Since bursting into homes in 1994, the Sony PlayStation has taken the world of video games by storm. It doesn’t seem poised to end there either, as PlayStation’s current incarnation, the PS3, has sold over 40 million units worldwide since 2006. The general design of the PlayStation model has remained fairly faithful to the original brief, a next-gen, CD-based take on the popular cartridge-based models of the day.
The control pads take their cues from the early ergonomic pads used by the SNES or Sega Mega Drive, and this, in my opinion, is where the humble PS won out over the Nintendo 64 and still wins out over the Xbox. Talking about control pads in lieu of software specs or even games may seem crass, but consider this; the controller is the part of you that connects to the game. It’s the interface between man and machine. Why else would they now come equipped with rumble effects and all sorts of gadgetry?
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