Chapter 3.2

Sony PlayStation (1995)

History

From the 1970s into the 1990s, the home videogame industry had been dominated by three companies: Atari, Nintendo, and Sega. Nintendo had managed to buck Atari from the top spot, a feat made easier thanks to the Great Videogame Crash. Atari’s failed Jaguar (launched on November 15, 1993) was the last time the former giant’s brand would grace a console. With Atari out of the picture, Nintendo and Sega settled in for what would hopefully be a long and relatively unchallenged rivalry for control of the console market.

When Sony announced its new PlayStation console, the executives at both companies had little reason to panic. The PlayStation seemed like only the latest in a line of failed CD-based systems. ...

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