Poll: Did You Buy a PlayStation at Launch 25 Years Ago?

Yes I was there day 1 with WipEout, Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden I believe.

@kyleforrester87 Always assumed you were 87

Technically both “nah, I bought one, but not at launch” and “I wasn’t even born yet” count for me. I bought one about 5 years ago. Was born 5 months after it launched.

@ShogunRok he's 87 Every year?

@kyleforrester87 They'll never guess mine either 😉

I got my Playstation 1 in 1997 for my 7th birthday with Tekken 2.
Before that I had a Sega Megadrive which was the first console I ever owned. I also had a Nes and a Snes my uncle gifted me .
Needless to say I was a spoiled child. :3

Back when this came out I was waiting on the N64 because of Mario 64 and still playing my Megadrive and Super Nintendo. I first saw it at a friend's house who had Tekken and Resident Evil and eventually got one myself for Resident Evil 2

Oh yeahhhhh.in my macho man randy savage voice.i been with PlayStation. Since day 1 in September 9 1995.in queens new york.formerly a sega genesis fan.i was a fan of sony before the PlayStation.because of the sony walkman that i got.me and my friend was hype for PlayStation.i know PlayStation wasnt known for videos games.back in 1995 before the PlayStation.but we knew PlayStation was going be a game changer.playstation went from the underdog in 1995 to the 👑 king of gaming.i name myself PlayStation1995 because i was there from the beginning.word up sony

I had one on launch at every playstation console xd

I was a child, so no, but my family bought me one a year or two after launch. Great memories!

I didn’t have one until 2001. My mom bought it for my brother and me to help us cope with my dad’s passing.

Ahh i remember it well. Game (or at the time Electronics Boutique) in Gloucester. My dad picked it up for me with Tomb Raider 2, Wipeout 2097, Gran Turismo, and Resident Evil 2. I've been team Sony ever since.

I remember being blown away by it but it was almost so different. I'd been a mega drive guy, but i remember being super impressed by my friends N64 and Mario 64 in particular.

Fortunately Lara Croft was enough to sway me the other way and ive never looked back

I had a Jap one 6 months earlier, with Tekken and Ridge Racer - 20% faster (60hz) than PAL version, and NO borders. The UK always got shafted back then, with inferior, slower iterations of games. Saying that, I bought Wipeout day one, which played on my PSX0001 after a dodgy disk swap Ah the memories flood back

Think we had one about a year after launch. Tomb Raider absolutely blew my mind, just incredible.

No, I was way too young. My family did eventually buy a PS2 though.

Unashamed Gamer since xmas 83 when I got my zxSpectrum. Ive been here for every major release, from sensi soccer on amiga, sonic on megadrive, fzero on snes, road rash on 3do, tekken on ps1, got 120 stars on mario64, virtua fighter on saturn, everquest on pc, halo on xbox.. On and on and on..

Nah............the console war at the time was between Sega and Nintendo..........it took a bit for me to turn Sony. what with the P.C. Windows era.

@Royalblues for me back then the PS1 was the enemy, I was doing reconnaissance for team Nintendo... joking, but I never actually worked on any PS1 games. The first taste of Sony hardware for me was the PS2, then the PS3 nearly broke my will to live... I still have PTSD from the bloody SPE's...

But getting back to Battle Arena Toshinden, It was a really good launch fighting game. I think I personally loved WipEout most from the EU launch games. I went for an interview once at Studio Liverpool, or Psygnosis as they still were then, was gutted when they turned me down because it would have doubled my pay. lol.

I was just a kid, but a friend got one. I saw him play it once (we were never allowed in his house for some reason). In 1999 my family moved across the state. A week after the move my dad surprised us by taking us out and buying one for us because we "spent our whole summer helping prepare and move." It came with Coolboarders 2. After that, I got to work mowing lawns and funded all my games, then later every Playstation console.

Got mine in the uk in may 1996. Street Fighter Alpha, Ridge Racer Revolution, Battle Arena Toshinden 1 & 2 and Alien trilogy.
Suffice to say my final year exams suffered that summer. Sorry not sorry.

Why would an unborn fetus care about the first playstation console?

Acknowledged.

