The PlayStation turns 30: Looking back at the console that gave us Lara
Croft and 'The Last of Us'
[December 04, 2025]
By MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK (AP) — When Kendrick Lamar began his Super Bowl halftime show
earlier this year, he picked a stage design likely familiar to anyone
tuning in: a square, triangle, cross and circle.
The Grammy-winning rapper — in front of more than 133 million people —
chose to perform on a massive, industrialized grid of flashing lights
resembling a giant PlayStation controller.
It was a nice surprise present for Sony's PlayStation, which this year
is celebrating its 30th anniversary in North America and Europe. Lamar's
nod to the console — which Sony had nothing to do with — was another
sign of how far the brand has penetrated the culture, in ways big and
small.
From big-budget Hollywood fare like “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” starring
Angelina Jolie, to Juice WRLD's video for “Hear Me Calling” to “The Last
of Us” on HBO Max, the PlayStation experience has leapt far past the
console. Chandler Bing on “Friends” played a PlayStation 1 and the title
character fired at PlayStation zombies in the cult movie “Shaun of the
Dead.”
“We made gaming cool. When we came out we were a little edgy, we were a
different, but it was really about being disruptive,” says Eric Lempel,
senior vice president of Business and Product at Sony Interactive
Entertainment. “We feel we are a premier entertainment brand, not just a
gaming brand.”
From bedroom to living room
Part of the enduring popularity of the PlayStation has been its ability
to evolve with the technology, starting in 1995 by picking CD-ROMs that
opened the door to 3D gaming. At the time, clunky cartridges were king.
The PlayStation — sparked by a failed partnership between Nintendo and
Sony — entered a marketplace dominated by Sega and Nintendo. Sony wanted
to bring the arcade experience home and a crucial decision was to
consult with game developers first, before building their system.
“Sony realized they needed developers in place from the get-go before
they even started designing it,” says Anthony Caulfield, who with his
wife, Nicola, run Gracious Films and made the independent documentary
“The PlayStation Revolution.”
“Hardware manufacturers up to that point basically didn’t care what the
developers wanted. They just made what they thought was the best piece
of hardware,” he says.
Some critical steps helped right from the launch. Sony had a number of
games ready to go, a development pipeline in place and a killer retail
price — $299 — that was less expensive than the rival Sega Saturn.
Sony also picked its market carefully, Caulfield says. With Sega and
Nintendo largely targeting children, Sony aimed the PlayStation at teens
and young adults — catnip for their younger brothers and sisters.
“If you grew up loving Nintendo games, the PlayStation was like a really
good next step,” says Tyler Treese, the editor-in-chief of PlayStation
LifeStyle, an online forum and news site for fans.
When the console first arrived, it was a sensation, going on to sell
more than 100 million units globally. “It’s when games grew up,” says
Caulfield. “It’s where the gaming went from the bedroom to the living
room.”
Making the hardware slap
Sony kept up with the technology, packing a DVD into the PlayStation 2
so that buyers had another reason to buy the system. The PlayStation 2
remains the best selling console of all time, with some 160 million
units sold.
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Attendees walking past the Sony PlayStation PS Vita console on
display in the Sony PlayStation booth at the Game Developers
Conference in San Francisco on March 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma,
File)
 “It was one of the best-priced DVD
players that also happened to be the best gaming system at the
time,” says Lempel. “I know so many people who said, ‘That was my
DVD player. That’s how I started in DVD.’”
Sony hit a wobble with the PS3, which used a Blu-ray deck. “It made
the thing so expensive and it kind of broke that original
PlayStation feeling of availability and great value for money,”
Caulfield says. The 2011 PlayStation network hack that shut down the
network for 24 days didn't help. “If they got the PS4 wrong it could
have been the end.”
But the PlayStation 4 in 2013 stabilized the
console, offering immersive online multiplayer options, streaming
services and a library of exclusive games. Sony kept going with
in-app purchases, 4K resolution and a controller that has haptic
feedback and adaptive triggers in the current PlayStation 5.
“Every console has to have a purpose, it has to have a reason to
exist, and when we find that we have the right amount of new
technology that can enable developers to do great things, we push
forward,” says Lempel.
From the living room to Hollywood
The list of movies and TV shows that have had their origin on the
PlayStation is long. It includes: “Uncharted” starring Tom Holland
on the big screen, “The Last of Us” with Pedro Pascal on HBO,
“Twisted Metal” on Peacock and “Gran Turismo” with Orlando Bloom
from Columbia Pictures.
More are on the way, including a live-action “Horizon Zero Dawn”
movie that's eying a 2027 release, an upcoming movie version of
“Ghost of Tsushima” directed by Chad Stahelski, and Amazon’s “God of
War” TV series.
Treese says PlayStation games often make the leap to TVs and theater
screens because they're realistic, use motion capture and employ
talented actors.
“They do really lend themselves to movies because they definitely
led that charge of making more cinematic video game experiences,” he
says. It also doesn't help that Sony Pictures is nearby.
Lempel says PlayStation franchises are finding new audiences in
other media because, at base, they're good entertainment. “We have
great stories, we’ve got great IP, and it transcends the category.”
That has even spilled out into fashion — British Nigerian
multidisciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori has a line of
PlayStation-inspired loungewear — and footwear, thanks to rapper
Travis Scott's Nike Dunk Low Cactus Jack X PlayStation sneakers.
“We know that we’ve struck a chord that goes just well beyond a
consumer product,” says Lempel. “This is something that people love.
It’s a big part of people’s lives and they love to talk about it.
They love to express it in different ways.”
Lempel recently got a taste of that expression firsthand. He was at
a restaurant in Manhattan when he spotted the PlayStation symbols
tattooed on someone’s arm. “These are permanent markings on
someone’s body,” he says in wonder. “That’s the passion people
have.”
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