Sony Playstation 1: review, reviews

Today it is difficult to imagine that the first rudiments of the conceptual idea of Sony Playstation were developed in the mid-80s of the last century. The console went through a difficult path of creation, but the efforts of its main author, Ken Kutaragi, were not in vain. Model Sony Playstation 1 marked the beginning not only of the successful development of its own family, but also had a serious impact on the products of competitors.

First start

The possibility of the first to evaluate the prefix PS1 received the Japanese gamers in December 1994. At the same time, the debut of the console did not take place in better conditions, as a week before this event a serious competitor from Sega appeared on the market. In terms of income, the situation was also rosy. Since Sony sought to attract the first customers at an affordable price, there was no question of profit from the set-top boxes. The bet was made on gaming revenues. Anyway, the developers had a serious reason for optimism, since the prefix Sony Playstation 1 already in the first days of sales received a lot of enthusiastic responses. This was confirmed by the complete devastation of the company's warehouses.

A year later, the console appeared in Europe and the US, where it was no less successful. Parallel to this, games were developed, among which were Ridge Racer, Warhawk, Philosoma Air Combat and others. Users bought up disks for PS1 of all genres, waiting for the appearance of new series. Together with this, the manufacturer offered a considerable assortment of peripherals for the time, expanding the console's capabilities. These include mice, cables for connecting the prefixes to each other, a Sony Playstation 1 memory card and other components. All this could not but affect the attractiveness of the model, which did not leave any chances for competition already by the former leader of this sector represented by the companies Nintendo and Sega.

Specifications

Data about the processor:

• MIPS R3051 is a 32-bit RISC.
• The processor frequency is 33.8688 MHz.
• The bus bandwidth of the processor is 1056 Mbit / s.
• Performance - 30 MIPS.
• The data cache is 1 KB.
• Instruction cache - 4 KB.

Memory data:

• The main RAM of the standard model is 2 MB, and the debug version has 4 MB.
• Sound memory - 512 KB.
• Video memory - 1 MB.
• The buffer memory of the CD-ROM is 32 Kb.
• EEPROM memory card - 128 KB.

Graphical interface

In the classic version, the Sony Playstation 1 GUI is provided with a GUI with a dark blue background. At the same time, letters with icons have been made with iridescent shades in the style of graffiti. However, in the late, compact modification of PSone, the design was changed. In particular, the background has become gray and has acquired shortcuts for access to the CD player and memory card management. By the way, some modifications also supported video playback with elementary player control functions. In the future this trend began to develop as a parallel improvement in the quality of the game process.

Modifications

The first generation Sony Playstation has undergone a lot of changes, with each option received a unique serial number. This process began with the modification of the version of SCPH-1000, into which the connector was integrated. In the next edition it was removed. Further changes affected the internal content. In the 500x series, the designers simplified the screening, moved the CD drive, changed the power distribution layout, and the RFU and RCA ports were transferred from the back of the console. After that, the launch of the Sony Playstation 1 in the 700x line was launched, which also had internal differences. In particular, system RAM instead of four chips contained only one. The same applies to the CD-controller - if it was previously serviced by three chips, then in subsequent editions, they performed one function. The final edition was the 900x series, which was equipped with the same hardware stuffing, but the creators took away its parallel port and reduced the PCB.

Possible malfunctions and repairs

Since the first appearance of the prefix on the domestic market, the problem of repair was acute, because there was a shortage of components and spare parts for such equipment. In this case, the faults were mainly affected by the integral fuses on the motherboard, which burned out. As a result, the following problems could be observed:

• The prefix does not detect the controller for control.
• Can not read the memory card.
• There is no picture.
• The console just does not turn on.

Today, it is possible to find integral fuses of a suitable model in any store that sells electronics. However, repairing the Sony Playstation 1 in the form of rebuilding the motherboard of the set-top box may not solve the problem if the fault was a peripheral device. Therefore, it is necessary to test the operation of joysticks, memory cards and other related components before the repair, which could cause a burnout on the board.

