20 Video Games That Defined 20 Years Of PlayStation

It's time to celebrate, and try not to feel too old.

By Philip Haynes /

It may hard to believe, but the PlayStation is now 20 years old. The first Sony console stood out like a sore (yet strangely appealing) thumb by targeting teenagers and young adults almost instead of children directly. In a stroke of genius, Japanese company Sony thought that the kids who had played Sonic and Mario were now at an age where they wanted something more than just a few bright, colourful worlds to explore. They wanted games to grow up with, to talk about for years to come, and maybe even to pass on to someone else. But Sony's PS1 didn't just have games for teens and adults - it had them for everyone. For every Resident Evil and Tomb Raider, there were also titles like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro The Dragon that effortlessly appealed to the younger demographic just as much. Sony greatly expanded gaming's audience with the first PlayStation - something that they have continued to do with each iteration of the hardware. It became successful because it put games before anything else, for all ages. Sony weren't afraid to take a gamble on odd game ideas that other publishers wouldn't touch with a ten-foot stick either, and a lot of those risks paid off in dividends, which is why PlayStation's game library is now home to a treasure trove of classic titles that will be remembered in decades to come.