PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The brand is recognized primarily for its series of home video game consoles, though it also includes handheld devices, online services, and other media products.
The brainchild of Sony executive Ken Kutaragi, the brand began with the first PlayStation home console released in Japan in 1994 and worldwide the following year, which became the first console of any type to ship over 100 million units, which made PlayStation a globally recognized brand. Since then there have been numerous newer consoles—the most recent being the PlayStation 5 released in 2020—while there have also been a series of handheld consoles and a number of other electronics such as a media center and a smartphone. The main series of controllers utilized by the PlayStation series is the DualShock, a line of vibration-feedback gamepads. SIE also operate numerous online services like PlayStation Network, the PlayStation Store, and the subscription-based PlayStation Plus, which may also offer non-gaming entertainment services; the PlayStation Network has over 103 million active users monthly as of December 2019.
The series also has a strong line-up of first-party games due to PlayStation Studios, a group of many studios owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment that exclusively developed them for PlayStation consoles. In addition, the series features various budget re-releases of games by Sony with different names for each region; these include the PlayStation Hits, Platinum, Essentials, and The Best selection of games. It is also known for the four iconic PlayStation face buttons (, , , ) and has been known for its numerous marketing campaigns, the latest of which being the "Greatness Awaits" and eventually, "Play Has No Limits" commercials.
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