Video: A brief history of PlayStation, from one-time frontman Phil Harrison

More than twenty years ago, Sony threw its hat into the game console business by launching the original PlayStation.

More than twenty years ago, Sony threw its hat into the game console business by launching the original PlayStation. The story of how it happened is peppered with intriguing anecdotes, and former Sony exec Phil Harrison shared a few of them in his brief microtalk on the history of PlayStation at GDC last month.

Harrison was joining an all-star cast of game industry luminaries speaking as part of a very special "Flash Backward: 30 Years of Making Games" session that was presented to commemorate the 30th edition of GDC.

The talk offered attendees a look back at significant trends through the eyes of the people who helped shape them, from the age of adventure games through to the heyday of MMORPGs, the rise of smartphones and tablets and the advent of virtual reality.

Phil Harrison's segment on the history and impact of the PlayStation packed a ton of interesting historical insights into just under eight minutes, and you can now watch that specific segment completely free over on the official GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vaultand its new YouTube channeloffers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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