Since the day it debuted in Japan in late 1994, PlayStation has been a giant in the games industry. Saying that is, frankly, quite an understatement. PlayStation established itself as a major players in gaming at its very inception, and crucially, has followed up on that with many years of improvements and major successes. Of course, it’s not all been smooth sailing- like pretty much every major company in the games industry, Sony has made and continues to make its fair share of bad decisions, and has often seen the dire consequences of those bad decisions. If, however, you were to both look at PlayStation right now, and look holistically at what it’s achieved throughout its history, you can’t think of many other brands in the games industry that come close.
What’s the secret sauce then? What’s the key to PlayStation’s success? What exactly are the parts of Sony’s strategy that the company has nailed down so well that it only seems to be going from strength to strength, even after the massive numbers it’s seen over the years, with no signs of stopping down? The answer to that, as you might imagine, is multifaceted – you can’t boil down years of sustained success to just a few points, after all – and depending on how far back you’re looking, the answer might also vary a bit.