Playstation has been in news since its launch in 1993. This video brand game was developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Playstation is one of the dominant game systems. It became an instant hit among the 90's kids.  

The technology used was revolutionary. Kids were ready to commit to the new gaming system. It was so popular back in the day that every one out of four households had one. 

How Does Playstation work? 

The original and previous versions worked with Super Nintendo game cartridge ports, Super Disc, and technology developed by Sony named CD-ROM/XA. Sony redesigned the tool shortly with many revolutionary changes. The older technology was replaced with new ones. 

The new edition called Playstation X, PSX stopped using cartridge ports and worked solely on CD-ROM-based games. The CPU in the PSX process simpler and limited sets of instructions and computation, the CPU is dubbed as RISC (Reduced Instructions Sets Computer) processor. RISC chips being superscalar perform multiple instructions simultaneously at a faster pace. 

To cut down production cost, there is an application specific integrated circuit or ASIC which possess the CPU, audio, and graphics processor. Had it not been for ASIC, all of the above-mentioned components would have required three separate chips. 

All the PlayStation games come loaded on CD-ROM/XA discs. You must be wondering what happens when you put a game on the console. Here's how it goes. 

  • Power on the console, put the gaming CD in there. 
  • The disc picks up the pace shortly 
  • As the disk spins, the console gets busy loading portions of the operating system from ROM to RAM. 
  • When the game initialization sequence is loaded on the RAM, the user gets to connect and interact via the controller. 
  • As per user request and instructions, the application code and hardware-render geometry are transferred to the RAM. 
  • CPU works on instructions it receives from the controller, upon user request it pulls data from RAM and directs the graphics and audio processing. 

There are two Flash memory card slots if the user is interested in saving the game. 

PSX Controller 

Sony changed the rule with the PSX controller. With the abundance of well-positioned buttons, it makes for a user-friendly interface. 

  • Four buttons on the top left, start and select buttons in the middle, two action buttons on the front left are located  
  • Find four action buttons on the top right and two on the front right. 

Each button is designed for a specific function but all of them work on the same principle. PSX controller has a simple circuit inside which completes a specific cycle when pressed. As the button is pressed, it is pushed into contact with the metal disc, the metal strips generate electricity on contact. The message is then sent to game data to fulfill user action. 

Putting it all together, PlayStation invaded our lives back in the '90s. It captivated attention instantly as it was one of a kind video game system. Many gamers wanted to know how Playstation developed, evolved, and how it works. We wanted to treat our readers with some answers. 

 

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