playstation 1 lcd screen free sample

I bought the screen from Total Console for my husband. He has a few old PlayStation games he likes, and wants to be able to play now and again, so I figured this would be the best way allow him to do that and not have to have it hooked to the TV all the time. I had some difficulty, but it was not the fault of Total Console. Rather, there were some things I had to learn along the way that I will pass along that may help someone else.

1. The screen is touchy. It may not work with the standard PSOne adapter (model SCPH-113). You may need the adapter that was specially made for this screen (it has a little more juice), which is model SCPH-121. I found one on eBay. When using the 113 adapter, I would get sound, and shadows, but the screen was really dark and you could not make anything out.

2. The screen is fussy. Even after obtaining the correct adapter, I was getting the shadows. Total Console was extremely helpful, and I was setting up a return when, on a whim, I plugged it into the wall (I had prior used an extension cord and a power bar - the outlets in my house are oddly placed). It lit right up. I was amazed. As long as it"s plugged into a wall, it works great. (Our screen doesn"t work correctly with the 113 adapter, even plugged into the wall - a google search showed that this is sometimes an issue, other times not).

A bottom-up comparison of the SCPH-1000, SCPH-3000, SCPH-5501, and SCPH-9001. The SCPH-900x revision saw the removal of the parallel I/O port while the RCA connectors were removed in the SCPH-550x revision and the S-Video port was removed in the SCPH-1001 revision.

The PlayStation went through a number of variants during its production run, each accompanied by a change in the part number. From an external viewpoint, the most notable change was the gradual reduction in the number of external connectors from the back of the unit. This started very early on with the original Japanese launch units; the SCPH-1000, released on 3 December 1994, was the only model that had an S-Video port, which was removed on the next release.printf function and developers had to use another function instead.

The PAL region consoles from SCPH-1002 up to SCPH-5552 were different from the systems released in other regions in that they had a different menu design; a grey blocked background with square icons for the Memory Card (an icon showing a PlayStation with 2 memory cards inserted) and CD player (an icon with musical keyboards) menus. The CD player also included reverberation effects unique to those systems until the release of the PS one in 2000, which featured a slightly modified version of the BIOS.

With the release of the SCPH-5000 series being produced only in Japan, it followed the same exterior design as the Japanese SCPH-3xxx series, its only differences being that it was switched to Rev. C hardware (same as late 1001/1002 units) with some upgrades to flawed components from previous models and a reduced retail price. This was followed by the first major consolidation, SCPH-550x/5001 and PAL-exclusive SCPH-5552 units, released in April 1997. This model further addressed the reliability issues with the disc drive assembly by placing the drive further away from the power supply in order to reduce heat; the chipset was also redesigned to use digital servo for focus/tracking and also to auto-calibrate the drive, as opposed to manual gain/bias calibration on earlier models. Also, shielding and PSU wiring were simplified, and from the SCPH-5001 on the RCA jacks and RFU power connectors were removed from the rear panel and the printed text on the back was changed to reliefs of the same. Starting with the SCPH-550x series, PAL variants had the "power" and "open" buttons changed from text to symbols, something that would later appear on the redesigned PS one. Originally, the PlayStation was supposed to have provision on Video CD support, but this feature was only included on the Asian exclusive SCPH-5903 model.

These were followed by the SCPH-700x and SCPH-750x series, released in April 1998—they are externally identical to the SCPH-500x machines, but have internal changes made to reduce manufacturing costs (for example, the system RAM went from 4 chips to 1, and the CD controller went from 3 chips to 1) and these were the last models to support parallel port for Gameshark devices and Xploder Pro. In addition, a slight change of the start-up screen was made; the diamond remains unchanged but the font used for Sony Computer and Entertainment is now consistent, making the words appear smaller than the diamond overall, and the trademark symbol (™) is now placed after "Computer Entertainment" instead of after the diamond, as it was on the earlier models. New to the SCPH-700x series was the introduction of the "Sound Scope" – light show music visualizations. These were accessible by pressing the Select button while playing any normal audio CD in the system"s CD player. While watching these visualizations, players could also add various effects like color cycling or motion blur and can save/load their memory card. These were seen on the SCPH-700x, 750x, 900x, and PS one models.

