What began simply as the name of a gray console from a newcomer to the game hardware business has grown into one of the most powerful and recognizable brands in entertainment. Sony's original PlayStation was borne out of a failed development deal with Nintendo for a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo. However, rather than scrap the project, Sony pushed ahead with it, turning an add-on into a full-fledged console that would come to be synonymous with gaming, much the way Nintendo itself defined and was identified with gaming starting in the 1980s.
The console ran against the Sega Saturn and later the Nintendo 64 console, but a versatile software line-up and well conceived marketing eventually gave them a lead that would last through the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and only began to lose steam during the early years of the PlayStation 3. It was during that time that Sony started making some bad decisions, used unfavorable viral marketing campaigns, and made lofty assumptions about how willing consumers would be to pony up the $500+ asking price for the new machine.
Regardless, the brand name has stood strong through four consoles and, while it has slowed a bit, it's nowhere near defeated.
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