Nuon consoles were basically DVD players that played games. The PlayStation 2 (PS2) was a game machine that also played DVDs. And it was the console from the three major hardware manufacturers, Nintendo, Sega and even SCE, that could play DVDs.
While the Xbox garnered much attention throughout the year, it was nothing compared to what SCE mustered. The PS2 i en in in e i ion that usually ignored videogames. The Wall Street Journal called it “Sony’s Trojan Horse,” a device that would enter households as a videogame console but wind up being an all- purpose entertainment system. Trip Hawkins who had failed in a similar attempt with his 3DO console, said that the “PlayStation 2 [would] do for entertainment what Johannes en e ’s movable type did for printing.” With more hype preceding it than any other gaming console in history, SCE released the PS2 on March 4 to record crowds in Japan, where excitement for the new console began to intensify one week prior to that date. In Akihabara, Tokyo’s electronic district, people began camping outside shops on March 1, knowing that stores would distribute the PS2 on a first-come, first serve basis.
Check out more of the rich history of the industry in Leonard Herman’s book Phoenix IV available at Rolenta Press www.RolentaPress.com and make sure to sign up to get Old School Gamer Magazine for free by clicking here!