The final revision to the original PlayStation was the SCPH-900x series, released in May 1999. These had the same hardware as the SCPH-750x models, except the parallel port was removed and the size of the PCB is further reduced. The removal of the parallel port is partially due to the fact that Sony did not release an official add-on for it; it was used for cheat cartridges, and for the parallel port to defeat the regional lockouts and copy protection. The PlayStation Link Cable connection was supported by only a handful of games. The SCPH-900x was the last model to support it, as the Serial I/O port was removed on all PS one models.

The PS one, released on 7 July 2000, was originally based on essentially the same hardware as the SCPH-900x; the serial port was removed, the controller/memory card ports moved to the main PCB and the internal power supply replaced with an external 7.5VDC power adapter with the other required power rails being generated internally on the main using a mixture of regulators and DC/DC converters for the various rails. It also incorporated a slightly modified version of the menu design previously used only on PAL consoles. The later revision (still designated as SCPH-10x but with a different PM-41(2) main circuit board) was functionally identical, but reduced manufacturing cost for a last time by moving to more highly integrated chips, namely the replacement of external RAM with on-chip RAM, which both reduced the parts count and allowed the use of smaller and cheaper packages by reducing the number of pins required.

There were also debugging consoles - these were generally in either blue or green cases, although there were some special production units (mostly intended for use as show demo units) that were grey, the same as the retail consoles. The debug units were designed to be as close as possible to retail consoles, so they only had 2MB of ram (the developer boards had 8MB) and had standard retail boot ROMs. The only real difference is that the CD controller was reprogrammed so that it would identify any disc that had a data track as being "licensed", rather than requiring the region code in the lead-in that was present on pressed PlayStation CDs. This was done to allow developers to burn games to CD-R for testing. A side-effect of this was that most debug consoles would also boot discs from other regions (one notable exception being the later NTSC:J debugs, which only boot Japanese titles), although this was not officially supported. Sony made specific debug consoles for each region, and the TRC (technical requirement checklist) provided by Sony for each region required testing the title on the correct debug stations.

The reason for the two different case colors was a hardware change that Sony had made fairly early in the PlayStation production cycle - the original machines were built using Rev. A (early Japan market units) or Rev. B (later Japan units, US and Europe) hardware, both using the same GPU with VRAM to store the video data. Later models used Rev. C silicon and SGRAM - although the two chipsets had very similar performance, and Rev. C was explicitly designed with compatibility in mind, they were not identical - the Rev. C version was significantly faster at doing alpha blending, and hence the PS "semitransparent" writing mode - it was also rather slow at certain screen memory block moves (basically, ones involving narrow vertical strips of the display) on top of this there were some minor hardware bugs in the older silicon that had been addressed by including workarounds for them in the libraries - the later library versions checked the GPU type at startup time and disabled the patches if they were not needed. Because this made the two machine types quite significantly different from each other, the developer had to test the title on both machines before submitting. The blue debugs (DTL-H100x, DTL-H110x) had the old silicon and the green ones (DTL-H120x) had the new silicon.

In 1997, Sony released a version of the PlayStation called the Net Yaroze. It only came via mail order and was more expensive than the regular PlayStation ($750 instead of $299 for the original PlayStation). It had a matte black finish instead of the usual gray, and most importantly, came with tools and instructions that allowed a user to be able to program PlayStation games and applications without the need for a full development unit, which was more expensive than a normal PlayStation (official development kits cost around $50,000.00 at the time). It was only available to approved video game developers, who needed to sign an agreement that they wouldn"t distribute their games to anyone else or try to reverse-engineer the hardware. The Net Yaroze lacked many of the features the full developer suite provided, lacking the on-demand support and code libraries that licensed developers had.Ridge Racer ran entirely from the system RAM (except for the streamed music tracks).regional lockout; it would play games from any territory. It would not however play CD-R discs, so it was not possible to create self-booting Yaroze games without a modified PlayStation.

The PS One (officially stylized as PS one and alternatively spelled PSOne and PSone) is a smaller, redesigned version of the original PlayStation platform.PlayStation 2.

Sony also released a version with a 5-inch LCD screen and an adaptor (though it did not have a battery: it is powered by plugging the adaptor in a main socket, or in a car). It was called the Combo pack. However, it includes a headphone jack (for headphones or other audio connection) and an AV mini jack for connecting camcorders or other devices.

