It’s June 2nd, 1991.
Thousands have gathered to hear the latest in electronic news.
Little do they know, they are about to witness a backstabbing.
A much anticipated speech by Nintendo is about to take place.
Exactly 24 hours after Sony’s announcement was made.
One where they had outlined their upcoming collaboration with Nintendo.
Because when Nintendo takes the stage, they will reveal something much different.
They would be creating the exact thing Sony had described.
The only issue.
It was without them.
Ken Kutaragi, the man responsible for this Nintendo - Sony partnership was shocked and devastated.
He had risked everything to create this deal.
Because of his risk-taking, he’s not ready to give up.
And he won’t.
But to better understand, you need to hear this story from the beginning.
Ken worked for Sony in the digital research labs as an engineer.
Through his work, he earned a reputation as a forward-thinker.
And that reputation paved the way for his bright future.
Well, forward-thinking and his daughter.
You see, he was fascinated by the growing video game industry.
So much so that he bought his daughter a Nintendo Famicom.
While watching her play it, he was inspired and became convinced that
Sony could create something better.
So, he went to the executives of Sony and pitched the idea.
But Ken did not get the response he was hoping for.
Instead, he was brushed off and told that Sony was not in the business of creating toys for children.
I thought that the home electronic appliances they were producing would be obsolete soon.
What they regarded as games might not be just games.
It would be the entertainment in the next period, I thought then.
However, they didn’t have imagination, so they didn’t know it.
They thought games were what were sold at toy shops.
They also figured video gaming was just a fad that would pass.
But Ken envisioned a world where video games were the future and would be enjoyed by all ages.
Thankfully for every person who’s ever enjoyed any version of the PlayStation,
Ken didn’t give up.
Word on the street was that Nintendo was working on their next video game console.
When Ken heard the news, he did what he had to do.
He ignored his bosses’ decision and got Sony into a partnership with Nintendo.
Without anyone knowing, he worked in secret.
But, everything hung in the balance.
Ken’s superiors would soon find out.
And, when they did, his career and the project at hand would be in jeopardy.
Thankfully, when that day came, Sony president at the time, Norio Ohga, stood
by Ken’s decision to work with Nintendo.
He agreed that this would be a good way to get their foot in the door of the video game industry.
With the support needed from Norio, the deal continued.
And went on to be Nintendo’s best countermeasure against their rival, the Sega Genesis.
It was a strong partnership that yielded favorable results.
So, it’s not surprising that soon after, Sony and Nintendo entered into a new partnership.
This time, Norio was on board from the beginning.
Sony would be developing a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Before now, Nintendo consoles had only been able to accommodate low quality
cartridges and with Sony’s history of CD-based products, the future looked bright.
And more clear.
Along with the Super Nintendo add-on Sony would also be releasing a separate console.
A hybrid that would incorporate both CD and cartridge playability.
It was to be known as the “Play Station”.
The time for Sony to be creating gaming consoles was finally here.
All was going well.
Two years and 100 prototypes later, the two companies were ready to announce
their joint project to the world.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Sony took the stage.
They made their announcement that, in partnership with Nintendo, the Play Station
was coming and they would be creating, “Super Discs,” to be used with it.
The anticipation had been heightened.
All seemed to be going smoothly.
Unfortunately that feeling of excitement would not last long.
Because a mere 24 hours later, Nintendo took the stage.
Sony was under the impression that Nintendo's speech would outline their partnership.
But, Nintendo had other plans.
Nintendo had come to the realization that the contract they signed a
year ago, heavily favored Sony.
Sony was planning to keep all of the rights to the games they would develop.
Nintendo had missed that.
And so, the day after Sony’s announcement of the partnership, it was Nintendo’s turn.
In their speech, they did the unthinkable.
Instead of partnering with Sony, they told the world they would be working with Sony's rival: Philips.
Sony didn't believe it.
There had been rumors, but considering they had a contract and working prototypes
with Nintendo, how could it be true?
But Nintendo had made their decision, and to them, it was final.
They even admitted to there was a deal with Sony, but that their future lay with Philips.
Sony, upon hearing this, was shocked.
The president of Sony Electronic Publishing, Olaf Olafsson, said,
“The spirit of the agreement was that Sony and Nintendo would work
together in developing CD technology.
The spirit of the agreement has been violated.”
He even thought the underhanded deal may be a negotiating ploy.
But Nintendo didn’t plan on changing their minds.
“Our engineers reached the conclusion that from a technical standpoint it was
better for Nintendo to work with Philips.”
Sony was on their own.
But, remember Ken?
He wasn’t ready to give up on his dreams.
Not by a long shot.
So, when a meeting was held in June of 1992 to decide the fate of the Play Station,
everything hung in the balance once again.
But Ken knew what to do.
He reminded Norio about the betrayal they were dealt by their ex partners.
They had been dishonored in front of the world.
It didn’t take much else for Norio to respond with,
“We will never withdraw from this business.
Keep going.
Just do it!”
And with that, the work began.
The new system would be known as the “PlayStation”.
Removing the space between the words in order to separate from the original deal.
The green light was officially given in 1993.
And, in November of that year, Ken created Sony Computer Entertainment Inc..
A division where the focus could solely be on video games and digital entertainment.
With huge success, the PlayStation console made its debut in Japan.
Selling around one hundred thousand units on the first day and three
hundred thousand by the end of the year.
It even went on to sell one million units in just six months.
Over the next few decades, Sony refined and improved the gaming console – from the PS1 to the PS5.
There were also small handheld devices released by Sony known as the PlayStation
Portable, PSP Go, and PlayStation Vita.
It continued to blow its competitors out of the water.
Selling at numbers neither Sega, nor Nintendo, could match.
The PlayStation 2 even went on to become, and remains, the highest-selling
video game console in history.
And it’s all thanks to one man who refused to let go of his dream.
Ken Kutaragi retired shortly after the launch of the PlayStation 3 at the age of 56.
But his influence lives on.
He remains known, to this day, as the man responsible for the birth of PlayStation.
The Father of the PlayStation.