You mean did my parents get me one at launch (or ever)? No.

Nope, wasn't even born. My dad had one, twisted metal, Duke Nukem and one of the Star wars games were the only things he ever played. I was a PS2 kid

I was just finishing in Uni when it came out, and we were still getting mileage out of Sensible World of Soccer and Worms on the Amiga! So I waited a wee bit before getting the PS1. Continued from the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64. Incidentally, I just bought the C64 Mini, and the games are still brilliant!

I was there day one. I still remember it like it was 25 years ago.

I was a senior in high school and working at Software Etc in the mall. A friend at another store had had a Japanese unit running since spring and I was so excited to get my own! I drove to our store first thing in the morning to get mine and weirdly spent a lot of time playing ESPN Xtreme games before going back to the store for my evening shift. What a great day!

@Bingbongboyo wow! And how is the sound? Those soundtracks - Commando, Rock n Wrestle.. on C64. Wow. I was a VERY jealous speccy owner..

@SoulChimera I was even there when your pic - Horace Goes Skiing - was hot!

Yes got mine on launch with tekken and Ridge Racer. I was 16 at the time. I remember working overtime at burger King so I could earn enough to buy tomb Raider and destruction Derby 2 and then got sacked for not turning up for a week. Good Times

Took a couple of years, I was still enjoying the Super Nintendo, then I got the N64.

I played a demo at my parents friends house, I loved ESPN Extreme Games!

But it was only when some friends were talking about FF7 that I wanted one! Got it about a year later, think it had Tomb Raider, but I was hooked on FF7.

The rest, as they say, is history.

I finally bought one on release of FFVII based on my love of FFVI on my SNES. It was the first console I bought with my own money from my first job, although I actually think I had already built my first PC with my own money earlier that year which is why it took a FF release to get me back to consoles. The whole thing is a bit hazy now.

I got my Playstation by accident.

For Christmas, I wanted We're Back: A Dinosaur Story for the Genesis because I rented it all the time from Blockbuster. Buuuut I didn't know what it was called so I just asked for "a dinosaur game" and hoped my parents knew what I was talking about. Christmas came and instead, I got a Playstation with The Lost World of Jurassic Park and I never looked back.

He'll no, Sega Saturn for life.

I wasn't even born XD

Imported mine from Japan because i couldn't wait for Euro release, thankfully those days have passed now.

@Shepherd_Tallon I did not expect to ever see Dun Laoghaire on this board 😂

Yes i worked 2 paper rounds to get PS1 on launch day to get it from beatties toy shop. I remember seeing the hype about 2 years before in Edge magazine's.

I was born slightly after so no, I grew up with N64. My family got a PS2 which encouraged me to get a PS3. I don't think I've even played on an actual PSone, just played digital copies of the games.

Not on day one! I was a Saturn fan boy (Dragon Force!).

Until Suikoden came out. Then jumped on the train and never looked back. Amazing what exclusive games can do for your brand. Untold thousands later, still spending my gaming dollar with the same company.

Man those were the days...Legacy of Kain, Suikoden I and II, FFVII, VIII, and IX, Gran Turismo, Legend of Dragoon, Xenogears, Crono Cross, Tony Hawk, Metal Gear, Symphony of the Night...

Not day one but from what I remember I bought one with my birthday money the following June

I was nine years old, so no. I was gifted one 6 years later though, and I still have it along with the games I own. Still works too.

Those were the best gaming years for me. Sat on the couch with my university friends playing games. Also my friend could do the pen disc swap trick so had plenty of games

Ridge Racer. What a game that was.

And to think we were playing Super Hang on and Fzero the gen before. Which suddenly looked archaic.

yes day one long before wife kids and grey hair

@rykkchii Same here. What a time to be alive. Haha.

In our country it was expensive as used car, so we couldn't afford it. Well we could, but it was nowhere to buy and PC ruled (those sweet couple of years in single-player Diablo1) ... 😂 Actually first console I bought was PS2, I think a year before ps3 was released.

@rykkchii soundtracks are awesome! I was playing Impossible Mission and Dan Dare last night, bloody brilliant!