Available in Midnight Blue as a promotional item to commemorate the 10 millionth PlayStation sold, this is a Japanese-region console that has a unique BIOS based on the USA NTSC-U/C version that allowed imported games from any region to be played.

The first batch of PlayStations used a KSM-440AAM laser unit whose case and all movable parts were completely made out of plastic. Over time, friction caused the plastic tray to wear out—usually unevenly. The placement of the laser unit close to the power supply accelerated wear because of the additional heat, which made the plastic even more vulnerable to friction. Eventually, the tray would become so worn that the laser no longer pointed directly at the CD and games would no longer load. Sony first addressed the problem by making the tray out of die-cast metal, and additionally also placed the laser unit farther away from the power supply on later models of the PlayStation.

Some units, particularly the early 100x models, would be unable to play FMV or music correctly, resulting in skipping or freezing. In more extreme cases the PlayStation would only work correctly when turned onto its side or upside down.

"PlayStation Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware". Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2012-01-27.

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 30 November 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo"s GameCube, and Microsoft"s Xbox. It is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide.

Announced in 1999, Sony began developing the console after the immense success of its predecessor. The PS2 offered backward-compatibility for its predecessor"s DualShock controller, as well as its games.

The PlayStation 2 received widespread critical acclaim upon release. A total of over 4,000 game titles were released, with over 1.5 billion copies sold.PS2 Slim. Even after the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3, it remained popular well into the seventh generation. It continued to be produced until 2013 when Sony finally announced that it had been discontinued after over twelve years of production, one of the longest lifespans of any video game console. New games for the console continued to be made until the end of its life.

Released in 1994, the original PlayStation proved to be a phenomenal worldwide success and signalled Sony"s rise to power in the video game industry. Its launch elicited critical acclaim and strong sales; it eventually became the first computer entertainment platform to ship over 100 million units.development kits, large-scale advertising campaigns, and strong third-party developer support.Sega and Nintendo in the global video game market.Dreamcast in 1998 as a last-ditch attempt to stay in the industry.

Though Sony has kept details of the PlayStation 2"s development secret, Ken Kutaragi, the chief designer of the original PlayStation, reportedly began working on a second console around the time of the original PlayStation"s launch in late 1994.Argonaut Games, under contract for semiconductor manufacturer LSI Corporation, were instructed to design a rendering chip for Sony"s upcoming console.Jez San, founder of Argonaut, recalled that his team had no direct contact with Sony during the development process. Unbeknownst to him, Sony was designing their own chip in-house and had instructed other companies to design rendering chips merely to diversify their options.

By early 1997, the press was reporting that a new PlayStation was being developed and would have backward-compatibility with the original PlayStation, a built-in DVD player, and Internet connectivity.Chris Deering, then-president of SCEE recalled that there was a degree of trepidation among Sony leaders to produce a console which would recapture or exceed the success of its predecessor.

"PlayStation 2"s real-time graphics have no limitations. That"s why I chose the colour black as it represents the infinity of the universe. The blue represents the intelligence and life spouting up."

Marketing for the PlayStation 2 reverted to the same tactic used in the early days of the original PlayStation: use 17-year-olds as the target audience, since younger audiences aspire to be teenagers and older audiences enjoy video games at the same level they did when they were 17.

The success of the PS2 at the end of 2000 caused Sega problems both financially and competitively, and Sega announced the discontinuation of the Dreamcast in March 2001, just 18 months after its successful Western launch. Despite the Dreamcast still receiving support through 2001, the PS2 remained the only sixth-generation console for over 6 months before it faced competition from new rivals: Nintendo"s GameCube and Microsoft"s Xbox. Many analysts predicted a close three-way matchup among the three consoles. The Xbox had the most powerful hardware, while the GameCube was the least expensive console, and Nintendo changed its policy to encourage third-party developers. While the PlayStation 2 theoretically had the weakest specification of the three, it had a head start due to its installed base plus strong developer commitment, as well as a built-in DVD player (the Xbox required an adapter, while the GameCube lacked support entirely).holiday season with the release of several blockbuster games that maintained the PS2"s sales momentum and held off its newer rivals. Sony also countered the Xbox by securing timed PlayStation 2 exclusives for highly anticipated games such as the

Sony cut the price of the console in May 2002 from US$299 to $199 in North America,GameCube and $100 less than the Xbox. It also planned to cut the price in Japan around that time.PlayStation 3.

