Happy 30th, PlayStation!

It was 30 years ago today, September 9th, after weeks of paying down my preorder and waiting impatiently for the "next generation" to arrive that I picked up my PlayStation console from Electronics Boutique in Holyoke, MA. I had taken the day off from my job to drive down and get the console, and I had saved enough money to pick up two launch games: Ridge Racer and NBA JAM: T.E. I also bought a "memory card", which was needed to save progress-- which I wanted for JAM.

If we back up a bit, my interest in the PlayStation stemmed from a local independent video game store in Springfield, MA. I had been invited to a special after-hours event to check it out. I was hesitant at first, as I was still enjoying my 3DO and soon-to-be-legacy 16-bit consoles. The later portion of the 16-bit era was still packed with great games. I was also just coming off of a long period of unemployment after being laid off from AT&T a year earlier.

That kind-of-indifference changed immediately as soon as I played Ridge Racer. I hadn't played the coin-op, so this was brand new to me. I remember the speed of the game standing out to me; seeing polygons move relatively smoothly was pretty new, although the 3DO was trying in this regard and felt like a step forward. But Ridge Racer was quick, colorful, and controlled so well. The music stays with me all of these years later, even though I was introduced to the concept of swapping out the game disc and putting in a music CD to race to.

I was in, and finding out that NBA JAM: T.E. was a launch-day title further fueled my enthusiasm. Screenshots in magazines made PlayStation JAM look like the arcade game, which is something the 16-bit machines just couldn't quite do. My dream of playing JAM just like the arcade, but at home, seemed within reach... and that's generally been my want for home video games for decades: The arcade at home. We don't think much about this in 2025, as emulation and technology have advanced so much that you can play arcade games on a pocket device these days-- but back in 1995, at least to me, stuff like this was a huge deal.

When preorders started for the PlayStation, I signed up quickly. Although I had several other consoles at home, the PlayStation was going to be my first "launch-day" machine. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to pay $300 right away, so I kept chipping away week after week. $10 one week, $25 the next, $5, the next... whatever I could afford. I received a disc for preordering, which I was told to hang onto until launch to see what secrets were contained on it. Notably, this disc introduced me to Korn, a group I'd not heard much of before then. But listening to the music tracks was all I could do for weeks, until September 9th rolled around.

As time crept by, I bought more magazines and even a PlayStation Buyer's Guide. The hype built as I kept paying down the preorder. It was a long summer, to be sure. The goal was slowly coming closer, and I had my console paid off about three weeks prior to launch day. It was now just a matter of crossing the days off on my calendar and waiting for the big day to arrive.

September 9th did indeed arrive, and I quickly drove to acquire my new machine. It was pretty sweet showing a receipt to pick up my PlayStation goodies instead of generating cash or paying with a credit card. It was a speedy trip home, followed by some quick setup with composite cables and power supply.

I quickly bolted upstairs to my bedroom and turned my Zenith TV on. This was it-- the payoff after weeks of waiting and hundreds of dollars saved. I popped NBA JAM: T.E. into the disc drive. The click of the Power button was followed by a deep, bassy sound... but my picture was bouncing for some reason. Figuring it was a TV setting, I adjusted the vertical hold, but nothing changed. Uh-oh. Did I get a lemon? I swapped out JAM for Ridge Racer, but got the same result.

"This can't be."

I gathered my PlayStation up, repackaged it into the box, and sped back to Electronics Boutique.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, my PlayStation isn't working right. The picture keeps bouncing."

"Did you try an RF adapter?"

"No. My TV has composite inputs that work with my other consoles."

"Okay, hang on."

The EB staffer processed my defective return, and once again, I drove home with a new PlayStation console.

I was a bit less excited this time as I made my way back inside of my house.

I hooked up the new machine, loaded JAM into the drive, pressed the power button, and... the same thing. Bouncing screen. I called Sony and they (unsurprisingly) had no answers. As a last-ditch effort, I took the console downstairs to my living room and tried that TV.

And, finally… success. I was able to enjoy the last few hours of my day hooping it up and racing in Ridge City. As it turns out, a small number of Zenith TVs had compatibility issues— and one of them was my bedroom TV. Go figure.

My living room TV would get a lot more use over the next year or so, until I would buy a Samsung GxTV.

The PlayStation was my go-to console from 1995-1999, before the Dreamcast muscled in… and despite competition from the Nintendo 64. Even into 2000, it sometimes stole the show from SEGA’s final console, thanks to a year of amazing releases, like Vagrant Story, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, and others. It wasn’t until I got my PlayStation 2 in early 2001 that the love faded. I never forgot, but the new generation of consoles was just so great that it was hard for me to look back.

It took until 2015 for interest to bloom again. The upcoming 20th anniversary of the PlayStation’s launch got me to thinking about the console, and I began collecting games for it once again. I started with mostly sports games, as they were more affordable, but as time went on, I expanded to other genres and higher price points. Many of the sealed games I bought for my ill-fated Unsealed series on YouTube were PlayStation games.

The adventure has continued ever since. 10 years later, my library of original PlayStation games has vaulted past the 1,100 mark, and I’m still adding to it today. In fact, RetroWorld Expo X is just days away, and I’ll be looking to see what else I can find. I realize that I have more games than I can ever play, but I look at it as a library that I can use for personal reference when thinking of a console that’s one of my three favorites ever.

The PlayStation will always hold the distinction of being the first console I ever bought at launch. It was the last console my paternal grandmother and best friend saw me enjoy before cancer snatched her away. It was the console that helped to win me a job at FuncoLand, thanks to a round of Hot Shots Golf with the district manager in 1998. It was the console that eased the pain of failed relationships, offered an escape after rough working days, and provided hours of fun to me over these past 30 years.

From Steve Race’s “$299” speech to housing plenty of games for me to discover well into the 21st century, the PlayStation will always be a part of my identity as a video game fan.