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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. It was 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 commercially successful because of its relative ease of programming and the low cost of CD-based media. Sony's more inclusive policy towards third party developers also contributed to this success. One advantage the PS1 had over competitors like the N64 was its support for more third party games. Also, the The PS1's CD had a maximum capacity of 600MB, while the N64's was limited to 64MB.
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.