Lolno. I didn't get a PS1 until Christmas 2000, by which time the PS2 was already out.

bought one when I was working as a chef in Japan during the holidays in 1994.
I remember playing Ridge racer and Neketsu oyako every nights and going to work the day after without any sleep.
These were the days 😉

I never bought one until I found it in a store for $10 brand new. The PS2, Gamecube and X-box were already into their first year during that time too. Never really cared much for it, just wanted the Spyro, Crash and the 40 winks games. Didn't even really get into the PS2. I became more true with sony with the PS3, which I got the Motorstorm bundle with it. PS4 became day one. Only other day one consoles I bought were the Gamecube, Wii and Genesis. Honestly, I don't really buy them on day one, I grow a library of games and try to get accessories and extra controllers first. That way, when I do get the console...I have plenty to do on it.

@SirAngry - me too- nba jam; zero divide; ridge racer

Nah, I was like 7 years old I think when my father bought the PS1 from one of his co-workers with an assortment of random (mostly racing) games. I know it was after Final Fantasy 7 had come out because he bought the system mainly to play that at first and it was by the time the time that game had received its platinum re-release because that's the version we had.

Being a dumb little fanboy kid I was very much against playing with the system at first because "muh Nintendo" but I got over it pretty soon and it's good thing I did because the first playstation has one of the finest video game libraries in any game system ever. Certainly moreso than Nintendo's competition at the time anyway.

I got one for my birthday in 97 actually. The games I had was Tekken 2, Crash Bandicoot and Space Jam.

I was a teen and played PS1 quite a lot at my friends' houses but I never cared for the library that much. I was a huge N64 fan. I eventually bought a PS2 in 2012 (very late adopter 😄) and played the heck out of it. Bought PS4 late 2015.
So I skipped PS1, PS3, and probably PS5.

I feel so old but yes not only did I get the PS1 day one. But was there or there abouts with my megadrive and Sega master system before that. I got every ps console day one including the pro. Just skipped the PSP. And a few weeks late on the vita

I picked up a Japanese console in December 94. With Ridge Racer and Hot Blooded Family (I think)
It cost £700...so the fact I'm hesitant about paying £500+ for a ps5 is pretty funny!

My first console <3 I was 2 years old when it launched lol so I didn't buy it until maybe 1999! First game was Spyro <3

I bought it after I moved into the apartments where I finished out college. It was summertime, so no school...just work (and that was limited since I worked at the school). I remember that the apartment hired some roofers to replace the roof, and they didn't seal it properly. Naturally, it rained buckets, the water soaked into the insulation and the insulation eventually caused my ceiling to cave in. I only mention this because, having owned a Genesis, it was the Saturn that I first rented from the local Blockbuster. I played D and having the open ceiling looking into the dark rafters was pretty spooky.

I took the Saturn back and rented a PlayStation, along with a game called Resident Evil. I picked up a PlayStation that weekend.

I was 7 when it was originally launched. Back then, things were different in my country and we would only get new releases (whether it was consoles, movies, games, etc) months or even years after the original launch date. My older brother bought me one with FF VII, that's what got me into gaming. I'll never forget the twist of emotions I experienced on "THAT" moment (you know which one I'm talking about).

After that, bought every single one on launch day (when it launched here, anyway) and am hoping I can do the same with PS5!

95 was my freshman year of college, but I was honestly happy with my SNES at that point, and not very interested in the games on the PS. I ended up buying mine used off of a friend two years later when he decided he'd rather have a Dreamcast. I've been a Sony guy ever since.

I bought one for my kids for Christmas. I have no idea what year it was. I played on a PC but wanted to play some on the little console also.

I did but it was an import Japanese console.... Cost me an arm and a leg...

No but I did play it at the local KB Toys. First PlayStation I ever owned was PS2.

About 3 months before my time, so no. Sister had one but threw it away for some reason.

Now that I think about it, the only console that I brought on launch day was the Switch, the next closest being my 3DS a day after release, and the Wii U about 2-3 weeks after launch. Otherwise, all the consoles I have brought have been someway into their lifecycle.

I was 1 years old back then so I didn't get one lol. When I was 5 my parents divorced. My mom met my now still stepfather and he had a PlayStation. That's where it all began for me, Tekken, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Croc, Ridge Racer, Dino Crisis,... Good times.

