Why do you think was it called "PlayStation"?

[themarksquared]

Good day!

I personally believe that names are important. It serves as part of our own identity. It is who we are. Names distinguish us from other things that have names. I must say,names truly are beautiful, right?

With that, I would like to ask. What is the history behind the name "PlayStation"? Who coined the term? Why wasn't it named PlayBox One or the like?

Feel free to discuss.

Cheers!

 

[GetSome]

I'd think a simple google search would turn up the answer.

Ahh yup there it is :

Its founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka derived the name from sonus, the Latin word for sound, and also from the English slang word "sonny", since they considered themselves to be "sonny boys", a loan word into Japanese which in the early 1950s connoted smart and presentable young men.[5] The company's current slogan is make.believe. Their former slogan was like.no.other

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony

 

[Dame6089]

I'd think a simple google search would turn up the answer.

Ahh yup there it is :

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony

This is interesting. I never knew that the name meant anything. Still, the question was actually about why they named it Playstation.

I can't really say for sure, but maybe it was to differentiate itself from the names of other consoles at the time. There were no names that sounded like it in the video game industry before this.

 

[themarksquared]

I'd think a simple google search would turn up the answer.

Ahh yup there it is :

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony

Yep, I have heard about the reason why the company was called Sony. But my question was about the history of the name "PlayStation." . Thanks for sharing that piece of info though.

 

[dannyboy]

I guess they called it that because the console was basically an item that was going to give gamers the ultimate playing experience.

 

[Annetteb]

I guess they called it that because the console was basically an item that was going to give gamers the ultimate playing experience.

I agree. I think that's the reason they named it for that reason as well.

 

[themarting]

Heres something cool. It was originally being developed as a next gen Super NES.
It was an SNES-CD and originally called Play Station.

According to the article, Nintendo re-read the contract and realized sony was going to maintain complete control over the product, so they backed out. I wonder how much richer Nintendo would have been if sony hadnt continued on alone...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNES-CD

 

[BlackSolaris]

I think it was because they wanted to create a multimedia "station". You know, play doesn't always mean games, you can play movies or music too, so i guess they were expecting to involve into such ways on the future.

 

[SS42A]

Being called "PlayStation," I think Sony foresaw the fact that the ordinary gaming console has the potential to become a multimedia player, from playing music CDs to movies. In effect, Sony wanted to trailblaze the way to a future where gaming and entertainment will be fused together.

 

[lindbergh]

IMO, they could have called it anything they wanted and still would have sold a lot of units. But the "Play" was an obvious word that they included in the name because you use it to play games. And "station" because you would have a sort of entertainment outpost with it. They put the words together to make it more interesting. My question is, what would you have called it?

 

[DrRipley]

I think they called it Playstation because it was a literal English translation of somewhere you played on. I believe Japanese are accustomed to naming their stuff this way, as I've heard that they even call their arcades "game centres", and I believe the PS to be named in the same vein.

 

[themarksquared]

IMO, they could have called it anything they wanted and still would have sold a lot of units. But the "Play" was an obvious word that they included in the name because you use it to play games. And "station" because you would have a sort of entertainment outpost with it. They put the words together to make it more interesting. My question is, what would you have called it?

If that's the case, then I can truly conclude that the people at Sony are geniuses. Okay, that may have been quite an over-exaggeration. I'm glad they had the proper sense of vision to tell that in the future, they will not only focus on games, but on multimedia, as a whole.

If given the chance, I would name it GameBox. Nah, I'm kidding. Probably somewhere along the lines of "Game" and a "Box".

 

[lindbergh]

If that's the case, then I can truly conclude that the people at Sony are geniuses. Okay, that may have been quite an over-exaggeration. I'm glad they had the proper sense of vision to tell that in the future, they will not only focus on games, but on multimedia, as a whole.

If given the chance, I would name it GameBox. Nah, I'm kidding. Probably somewhere along the lines of "Game" and a "Box".

Game and Box. Has a nice ring to it.

Microsoft has beat you to it with the box word though. Gamecube? Uhm, Nintendo has that covered as well. GameSquare? Hmmm...