Editing PlayStation (console) (section)

===Development===
Since Sony had no experience in game development, it had to rely on the support of [[Third party developer|third-party game developers]]. This was in contrast to Sega and Nintendo, which had versatile and well-equipped in-house software divisions for their [[arcade games]] and could easily [[porting|port]] successful games to their home consoles.{{sfn|Asakura|2000|p=57}} Recent consoles like the [[Atari Jaguar]] and [[3DO Interactive Multiplayer|3DO]] suffered low sales due to a lack of developer support, prompting Sony to redouble their efforts in gaining the endorsement of arcade-savvy developers.<ref name=ignhistory/> A team from [[Epic Sony]] visited more than a hundred companies throughout Japan in May&nbsp;1993 in hopes of attracting game creators with the PlayStation's technological appeal.{{sfn|Asakura|2000|p=58}} Sony found that many disliked Nintendo's practices, such as favouring their own games over others.{{r|maher20231208}} Through a series of negotiations, Sony acquired initial support from [[Namco]], [[Konami]], and [[Williams Entertainment]], as well as 250 other development teams in Japan alone. Namco in particular was interested in developing for PlayStation since Namco rivalled Sega in the arcade market.{{sfn|Asakura|2000|pp=72–73}} Attaining these companies secured influential games such as ''[[Ridge Racer (video game)|Ridge Racer]]'' (1993) and ''[[Mortal Kombat 3]]'' (1995),<ref name=ignhistory/>{{sfn|McFerran|2015|p=12}} ''Ridge Racer'' being one of the most popular arcade games at the time,{{sfn|Desmond|1995|pp=170–71}} and it was already confirmed behind closed doors that it would be the PlayStation's first game by December 1993,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Japan News Network|journal=[[Gamefan]]|issue=2|date=January 1994|page=158}}</ref> despite Namco being a longstanding Nintendo developer.{{r|maher20231208}} Namco's research managing director Shegeichi Nakamura met with Kutaragi in 1993 to discuss the preliminary PlayStation specifications, with Namco subsequently basing the [[Namco System 11]] arcade board on PlayStation hardware and developing ''[[Tekken (video game)|Tekken]]'' to compete with ''Virtua Fighter''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=System 11: Namco's PlayStation coin-op|magazine=Edge|issue=21|volume=3|date=June 1995|page=68|url=https://archive.org/details/EDGE.N021.1995.06/page/n67}}</ref> The System 11 launched in arcades several months before the PlayStation's release, with the arcade release of ''Tekken'' in September 1994.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tekken (Registration Number PA0000704272) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/ |publisher=[[United States Copyright Office]] |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531152425/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Ian_Hetherington_1990.png|thumb|right|[[Ian Hetherington]] pictured in 1990. Hetherington and [[Psygnosis]] played important roles in the PlayStation project.|alt=A photo of Ian Hetherington, founder of game developer Psygnosis, seated at a desk.]]

Despite securing the support of various Japanese studios, Sony had no developers of their own by the time the PlayStation was in development. This changed in 1993 when Sony acquired the [[Liverpudlian]] company [[Psygnosis]] (later renamed SCE Liverpool) for {{USD|48}} million, securing their first in-house development team. The acquisition meant that Sony could have more [[launch game]]s ready for the PlayStation's release in Europe and North America.<ref name=ignhistory/>{{sfn|McFerran|2015|p=12}} [[Ian Hetherington]], Psygnosis' co-founder, was disappointed after receiving early builds of the PlayStation and recalled that the console "was not fit for purpose" until his team got involved with it.<ref name="eusuccess">{{cite magazine|author=MCV staff|title=How PlayStation conquered Europe |url=https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/how-playstation-conquered-europe/ |magazine=[[MCV/DEVELOP|MCV]] |publisher=[[Future plc]] |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020222543/https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/how-playstation-conquered-europe/|url-status=live|archive-date=20 October 2020 |location=[[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] |date=2 October 2015}}</ref> Hetherington frequently clashed with Sony executives over broader ideas; at one point it was suggested that a television with a built-in PlayStation be produced.<ref name="hetherington">{{cite web |last1=Stafford |first1=Patrick |title=From Lemmings to Wipeout: how Ian Hetherington incubated gaming success |url=https://www.polygon.com/features/2017/7/12/15924520/from-lemmings-to-wipeout-how-ian-hetherington-incubated-gaming-success |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |access-date=11 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316102427/https://www.polygon.com/features/2017/7/12/15924520/from-lemmings-to-wipeout-how-ian-hetherington-incubated-gaming-success |archive-date=16 March 2019 |location=[[Washington D.C.]] |language=en |date=12 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In the months leading up to the PlayStation's launch, Psygnosis had around 500 full-time staff working on games and assisting with software development.<ref name=eusuccess/>{{sfn|Perry|1995|p=47}}