I remember my brother having one. Not sure if we got it at release.

@Shepherd_Tallon no mate! That’s up here in Newry with me hahaha

I got PlayStation 1 on June or July 1998, but it was a modded PS1 machine (added with modchip) and the games were illegal pirated copies in physical. I was 14 years old, have no idea about gaming piracy, modded machine, pirated games at that time.
I thought it was the norm to play video games until as i grew up i have realized it was a mistake to play with modded machine and pirated games.

I bought PS2 Slim Japan on 29 April 2017 from my local game shop and it has a modchip inside so i asked the shop owner to remove it and i brought home an unmodded PS2 Slim Japan to play original PS2 and PS1 games Japan version.
I got a chance to get PS2 Fat USA on 29 August 2019 after several months ago i bought 3 DDR games on PS2 USA from Ebay. Same case as PS2 Slim Japan, it has a modchip inside but i asked the game shop owner to remove the modchip and replace the whole skin of PS2 Fat with White color as i didn't like Black color for gaming devices.

Now i have both PS2 models to play Original Japanese and USA PS1 & PS2 games separately. 😀

@playstation1995 I only clicked on this to see this reaction

Still devoted to Nintendo back then, so i had a N64. PS2 was my first PS and from there i bought all the consoles. Dropped Xbox this generation though, in favor of PSVR. No regrets!

I could only wish to afford one at the lunch. I was in the middle of a warzone when it came out...

@Unffclcntrllerpd. What reaction is that.word up son

Too young ,
I was 4 lol

I got mine sometime in the late 90’s, as I was told by my stepfather that I had a choice between it or the N64. I was about 12 or 13 at the time. He suggested that I get the PS1 for the tech and the fact it used discs, so I’m glad I did. : )

Though being an avid gamer.....Nvr afford a console in my life except I bought ps4 in late 2017....

I bought an original playstation at launch in 1995. Saved my money all summer and picked it up at an EB Games at Foxhills Mall in Culver City, CA. I also had enough saved from my summer job to buy Air Combat, Gex, Ridge Racer, and Battle Arena Toshinden.

The other guys in my dorm laughed at me for buying Sony’s console. “Sony doesn’t know gaming they said.” They all has either Sega Saturns or Sega 32x in the rooms.

About a few weeks later they were all huddled in my room playing playstation. And they all bought their own later that semester. They never did apologize to me but I have fond memories of being a true early adopter of Sony.

20 years later my daughter was born 12/3/15

I was a Sega boy (Mastersystem, Megadrive/Genesis) when it was released, but always had to buy my consoles second hand a couple of years after they came out. I got a PS1 in late 96 and Tomb Raider blew my goddam mind. When that bear rushed me on the first level, I was hooked for life.

I also happened to be working in Blockbuster at the time and they started renting games. Holy moly I played EVERYTHING!

Also, I can't believe how old the majority of readers of Pushsquare are!

christmas of 1997 for me. went a year playing nothing but nfl gameday '98 pretty much as that was the only game i owned. i remember renting metal gear solid the following winter season and being absolutely blown away by what i was witnessing. that was a revolution unfolding before my very eyes. i couldn't afford to buy any more games until christmas 1998 when i picked up xenogears as a blind purchase. the game changed my life. playstation, as far as i was concerned, was the only viable platform for video games at that time.

I got a PSOne some Christmas around a year or so after the PS2 launched, I think.

@kyleforrester87 33?

My roomie bought the PlayStation at launch while I got the Saturn back in the day. Was great to have access to both consoles while waiting for the N64 to become a thing...