Unlike Sega"s Dreamcast, Sony originally placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first few years, although that changed upon the launch of the online-capable Xbox. Coinciding with the release of Xbox Live, Sony released the PlayStation Network Adapter in late 2002, with several online first-party titles released alongside it, such as Electronic Arts (EA); EA did not offer online Xbox titles until 2004. Although Sony and Nintendo both started late, and although both followed a decentralized model of online gaming where the responsibility is up to the developer to provide the servers, Sony"s moves made online gaming a major selling point of the PS2.

The PlayStation 2 continued to be produced until 2013 when Sony finally announced that it had been discontinued after over twelve years of production—one of the longest lifespans of any video game console. New games for the console continued to be made until the end of 2013, including

The PlayStation 2"s main central processing unit (CPU) is the 128-bit R5900-based "Emotion Engine", custom-designed by Sony and Toshiba.die. These units include a central CPU core, two Vector Processing Units (VPU), a 10-channel DMA unit, a memory controller, and an Image Processing Unit (IPU). There are three interfaces: an input output interface to the I/O processor, a graphics interface to the graphics synthesiser, and a memory interface to the system memory.clock rate of 294.9 MHz (299 MHz on newer versions) and 6,000 MIPS, with a floating point performance of 6.2 GFLOPS.

The GPU is likewise custom-designed for the console, named the "Graphics Synthesiser". It has a fillrate of 2.4 gigapixels per second, capable of rendering up to 75 million polygons per second.DRAM is capable of transmitting a display output of 1280 x 1024 pixels on both PAL and NTSC televisions.colour depth of 16.7 million true colours.lighting, texture mapping, artificial intelligence, and game physics, the console has a real-world performance of 25 million polygons per second.USB ports, and one IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port for SCPH-10000 to 3900x models only. A hard disk drive can be installed in an expansion bay on the back of the console, and is required to play certain games, notably the popular

Software for the PlayStation 2 was distributed primarily on DVD-ROMs,backward-compatible with almost all original PlayStation games.memory cards and controllers, although original PlayStation memory cards will only work with original PlayStation games

The standard PlayStation 2 memory card has an 8 megabyte (MB) capacityMagicGate encryption. There are a variety of non-Sony manufactured memory cards available for the PlayStation 2, allowing for a memory capacity larger than the standard 8 MB.

The PlayStation 2 can natively output video resolutions on SDTV and HDTV from 480i to 480p, and some games, such as 1080i resolutioncomposite videoS-VideoRGBVGAPS2 Linux only), YPBPR component videoD-Terminal.RF modulator is available for the system to connect to older TVs.

The PS2 is primarily differentiated between models featuring the original "fat" case design and "slimline" models, which were introduced at the end of 2004. In 2010, the Sony Bravia KDL-22PX300 was made available to consumers. It was a 22" HD-Ready television which incorporated a built-in PlayStation 2.

Sony also manufactured a consumer device called the PSX that can be used as a digital video recorder and DVD burner in addition to playing PS2 games. The device was released in Japan on 13 December 2003, and was the first Sony product to include the XrossMediaBar interface. It did not sell well in the Japanese market and was not widely released anywhere else.

PlayStation 2 users had the option to play select games over the Internet, using dial-up or a broadband Internet connection. The PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor was required for the original models, while the slim models included built-in networking ports. Instead of having a unified, subscription-based online service like Xbox Live as competitor Microsoft later chose for its Xbox console, online multiplayer functionality on the PlayStation 2 was the responsibility of the game publisher and ran on third-party servers. Many games that supported online play exclusively supported broadband Internet access.

The PlayStation 2"s DualShock 2 controller retains most of the same functionality as its predecessor. However, it includes analogue pressure sensitivity to over 100 individual levels of depth on the face, shoulder and D-pad buttons,digital buttons of the original.force feedback, or "vibration" functionality. It is lighter and includes two more levels of vibration.

