For many years Nintendo was number one with it set of consoles. Nintendo was thought of as the only console manufacturer with a product dedicated to great gaming. However, something amazing happened on the consumer front, and that was talk of Sony about to produce a breakthrough gaming device, soon to be called the PlayStation.

Sony has always been at the forefront of consumer electronics. It is the undisputed king! Sony has given us the Walkman, an invention which has been the inspiration of the iPod. Sony and Philips were the first to create the CD technology we see today. As Nintendo approached Sony for help in creating a CD based console, and they began working together, problems started with contracts. In the end Sony released a product called the Sony PlayStation.

The results were amazing. People from all across the world were waiting for mass release for this amazing gaming device. People would pay extortionate amounts to get one shipped from Japan.

So, what has made the Playstation so popular? We know that Sony is at the forefront of technology innovation. They simply always amaze the world with there new inventions which people long for. The CD technology in the Playstation range of products has enabled the games to hold more information. And bigger space, allows bigger and better games.

The original Sony PlayStation was launched in Japan in 1994, and '95 saw the Sony PlayStation released all across the world. It shared a massive 11 years of availability, and in 2006 Sony stopped the production. However, that was not the end of the Sony Playstation; people just couldn't have enough of the high grade graphics available.

Sony came in with the Sony PlayStation II. A console which when released had exponentially better graphics, and games than the first. The bigger benefit was that it was backward compatible with existing PlayStation 1 games. This made getting the PS2 much more of a bargain.

The PS2 was so powerful that Japan initially imposed export restrictions on the PS2. The PS2 was even said to contain parts, especially its powerful graphics hardware, which could be used to simulate the effects of military ballistic missiles! No wonder it became so popular.

After its release in 2000, the PlayStation 2 only took 5 years to become the fastest selling console in history, selling a whopping 100 million units. In fact when it was released, due to shortages, many were sold on eBay for $1,000+!

The Sony PlayStation has transformed gaming. It took us out of that 80's arcade style games to today's photorealistic 3D games, and worlds which are as big and wide as our Earth! Sony has not stopped there with its great innovation technology. As Microsoft started on the road to creating gaming devices, they released the X Box, Sony made a comeback with the Sony Playstation 3 or PS3. This version contains hardware which makes it as powerful as a PC. Being designed for gaming, it will bring forth games which provide hours and hours of enjoyment with cutting edge graphics, never seen before.