PlayStation Turns 20, Celebrates With Limited Edition PS4

It may be hard to believe, but PlayStation is celebrating its 20th anniversary and, to commemorate the occasion, the publisher is offering a brand new version of the PlayStation 4 that, appropriately enough, is themed after the original PSone.

Holy cow, has it really been 20 years already? It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in Spanish class in high school, listening to a buddy of mine explain what this new “PlayStation” console was all about. At the time I was rolling my eyes, dead set on making my next console a Nintendo 64. Then the guy started telling me about the games he was playing, giving me copies of his PlayStation magazines and (what put the final nail in the coffin) actually loaned me his console with a copy of Resident Evil for a weekend.

That next Christmas, the spot traditionally allocated to the N64 on my brother and my Christmas list was switched over to a PlayStation and, to our amazement, the big guy in the red suit finally decided it was time we had a new gaming machine.

Okay, that’s a long enough stroll down memory lane. Let’s talk about this new PS4 console, revealed this morning by SCE Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida on the PlayStation Blog. Honestly, this limited edition beauty isn’t all that different from the regular PS4, but it comes with a console, camera and controller that have been painted to resemble the OG console. From the soft gray color scheme to the classic “PS” logo etched onto the console and front and center on the controller home button, it’s a pretty nice alternative to the regular machine.

“It’s been 20 years since the launch of the original PlayStation, which released in Japan on December 3rd, 1994. It seems like only yesterday! I’m so glad that we can celebrate this moment together,” Yoshida said. “The mid 90s were an exciting time for game developers, driven by the explosion of powerful but affordable 3D graphics rendering hardware and the birth of many young and adventurous development studios. The original PlayStation was meant to embody that sense of adventure and discovery, that sense that anything was possible.”

The 20th Anniversary Edition PS4 is available in a very limited supply, and pre-orders will go live starting this Saturday, Dec. 6. Apparently you’ll have to watch the keynote presentation during the PlayStation Experience that same day at 10 a.m. PT to learn how to reserve a console for yourself. It’s set to be a big event, with loads of announcements, more info on the television streaming service, PlayStation Vue, and plenty of new games, like the recently announced Wander.

So, let’s hear it, folks. Have any fun PlayStation memories to share on this special day? What’s your favorite PlayStation game of all time? Do you remember when you got your first PS console? Give us the details in the comments below.