PlayStation’s Origins Unveiled: Name, First Game, and Nintendo Partnership

Shuhei Yoshida reflects on the history of PlayStation, including its name's creation, a scrapped Nintendo collaboration, and Sony's first game project.

The PlayStation name was conceived by Ken Kutaragi, inspired by how PCs were called 'workstations,' emphasizing a device meant for play rather than work.
Sony's first game, an FMV space shooter with advanced graphics for its time, was nearly completed for the canceled Nintendo PlayStation project.
The Nintendo PlayStation was a prototype hybrid console combining the SNES and Sony's CD-based Super Disc format, but the partnership dissolved due to disputes.
Shuhei Yoshida joined Sony in 1993 and played the nearly completed space shooter on the Nintendo PlayStation prototype on his first day.
The Nintendo PlayStation project ultimately led Sony to develop its standalone PlayStation console, which became a global success with over 102 million PS1 units sold.