The first PlayStation® models rolled off the production line in Japan in December 1994. The PlayStation® was noteworthy for its processing power, for its detailed, multi-coloured graphics, the ease with which developers could write games, and for its use of CD-ROMs to store games rather than cartridges.
Third party developers flocked to this new console standard and it rapidly became well-supported. At the launch of the PlayStation® in Japan, 15 games were available. By the time of the North American and European launch, nine months later, there were nearly 50 titles from every genre of gaming on the shelves, including Ridge Racer, Rayman, Tekken, and Wipeout.
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) redesigned the hardware in 2000, bringing out the PS one®, a smaller, slimmer version of the console. By this time, the company's own internal studios were bringing innovative and exhilarating games to the platform: Wipeout had led the way in 1995, followed by Crash Bandicoot and Formula One. Over the next two years, landmark titles such as "Gran Turismo", "MediEvil" and "Parappa The Rapper" established SCE as a pre-eminent developer for the platform.
In March 2005, the PlayStation® (including the PS one™) became the first videogames console to sell 100 million units.
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