Optional hardware includes additional DualShock or DualShock 2 controllers, a PS2 DVD remote control, an internal or external hard disk drive (HDD), a network adapter, horizontal and vertical stands, PlayStation or PS2 memory cards, the multitap for PlayStation or PS2, a USB motion camera (EyeToy), a USB keyboard and mouse, and a headset.

The original PS2 multitap (SCPH-10090) cannot be plugged into the newer slim models. The multitap connects to the memory card slot and the controller slot, and the memory card slot on the slimline is shallower. New slim-design multitaps (SCPH-70120) were manufactured for these models; however, third-party adapters also permit original multitaps to be used.

Some third-party companies, such as JoyTech, have produced LCD monitor and speaker attachments for the PS2, which attach to the back of the console. These allow users to play games without access to a television as long as there is access to mains electricity or a similar power source. These screens can fold down onto the PS2 in a similar fashion to laptop screens.

Unlike the PlayStation, which requires the use of an official Sony PlayStation Mouse to play mouse-compatible games, the few PS2 games with mouse support work with a standard USB mouse as well as a USB trackball.

PlayStation 2 software is distributed on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM; the two formats are differentiated by their discs" bottoms, with CD-ROMs being blue and DVD-ROMs being silver. The PlayStation 2 offered some particularly high-profile exclusive games. Most main entries in the

Game releases peaked in 2004, but declined with the release of the PlayStation 3 in 2006. The last new games for the console were software titles had been released worldwide including games released in multiple regions as separate titles.

Initial reviews in 2000 of the PlayStation 2 highly acclaimed the console, with reviewers commending its hardware and graphics capabilities, its ability to play DVDs, and the system"s backwards compatibility with games and hardware for the original PlayStation. Early points of criticism included the lack of online support at the time, its inclusion of only two controller ports, and the system"s price at launch compared to the Dreamcast in 2000.IEEE 1394 (branded as "i.LINK" by Sony and "FireWire" by Apple), and the console"s two USB ports while criticizing its "expensive" games and its support for only two controllers without the multitap accessory.

Later reviews, especially after the launch of the competing GameCube and Xbox systems, continued to praise the PlayStation 2"s large game library and DVD playback, while routinely criticizing the PlayStation 2"s lesser graphics performance compared to the newer systems and its rudimentary online service compared to Xbox Live. In 2002, CNET rated the console 7.3 out of 10, calling it a "safe bet" despite not being the "newest or most powerful", noting that the console "yields in-game graphics with more jagged edges". CNET also criticized the DVD playback functionality, claiming that the console"s video quality was "passable" and that the playback controls were "rudimentary", recommending users to purchase a remote control. The console"s two controller ports and the high cost of its memory cards were also a point of criticism.

The slim model of the PlayStation 2 received positive reviews for its incredibly small size and built-in networking, but received criticism for easily overheating due to exclusion of the original model’s built-in fan. The requirement for a separate power adapter was criticized while the top-loading disc drive was noted as being less likely to break compared to the tray-loading drive of the original model.

Demand for the PlayStation 2 remained strong throughout much of its lifespan, selling over 1.4 million units in Japan by 31 March 2000. Over 10.6 million units were sold worldwide by 31 March 2001.Nintendo DS reached 100 million shipments in 4 years and 5 months from its launch.PAL regions.

Sony released a Linux-based operating system, Linux for PlayStation 2, for the PS2 in a package that also includes a keyboard, mouse, Ethernet adapter and HDD. In Europe and Australia, the PS2 comes with a free Yabasic interpreter on the bundled demo disc. This allows users to create simple programs for the PS2. A port of the NetBSD project and BlackRhino GNU/Linux, an alternative Debian-based distribution, are also available for the PS2.

Perry, Douglas (11 September 1999). "Call It PlayStation 2". Chicago: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.

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Goodley, Simon (5 August 2000). "Sony delays UK launch of PlayStation 2". London. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.

プレイステーション2の日本国内での出荷が本日（2012年12月28日）で完了. Tokyo: Enterbrain. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.

Diefendorff, Keith (19 April 1999). "Sony"s Emotionally Charged Chip" (PDF). 13 (5). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2017.

Shiloy, Anton (26 February 2007). "Sony Removes Emotion Engine, Graphics Synthesizer from PAL PlayStation 3". X-bit labs. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2014.

