Sony PlayStation 20th Anniversary: ​​10 Most Amazing Accessories for PS1

Exactly 20 years ago, on December 3, 1994, Sony released the PlayStation in Japan. The prefix most influenced the promotion of CD drives around the world, and staked out a solid leader for two generations (and maybe three for how the PS4 will go). During the existence of the console has been sold 102 million copies.

And now let's turn to less known facts - unusual phenomena of the PlayStation universe. I dug for you different options, accessories, dedication and modifications dedicated to the console, which deserve the definition of "strange". All the listed things belong to the first version of PS.

1. PlayStation Options
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Sony has released many console options in the 12 years of its existence, ranging from internal revisions and models, where some external ports were removed for reasons of economy, to completely different form factors, PSOne (2000). The classic console had several color options. Here are the most interesting ones.

The blue one at the top right is DTL-H1000 Programmer TOOL (NTSC / J), the green one is DTL-H1200 Programmer TOOL (NTSC / J). These are two versions of official consoles for developers. The white one was a model with hard disk videoCD playback support that was sold only in Hong Kong. Black - Net Yaroze, development kit specifically for amateur non-professionals. She went with the documentation and software for development. Programs needed to be written on a computer (PC or Mac) and uploaded to the console. She also did not have a regional bullet.

Also in Japan, in honor of the 10 millionth sold console, a limited edition dark blue version was released. Those interested can refer to the photos of the collection of one of the fans .

2. The Robomaker



For PS, dozens of strange and surprising controllers were produced, including controllers for simulating the driving of a boat, a car and a locomotive, construction equipment, and an aircraft. For exercise, dancing, fishing, conducting an orchestra, playing pinball, mahjong and the pachinko slot machine. But the most strange peripheral device was part of the game set ZXE-D: Legend of Plasmalite from 1996. In the set, besides the robots fighting game, there were physical models of these robots. They could be assembled and connected via a special interface to the console (via memory slots), after which the robot on the screen was connected to the model.

3. CD player for audiophiles



10 years ago, lovers of good sound realized that the early PS1 models contained a very high-quality player, while being sold in the secondary market at bargain prices ($ 5- $ 20) due to the abundance of offers. Audiophiles bought up consoles, made modifications - both external (after all, it’s known that the player in a wooden or polished aluminum case sounds better!) And internal ones (because the more you play around with a CD player, the better it plays!). Lovers of these hobbies had something to tinker with, and although in reality these players do not sound better than 99.9% of other players, they at least look stylish and unusual .

4. Mobile Internet - before it became mainstream



In 2001, Sony released a cable to connect the console through the controller port to a mobile phone. After launching the necessary software on the console and buying the i-mode tariff, the user could go online to it. You could also play several online games or download toys for your phone. The service was available only in Japan.

5. Conversion console



The Japanese company TakaraTomy promises to soon release consoles, transforming into various robots. www.takaratomy-arts.co.jp/specials/hobby/tf/ps

6. Hipster watch



If your console is completely broken, you can throw it away - or turn it into a wall clock. The Hungarian mechanic made full working hours in the console case. He has already sold them - but this is just a small part of the work of a whole community of lovers to do something, inspired by the console.

7. PlayStation, which was not



It’s no secret that PS came from the collaboration of Nintendo and Sony. Sony had to create a CD addon for the Super NES console, and at the same time release its own version of the hybrid console SNES / CD. The photo shows a prototype of this hybrid with the Super NES controller. The system was supposed to support both cartridges and CDs. But the deal fell apart, and we can only guess, "what would happen if."

8. Miniature PlayStation



The Japanese love everything nyashnoe and small, so there you can buy a thumbnail of almost anything - even the PS1 console.

9. Console with floppy disk



Unlike previous systems, PS introduced the system of saving games on removable memory cards. Unfortunately, these cards quickly filled up and were quite expensive for their volume. This is what Datel took advantage of by releasing an external floppy disk drive that plugged into the memory card slot and allowed you to save to 3.5 ”cheap floppy disks.

10. Pocket PlayStation



Sony PocketStation is a tiny offshoot platform from PS1, which could work as a memory card or as a removable gaming device. Small buttons and a tiny LCD-screen allowed to play a limited number of games after downloading them from a CD through the mother console. It was possible to load character data from the console, for example, from Final Fantasy, and pump it on the go. Again, this miracle was sold only in Japan.