The purchase of Psygnosis marked another turning point for the PlayStation as it played a vital role in creating the console's [[Game development kit|development kit]]s. While Sony had provided [[MIPS R4000]]-based [[Sony NEWS]] workstations for PlayStation development, Psygnosis employees disliked the thought of developing on these expensive workstations and asked [[Bristol]]-based [[SN Systems]] to create an alternative PC-based development system.<ref name=edgehistory/> Andy Beveridge and Martin Day, owners of SN Systems, had previously supplied development hardware for other consoles such as the [[Mega Drive]], [[Atari ST]], and the SNES.{{sfn|Perry|1995|p=49}} When Psygnosis arranged an audience for SN Systems with Sony's Japanese executives at the January&nbsp;1994 CES in [[Las Vegas]], Beveridge and Day presented their prototype of the condensed development kit, which could run on an ordinary personal computer with two extension boards. Impressed, Sony decided to abandon their plans for a workstation-based development system in favour of SN Systems's, thus securing a cheaper and more efficient method for designing software.<ref name=ignhistory/> An order of over 600 systems followed, and SN Systems supplied Sony with additional software such as an [[assembler (computing)|assembler]], [[linker (computer)|linker]], and a [[debugger]].{{sfn|Perry|1995|p=50}} SN Systems produced development kits for future PlayStation systems, including the [[PlayStation 2]] and was bought out by Sony in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sony Computer Entertainment to start providing PRODG tools for PlayStation 3 game content development|url=http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/050927be.pdf|publisher=[[Sony Computer Entertainment]]|location=[[Tokyo]]|date=27 September 2005|access-date=27 September 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105114732/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/050927be.pdf|archive-date=5 November 2005}}</ref>

Sony strived to make game production as streamlined and inclusive as possible, in contrast to the relatively isolated approach of Sega and Nintendo. [[Phil Harrison]], representative director of SCEE, believed that Sony's emphasis on developer assistance reduced most time-consuming aspects of development. As well as providing [[programming library|programming libraries]], SCE headquarters in London, California, and Tokyo housed technical support teams that could work closely with third-party developers if needed.{{sfn|Baggatta|1997|p=10}}{{sfn|Perry|1995|p=46}} Sony did not favour their own over non-Sony products, unlike Nintendo;{{r|maher20231208}} [[Peter Molyneux]] of [[Bullfrog Productions]] admired Sony's open-handed approach to software developers and lauded their decision to use PCs as a development platform, remarking that "[it was] like being released from jail in terms of the freedom you have".{{sfn|Perry|1995|pp=46–47}} Another strategy that helped attract software developers was the PlayStation's use of the CD-ROM format instead of traditional [[ROM cartridge|cartridges]]. Nintendo cartridges were expensive to manufacture, and the company controlled all production, prioritising their own games, while inexpensive [[compact disc manufacturing]] occurred at dozens of locations around the world.{{r|maher20231208}}

The PlayStation's architecture and interconnectability with PCs was beneficial to many software developers. The use of the programming language [[C (programming language)|C]] proved useful, as it safeguarded future compatibility of the machine should developers decide to make further hardware revisions.{{sfn|Perry|1995|p=47}} Despite the inherent flexibility, some developers found themselves restricted due to the console's lack of [[RAM]]. While working on beta builds of the PlayStation, Molyneux observed that its [[MIPS processor]] was not "quite as bullish" compared to that of a fast PC and said that it took his team two weeks to port their PC code to the PlayStation development kits and another fortnight to achieve a four-fold speed increase.{{sfn|Perry|1995|pp=47–48}} An engineer from [[Ocean Software]], one of Europe's largest game developers at the time, thought that allocating RAM was a challenging aspect given the 3.5 megabyte restriction.{{sfn|Perry|1995|p=48}} Kutaragi said that while it would have been easy to double the amount of RAM for the PlayStation, the development team refrained from doing so to keep the retail cost down.{{sfn|Baggatta|1997|p=11}} Kutaragi saw the biggest challenge in developing the system to be balancing the conflicting goals of high performance, low cost, and being easy to program for, and felt he and his team were successful in this regard.{{sfn|Baggatta|1997|p=11}}

Its technical specifications were finalised in 1993 and its design during 1994.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Update|journal=[[PlayStation Official Magazine – UK]]|issue=1|date=November 1995|page=12}}</ref> The PlayStation name and its final design were confirmed during a press conference on May 10, 1994, although the price and release dates had not been disclosed yet.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Sony 32-bit PS-X System: companies and titles|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=60|date=June 1994|page=16}}</ref>