Perry, Douglass (10 March 2000). "The Untapped Power of PlayStation 2". IGN. Chicago: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.

Leadbetter, Richard (21 July 2012). "Digital Foundry vs. PS2 Classics on PlayStation 3". Bath: Future plc. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2017.

Guinness (February 2009). Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer"s Edition. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-1-904994-45-9. GTA: San Andreas is the best-selling PlayStation 2 game, with a massive 17.33 million copies sold.

"Sega Enterprises Annual Report 1998" (PDF). Sega Enterprises, Ltd. pp. 1, 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2004. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

Wojmar, Jason (8 July 2019). "10 Secrets Behind The Making Of The PlayStation 2". TheGamer. Valnet. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021.

"Sony to Cut Price of PlayStation 2 in Japan Market --- Move Follows Plan to Lower Cost of Product in U.S. by a Third." Asian Wall Street Journal: 0. 15 May 2002. ProQuest. Web. 29 July 2013.

"Sony to Cut Price of PlayStation 2 Game Console by 20 Percent." Knight Ridder Tribune Business News: 1. 4 November 2003. ProQuest. Web. 29 July 2013.

Falcone, John (12 November 2002). "Sony PlayStation 2 Online Adaptor review". CNET. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2020.

Elliott, Valerie (9 December 2004). "Merry Christmas, your PlayStation 2 is stuck in Suez". Times Online. News International. Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.

Stokes, Jon (16 February 2000). "Sound and Vision: A Technical Overview of the Emotion Engine". Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2015.

Casamassina, Matt (3 November 2000). "Gamecube Versus PlayStation 2". Chicago: Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.

"Amazon.com: (PS3/PS2 for) D Terminal Cable: Video Games". Amazon. 28 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2020.

Calvert, Justin (4 November 2003). "PS2 price drop, new colors for Japan". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2007.

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"Dual Shock 2 Review". Chicago: Ziff Davis. 27 September 2001. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011. The biggest difference between the Dual Shock 2 and the original… all of the buttons and even the digital pad offer analog support. This means that the d-pad, the four face buttons and the four shift buttons are all pressure-sensitive and have 255 degrees of sensitivity. It is also worth noting that the Dual Shock 2 is a bit lighter than the original Dual Shock because it appears to have less in the way of gears for the vibration function of the controller.

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Marriott, Michel (26 October 2000). "PlayStation 2: Game Console as Trojan Horse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.

"Nintendo Ships 100 Millionth Portable Nintendo DS System". Nintendo. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

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Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville: Prima Publishing. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.

Fearful Harmony is the name given to a type of start-up error encountered on PlayStation 1 consoles, displayed when the system BIOS is corrupted due to the reading of non-PlayStation data as machine code. This causes the system to hang while displaying audio and visual glitches, caused by a combination of invalid instructions and reduced system performance. This error is triggered whenever the user inserts a damaged or non-PlayStation disk into a console modchipped to bypass copy-protection. It can also be triggered on an unmodded console by disk-swapping. This error only occurs on SCPH-100x and SCPH-5xxx models; models SCPH-7xxx and newer will return a Red Screen of Death. Fearful Harmony is part of a group of related errors (see Personified Fear, Forbidden Image, Callous Venture, Dreadful Harmony).

On startup, the Sony Computer Entertainment logo will appear as normal, however, as the console reads the invalid disk, the screen will stay on the Sony logo for longer than usual, until the screen changes to black with the PlayStation logo missing and the other visual elements staying on the screen, often glitched with parts missing. The "PlayStation" text also fades in much slower than usual. The "woosh" sound normally heard on this screen will be much louder. After 60 seconds or less, a slowed down version of the startup chimes will play for a while before more chimes begin to play at faster and slower speeds, as the console would attempt to read the disc. Eventually, the music will stop, and the console will either go to the game when the data is found or freeze when not, upon attempting to execute the loaded "game data" all at once.