@playstation1995 for me your the highlight of the comments section , so I just wanted to hear your thoughts and memories sir .keep doing what you are doing 😊

At least half of those 19% are liars I guarantee it. I'm near 36 years old I bought a PS with my own birthday money and traded in my Atari Jaguar and Mega Drive to help towards the cost. I remember looking through the games available and bought with my shiny new PS a copy of Crazy Ivan (not great). Think this was about 6 months after the PS came out when it was starting to become clear for most people that this console was a game changer. Happier times

@Royalblues the industry has changed a lot, the teams have got way bigger, so each voice in a studio has less chance of being heard. There are fewer studios out there now too. All in all I think the industry from a creative perspective isn't in a very healthy place. I think the cost of developing new games is stifling the industry a little, but I'm not sure reducing costs will bring back the creative freedom and breadth of games being made. Publishers don't want some of your money some of the time any more for a good product, they want all of your money all of the time for mediocre cookie cutter product. I hope this generation changes that, towards the end of the PS4 we've seen some publishers take tentative risks at branching out their portfolios a little, but we'll see.

I think I got mine in November 98. Bought it mainly for Final Fantasy 7 at the time!

@Unffclcntrllerpd. Haha thanks.did you get a ps1 in 1995.man syphon filter and crash bandicoot is the reason why ps1 was amazing.word up son

@playstation1995 I do I was day one or very close to it .I traded my snes and all its games for one but I did not regret it one bit . That demo disk alone convinced me I’d made the right call 😊

No but my best mate did. Great memories of those early days playing games like Jumping Flash, Wipeout, Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden.
I bought a Saturn first but eventually got a PS1. Amazing library of games, three Final Fantasy games, Tekken 3, Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver... too many games to list.

I didn't get it at launch even thought the games looked good in the magazines (no internet for vids then) but it wasn't long after.
I can remember almost joking that something called a 'Playstation' just sounded daft more like the name of a toy or something childish - how wrong was I!!!! As soon as I played Ridge Racer, Tekken and Destruction Derby on a mates PS1 I never looked back. I genuinely could not believe how good RR & Tekken played having spent lots of 20p/50p in the arcades playing them. I think before the PS arcade ports were pretty terrible with exception of possibly Afterburner which wasn't too bad!

I bought mine a few weeks after the European launch, in October 1995. I actually went out to the local GAME store with the intention of buying a Sega Saturn with a copy of Panzer Dragoon, but they had a PlayStation just inside the doors running Wipeout, and I left with those instead.

For PS2, I was queueing outside the same store from about 6am to collect my pre-ordered system.

Every system since then has been pre-ordered online and delivered on launch day. The only exceptions are PSPgo and Vita slim which I never bought, and PS4 Pro where I waited for the release of Horizon.

I'll also get PS5 at launch, unless external forces interfere.

@Shepherd_Tallon it is! I was in Wicklow not that long ago. Down at Glendalough. Lovely part of the small island hahah

I was a nes snes n64 guy, a friend brought his playstation round when i saw tomb raider, resi 1 and loaded i was hooked! Very very fond memories , and i would much like a playstation series type thing on the ps5 Mr Ryan! Ive loads of PlayStation 1 2 and 3 games on my shelf, i would much like to play on the new hardware! Xbox does it!

I got one in 1998 when they'd stopped making games for my beloved Sega Saturn.

@Mostik true, arcade ports of current titles generally disappointed until the mid 90s.

The Saturn also had a few splendid arcade ports around the same time as Tekken et al came to PS1.

Unless you count the NeoGeo, which had arcade perfect titles galore since the early 90s.. (as it was basically an arcade machine...)

@Barryburton97 Yes mate the Sega Saturn was an excellent console and in particular Daytona USA being a decent port!

I always wanted a Neo Geo but just couldn't get the cash for one being a kid at the time and my mum wasn't for paying out for one unfortunately, I do now have the Neo Geo mini it is just 25 years too late 😂

Not day one was just working with a house new baby had no money spare lol .my girlfriend now wife got me one for xmas was so happy knew she was a keeper .. she got me many consols over the years and this year its the new xbox for xmas .. i will buy ps5 day one sorted

@Mostik Daytona USA on the Saturn was a joy to play, it just had to make sacrifices in the graphics. Daytona's all about the music anyway!
NeoGeo was a mystical creature only talked about in hushed tones on the playground. They cost the equivalent of something like £1k with games about £300 in today's money. No wonder they were so special and rare.

Where was I on day one? Playing vastly superior PC games, obviously. And probably thinking consoles were never going to catch up. But hey, a mere 20 years later here we are! Rapid or what! Who's laughing now, so-called PC master race! 🤔