Emulation

By today's standards, the PS1 console is certainly obsolete in many ways. The first version of its technical data is no longer relevant in the game console market. But, despite this, there are many enthusiasts who appreciate the merits of the first games that were launched on this console. For this purpose, special emulators are developed that allow running such games on a Windows system. It is important to consider that the Sony Playstation 1 joystick may not be required, and memory cards can not be read by all versions of emulators. When choosing such a program, you should pay attention to the following nuances:

• Compatibility with a wide range of games for PS1.
• If necessary, the ability to play through the Network.
• Support for the latest versions of plug-ins.
• Already noted the possibility of emulation of memory cards.
• Load from disk images.

Reviews about the console

The model is tested by time and whole generations of gamers who respond harmoniously to the prefix. In particular, its survivability, maintainability, reliability and functionality - of course, in comparison with the competitive products of that time - are noted. By the way, the prefix from "Sony" was one of the first that allowed to play music CDs. In terms of cost, owners' opinions are not so favorable to Sony Playstation 1. The price during its popularity in the Russian market ranged from 3,000 to 4,000 rubles. At the moment, the console can be purchased either in the state of used or abroad. In the first case, it can cost 1 500 - 2 000 rubles, and in the second case, because of additional costs of approximately 5 000 rubles.

Of course, for such an amount to acquire a prefix, the possibilities of which have long been obsolete, it is expedient only from a sense of nostalgia. Nevertheless, there is such a demand. On the other hand, there are a lot of users who have saved the prefix Sony Playstation 1, bought 10, and even 15 years ago. This again indicates the longevity of the model.

Subsequent generation of consoles

Development of the successor of the successful prefix was not long in coming, and in 2000 its second generation came out. The next model fully met the expectations of the creators, becoming the best-selling game console ever. By the way, according to data for 2011, about 155 million set-top boxes were sold. Among the features that featured Sony Playstation 2, there was DVD support. But at the same time there were serious competitors from Microsoft and Nintendo.

The next step in the development of the console was the generation of PS3, released on the world market in 2007. The prefix supported not only the gameplay, but also allowed the user to go online and watch movies, and as media used Blu-ray discs. At the same time, Microsoft also releases one of the most successful consoles from its Xbox 360 line, forcing Sony to raise the bar set.

The fourth generation was the last of the PS series. Its appearance in the world occurred in 2013. The model operates under OS Orbis, which, in turn, is a modification of the ninth version of FreeBSD. The principal change in the console was the universalization of the internal filling with the maximum approach to the computer. So, in comparison with the Sony Playstation 2 model, the fourth generation received AMD's central processor for 8 cores, 500 GB in the hard drive, USB ports and the latest wireless modules. By the same cons of the Playstation 4 can be attributed incompatibility with the games from the previous versions of the console. However, with the help of "cloud" services gamers successfully solve this problem.

Conclusion

Technologies embodied in the prefix Playstation 1, were not only revolutionary for their time, but also laid the basic principles for the whole game industry. The unprecedented capabilities of the PS4 do not go to any comparison with the potential that the first Sony game consoles possessed, but it was the PS1 that gave the impetus and the basic directions for the movement towards a forward-looking development. One of the ideas that broke the concept of the approach to providing the game process was the rejection of cartridges in favor of CDs. This is what allowed the specialists of Sony to work with more complex games, to improve the transmission of graphics and sound. In the future, the range of capabilities of consoles was expanded due to the use of DVD and Blu-Ray, as well as a fundamental departure from the specification of technical stuffing and its approach to traditional PCs.

Comparing the game potential of the first version of the PS with the functionality and technical characteristics of the newer console versions, we can say that these are completely different consoles. Nevertheless, developers still remain true to the basic concept of their products, endowing them with high ergonomics, reliability and focus on maximizing the enjoyment of the game. Another thing is that the improvement of technology, new consumer demands and competition do not allow stopping the process of modernization of consoles, which radically changes their performance.