic Gaming Monthly (Feb 1999), via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive. #playstation #ps1 #psx

Final Fantasy VIII, Deling City (screenshot via Square Enix Music Channel) #ps1 #psx #playstation

Advert for Vagrant Story (2000) in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. (Via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive.) #psx #ps1

The ad shows a costumed model (who is representing the main character from the game, Lenneth) holding a sword with a stone window serving as a backdrop. A release date is listed as 1999.12.9 (December 9th, 1999) with a retail price of ¥6,800 for the standard version and ¥9,800 for a "limited" version.

A pre-release 1999 ad from Japan for Valkyrie Profile on the Sony PlayStation, an RPG by tri-Ace and published by Enix

It would also get a North American release in 2000 introducing a new audience to the story of Lenneth (represented here by a model in costume) and her mysterious quest for souls.

The cover for Aconcagua (2000) a PS1 game that only released in Japan, but included English voice acting. (Image via MobyGames.) #psx #playstation

Advert for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (1999), in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. (Via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive.) #ps1 #psx

Front cover for Boku no Natsuyasumi (2000) on PS1. The game has never been released outside of Japan. (Image via MobyGames) #playstation #psx

An ad comparing the Sega Saturn vs. the PlayStation. All their arguments are about how Sony is new to video games and doesn't understand the business like Sega does, and also the Sega Saturn is more fun. There is conspicuously little mention of the PS1's hardware capabilities and software portfolio.

Newly scanned from us: an ad from the trade magazine Videogame Advisor (November 1995), which has Sega vainly telling retailers not to support PlayStation, right after the PS1 famously undercut the Sega Saturn

Basically the game industry version of "please don't put in the newspaper that I got mad"

An article in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Sep '99) about the PlayStation Store at the Metreon in San Francisco. (Via @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social digital archive.)

YouTube video by SQUARE ENIX MUSIC Channel [Video Soundtrack] Fight On ! [FINAL FANTASY VII]

The fantastic boss theme in Final Fantasy VII, 'Fight On!' (aka 'Those Who Fight Further'), by Nobuo Uematsu. #playstation #ps1 #psx
youtu.be/QYPgLFyrYoc?...

The Making Of: Ape Escape, Sony's Groundbreaking Platformer That Unlocked The DualShock's Potential "Most of the CG designers were college students doing part-time work"

"All the original development staff were people who didn’t have experience making games. Most of the CG designers were college students doing part-time work...". (Repost)

The Japanese cover for PS1 RPG Wild Arms (1996). Image via MobyGames. #psx #playstation

On this day 30 years ago, Sony made waves at E3 '95. Sega had just released the Saturn for $399, but Sony was prepared. During the PlayStation presentation, Steve Race, head of development at SCEA, confidently declared "299" and left.

Some of the art in the Arc the Lad Collection (2002) for the PS1. The collection released in America, but not Europe. (Image via MobyGames) #psx #playstation