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The '''[[wikipedia:PlayStation_(console)|PlayStation]]''' (frequently referred to in shorthand as the '''PS1''') is a fifth-generation console released by [[wikipedia:Sony Computer Entertainment|Sony Computer Entertainment]] on December 3, 1994, in Japan and September 9, 1995, in the US, and retailed for {{Inflation|USD|299.99|1995}}. It had an R3000 CPU (which was used by NASA to take pictures of Mars because of its reliability) at 33.8688 MHz with 2 MBs of RAM and 1 MB of VRAM. It used a proprietary MDEC video compression unit integrated into the CPU, allowing for playback of full-motion video at a higher quality than other consoles of its generation. It had better stereo sound than that of other stereos at that time.
The PS1 was particularly attractive to developers because of the relative ease of programming and the low cost of CD-based media. Sony also had a more inclusive policy towards third party developers. One advantage the PS1 had over competitors like the N64 was its support for , resulting in more third party gamesthan the N64. A PS1 CD had a maximum capacity of 600 MB600MB, while that of the N64 's was limited to 64 MB64MB.
PlayStation emulation has been available since the late 1990s, and was generally better than the comparable Nintendo 64 offerings despite the use of a plugin system. The plugins and emulators were often closed-source, rarely updated, and of questionable accuracy, but new offerings emerging starting in the mid-2010s offer high accuracy, many enhancements over the original hardware, or both.
