The first PlayStation console, the now legendary PS One, was launched exactly 20 years ago, so its manufacturer, Sony Corporation, has decided to celebrate the anniversary by releasing a very special anniversary edition of the PlayStation 4, with a stylish “Original Grey” finish, according to a blog post published today on the manufacturer’s blog.
20 years ago today the first PlayStation console was launched in Japan. At the time Sony was considered “slightly crazy”, as they put it, but in time it has proved the viability of the console, that has spawned three further desktop versions and two portable ones during the last two decades. The mid-1990s was an exciting time to be a game developer, driven by the “explosion of powerful but affordable 3D graphics rendering hardware” and the birth of several development studios. Today Sony has released a new, anniversary edition of its iconic PlayStation, in limited numbers – the manufacturer will sell 12,300 units worldwide, for the price of 499 euros (the dollar price was not yet revealed, but it should be somewhere around $615). The console will not be sold through the traditional retail channels – PlayStation enthusiasts will have to wait to see how they can get their hand on such an anniversary model.
Defying expectations, Sony has sold over 100 million units of its first PlayStation console worldwide. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, was even more successful with sales of over 155 million units. The PlayStation 3, introducing Sony’s revolutionary Cell Processor, was not such a resounding success like its predecessors, selling over 80 million units. The PlayStation 4 was released last year, selling over 1 million units in just 24 hours after its release, becoming the fastest selling console in history. Considering the success of the console (according to statistics, over 800,000 units of PS4 are sold every week), the limited anniversary edition will surely be sold in a flash.