PlayStation Takes the Stage
As expected, the television news ended with just one sentence. "In addition, the booth of Japan game company Sega also attracted a large number of game enthusiasts, and the scene was extremely lively—"
The scene flashed by for less than two seconds, showing "The High-Speed Pursuit" before switching to the weather forecast.
"See that?" The reporter who spoke first shrugged. "It's all product content, no story, no conflict. In United States eyes, that's not news, that's GG. Who's going to give you a free GG?"
Everyone agreed.
Sega's fervor ultimately belongs only to game enthusiasts.
Apple's "loneliness" and 3D's "declaration of war" are the real main course for the media and capital markets.
The second day of CES.
After Apple's "concept launch" and 3D's "declaration of war on business models," the atmosphere at the event has transformed from a simple product showcase into a smoke-filled war for the future.
Everyone craned their necks, eager to see who would dare to jump onto the ring today.
At 10:00 AM, the lights on the main stage came on again.
On the backdrop, a simple yet powerful "SONY" logo has replaced yesterday's futuristic geometric design from 3DO.
The reporters and analysts in the audience perked up and began whispering among themselves.
"Sony? Don't they sell Walkmans and televisions?"
"I heard they're working on a CD project with Nintendo. Are they here to showcase that?"
"Don't just keep making empty promises, I've had enough."
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, a man walked onto the stage.
It was Ken Kutaragi.
He didn't offer unnecessary pleasantries, nor did he employ the grand narratives of John Sculley, nor the inflammatory rhetoric of Trip Hawkins.
He simply walked behind the podium, glanced around at the audience, and then began to speak in a calm, factual tone.
"Yesterday, you heard many visions of the future. Today, we bring you a reality that has already been achieved."
The large screen behind him lit up, and a gray-white, sleek and simple-looking mainframe quietly floated in the center of the screen.
We named it - PlayStation.
The audience was completely silent.
The name is straightforward, but people haven't yet realized what it means.
Ken Kutaragi's voice remained completely flat as he continued, "This is a new generation entertainment system jointly developed by Sony after obtaining an official license from Nintendo. It's a console fully compatible with the SFC-CD format."
"Boom!"
"Authorized by Nintendo!?"
"Compatible PC? Sony makes compatible PCs for Nintendo?"
The reporters in the audience instantly erupted in excitement, their pens scribbling furiously across their notebooks.
This is absolutely headline news! Home appliance giant Sony is actually willing to be a stepping stone for the gaming giant Nintendo?
Just when people thought it was just a regular hardware OEM press conference, Ken Kutaragi pressed the remote control in his hand.
Lines of cold, unadorned parameters appeared on the large screen.
Main processor: 32-bit MIPS R3000 CPU, clock frequency 33.86MHz.
The moment the words were spoken, those in the know in the audience gasped in shock.
This frequency is already comparable to that of many personal computers!
Ignoring the commotion below the stage, Ken Kutaragi continued reading in his engineer-like tone, word by word.
"Graphics Processor: Dedicated Geometry Transfer Engine (GTE), in conjunction with the graphics chip, achieves a peak computing power of 180,000 texture polygon renderings per second."
Audio system: Custom 16-bit audio DSP, supporting 24 channels and a 44.1kHz CD-quality sampling rate.
Storage medium: CD-ROM, 660MB per disc.
Each parameter was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the hearts of everyone present.
The reporters who were amazed by 3DO's CG animation yesterday are now completely blank in their minds.
180,000 polygons? What does that even mean?
Compared to this number, the performance of Sega's Genesis and Nintendo's SNES is like that of a toddler taking its first steps!
"Everyone," Ken Kutaragi's voice finally showed a hint of emotion, a pride unique to creators, barely suppressed, "The era of 16-bit is over. Sony, with PlayStation, will lead the entire industry into the true 32-bit next generation!"
If the parameters mentioned earlier were the hammer, then this statement is the explosive that detonates the entire scene!
This isn't just about doing the work for someone else; it's about turning the tables and taking control!
An analyst who was exclaiming in astonishment yesterday about the US dollar 3 royalty rate for 3D0 was now deathly pale, muttering to himself, "They've gone mad— Sony's gone mad too—"
However, the real madness was yet to come.
Ken Kutaragi and others dropped the biggest bombshell of the day.
"At the same time, to ensure a smooth transition for all players to the next generation," he paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, "PlayStation will be fully compatible with all SNES game cartridges currently on the market."
Dead silence.
The entire venue fell into an absolute silence that lasted for three seconds.
Immediately afterwards, a sound wave ten times more powerful than ever before surged into the sky!
"What did I just hear? A SNES cartridge?"
"Is he saying I can just plug my the Legend of Zelda into this machine and play it?"
"My God—this isn't a compatible PC! This is a stolen machine!"
"Sony, using Nintendo's license, built a monster that outperformed all its competitors, and then told all Nintendo players, 'I can play all your games, and I have even more awesome games here'—that's fucking ripping Nintendo off its feet!"
The Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote "3DO Declares War on the World" yesterday is shaking right now.
He crossed out the titles he had just written, feeling that no words could describe the absurdity and shock before him.
This is not a declaration of war.
This was a public betrayal and usurpation, staged under the watchful eyes of everyone!
On stage, Ken Kutaragi seemed oblivious to the chaos below.
His serious face showed no sign of pride, as if he had simply completed a pre-arranged task.
"We will announce the specific release date and price of PlayStation at a later date."
After speaking, he nodded slightly, said no more, turned around, and walked off the stage decisively.
Ken Kutaragi left with a flourish, leaving behind a chaotic venue and a group of media reporters whose minds had completely shut down.
After a brief silence, the entire main stage area erupted in a frenzy, as if a depth charge had been dropped on it!
"They've gone mad! Sony has gone mad!"
"Did I hear that right? Compatible with SNES cartridges? How did they manage that? Would Nintendo agree to something like that?"
"This is supposed to be cooperation? This is fucking burglary in front of the whole world!"
The reporters scattered like a swarm of wasps, their chairs knocking over as they went.
They frantically flipped through their notebooks, trying to piece together the massive information overload from the press conference, only to find their minds a complete mess and unable to put pen to paper.
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