PlayStation Turns 20!

!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY PLAYSTATION!!!

Now that we have that out of our systems and since I’ve already celebrated 20 years of PlayStation last week, it feels completely appropriate to finally celebrate this machines momentous anniversary of birth by Sony releasing a gorgeous 20th Anniversary Edition of the newest PS4.

My brain just exploded! The PS4 20th Anniversary Edition is in the iconic and classic PlayStation gray with the original four color PS symbol adorning both the console and the face of the Dualshock 4. All 12,300 of the 20th Anniversary Edition’s will come with its number etched on the top so you can see just how close you came to never owning one of these super, super, super rare PS4’s. Of course since the PS2 is the best selling console of all time, it’s only fitting that Sony has sent out these Anniversary Edition’s with a vertical stand, completely appropriate.

These PS4 20th Anniversary Editions will obviously be in high demand, so tune into Sony’s keynote at the PlayStation Experience Saturday, December 6th at 10 am PST. We’ll be there and I’ll be dropping gobs of money for one of these, someone may get murdered.

Enough about murdering people for amazing limited edition PS4’s, let’s talk about what made the PlayStation so great, and because PlayStation blog has access to almost endless developers they were able to snag a few and ask what their three favorite PSone games of all time were. Many of them were my favorites too, but alas, there can be only three, so here goes. PlayStation blog’s full post is here: PlayStation Turns 20: Our All-Time Favorite PSone Games

---

Burke’s List

Resident Evil: My very first PSone game ever, Resident Evil Directors Cut was the reason I wanted a PlayStation. It made me feel like an “adult” gamer, sure

the voice acting and mechanics were crude, but the story and visuals were so ahead of anything I’d seen at the time. I would choose Jill (the master of unlocking) mostly because I was a puss and starting with Chris was essentially like starting with a butter knife. I played it so much I could probably map out the mansion and play the game in its entirety visually in my head, that’s how much it’s stuck with me through the years. And don’t even get me started on Resident Evil 2.

Metal Gear Solid: Oh the game that hurtled me into the throngs of being a gamer, ‘s piece de resistance, his gift to the gaming community. Never have I been so emotionally involved in any game before Metal Gear Solid. The story wasn’t some back drop you played against, you lived it, you wanted to be a part of it. There were so many different aspects to MGS, it was just too perfect. Did you want to run and gun, good luck, and you could do that, but real men, those that wanted to “let the world be” chose the path unseen. Like Resident Evil I can run through MGS like I just beat it yesterday, knowing every nook and cranny in each map, understanding each bosses weaknesses, and still, it never gets old going in and out of vents just to see Meryl in her underwear. The codec ring still gives me goosebumps, if it’s on your phone, I’ll be the guy who’s head perks up gives you an uncomfortable smug smile.

Incredible Crisis: So this list was incredibly difficult (pun not intended), I had to pass up so many great titles, Crash Bandicoot, Ape Escape, Bust-a-Groove, Dino Crisis, WipeOut, etc just so I could get to this beautiful gem, Incredible Crisis. Godamnit I love this game. I don’t even remember how I came about to play it, I just know it was sometime around 2000 or 2001 when I was manager at a small video game shop in Tacoma, WA. The box art (a volcano head erupting) doesn’t even tell much about it, but there I was putting this crazy Japanese port into the demo station and having customers alike joining in on all of it’s crazy shenanigans. Incredible Crisis was about a family who’s life get’s flipped upside down as they try to get their grandma a birthday gift. It was filled with crazy mini games like dancing during work breaks, emptying a sinking ship with just a bucket, Ferris wheel “back massages”, math (yes math), unknowingly assisting of a bank robbery, Simon Says UFO battles, and a whole lot more. It’s just so random and brilliant, I still play it to this day and bring it out regularly during drunken gaming nights.

---

Jared’s List

Metal Gear Solid: I bought a PS1 just for this game while I was stationed in Japan.  Played it until completion and then played it again.

Slap Happy Rhythm Busters: Released only in Japan, cell-shaded half fighting game, half rhythm game and all awesome!  Plus a Japanese techno soundtrack.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater: Too much time spent with this gem.  Even though it was 1-player you still sat around challenging your friends to beat your trick scores.

---

I was talking briefly to Jared and breaking our favorite PSone games down to a list of three was like choosing between which child I was choosing to keep, so the lists may be extended to 10 in an upcoming PSone lovefest podcast. Look forward to that soon!