PlayStation

This games console from Sony plays games from either DVDs (digital versatile disks) or original PlayStation CDs (compact discs). It is backwards compatible to enable it to play games from earlier Sony systems. It can also connect to the Internet via its built-in modem, allowing gamers in different countries to play against each other.

In computing, market-leading games console made by Sony.

Sony launched the PlayStation2 in 2000. Sega launched its rival console, Dreamcast, in late 1999, and Microsoft released the X-Box in 2002. By 2002, Sony's rivals had been reduced to two, as Sega had left the console market to concentrate on producing games for other manufacturers' consoles.

The new generation of games consoles promised Internet connectivity and cutting-edge graphics technology. PlayStation2 was the first backwards-compatible console, allowing existing PlayStation games to be played on the PlayStation2. In late 2003, Sony launched the PSX, a combination of games console and DVD recorder, which was designed to communicate with the PlayStation2 and the PlayStation Portable, expected to be launched in late 2004.

The PlayStation3 is expected to be launched in 2005, using a chip developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM. The PS3 is reported to make use of ‘grid computing’, with consoles networked together over the Internet and working about 200 times faster than the PS2.