The cause of Fearful Harmony is due to a malfunction in the PS1"s startup sequence. When the console is powered on, the BIOS is copied from ROM to RAM, and the loaded disk is checked for a digital signature known as an ATIP groove. This is to ensure the disk is authentic, and if a valid groove is detected, the data from the disk is written to RAM as normal and the PS1 logo displays. If this copy-protection is defeated by a modchip or via disk-swapping, the console reads the disk as if it were genuine. As a damaged or non-PS1 disk is read, the console interprets the data as erroneous machine instructions on how much data to read and where to write it. This will eventually overwrite the BIOS, causing the Fearful Harmony state. Unlike Personified Fear, the BIOS is only partially corrupted, enough to allow runtime to continue.

The most memorable feature of Fearful Harmony, the music, is a consequence of how the PS1"s startup music is stored as sound data and played back. Unlike a discrete MP3 or WAV file, the PS1"s startup music is played live with a MIDI controller which draws from three music samples in the BIOS to build its soundfont: a chime, glass breaking in reverse, and a synth wave from a Roland D-50. Like how playing MIDI samples on a lower or higher key affects the pitch-scaling and playback speed, these samples are likewise manipulated to create a whole piece of music from three basic "instruments". Different sections of the song are intended to play when the disk is read and verified, which is why the breaking glass "woosh" sound always plays when the PS1 logo is displayed. In a state of Fearful Harmony, the MIDI controller begins replaying the chimes section of the PS1 startup music at a much lower pitch and slower speed. The music plays out while the console finishes reading and writing the disk, and the system freezes after both are completed.

Video glitches are caused by a lack of system memory and corrupted display instructions. The visual sequence involved in the PS1"s startup sequence involves drawing assets to the screen and removing them when unneeded. This not only involves bitmap images but also 3D models as seen with the Sony and PS1 logos. What happens is that the polygonal data for the Sony logo which carries into the post-authentication screen is altered, leading to it taking on strange shapes. How the visual glitches appear depends on the disc you"ve inserted and the version of your console. Some show or hide the diamond, others make the "PlayStation" text appear and disappear, and some graphics may be overwritten with others stored in the BIOS. Rarely, the screen will fill with pixels of random color creating a "rainbow" effect, possibly due to the console mistaking dynamic RAM (DRAM) for video RAM (VRAM).

The reason why the PS1 logo is never present during Fearful Harmony is because the model is intended to be read from the game disk, which is missing on an invalid disk. This is similar to the Nintendo logo that displays at the beginning of every Game Boy game, which was required in every cartridge"s ROM as copy-protection.

If your screen is missing its screws, you can get M2x6mm screws from Amazon. Then, print the one with the screw holes since those screw heads are a bit taller and sticks out a bit.

11.1.  Video Content includes any recordings or live streams of sports, music concerts and other entertainment events, television shows and movies made available for rental, purchase, or free viewing through PSN.

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It is my great pleasure to start off 2022 with news on our next generation virtual reality system for the PS5 console, starting with the official name: PlayStation VR2, and our new VR controller, PlayStation VR2 Sense controller.

PlayStation VR2 takes VR gaming to a whole new level, enabling a greater sense of presence and allowing players to escape into game worlds like never before. With the headset on and controllers in hand, players will feel a heightened range of sensations unlike any other – thanks to the creativity of the game worlds being built by our world class developers, and the latest technology incorporated into the hardware.

Building upon our innovations from PS5, PlayStation VR2 adds a true next-gen experience with high-fidelity visuals, new sensory features, and enhanced tracking – along with a simplified single-cord setup.

Visual Fidelity: For a high-fidelity visual experience, PS VR2 offers 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view, and foveated rendering. With an OLED display, players can expect a display resolution of 2000×2040 per eye and smooth frame rates of 90/120Hz.

All of these advancements in PlayStation VR2, combined with thehaptic feedback and adaptive triggers from the PS VR2 Sense controllers, enable players to feel and interact with games in a much more visceral way. PS VR2 will also have a simple setup process — with a single cable connected directly to PS5, you can immediately jump into the VR experience.

Today we are also pleased to reveal that one of the biggest exclusive franchises on PlayStation will be coming to PS VR2 – Horizon Call of the Mountain from Guerrilla and Firesprite. This original game is being built specifically for PS VR2 and will open the doors for players to go deeper into the world of Horizon.

As somebody that has a computer science background, I’m always fascinated by games that are the work of skilled developers that learned the intricacies of a console’s hardware to squeeze every last bit of performance from the machine or use some limited resources creatively to accomplish things you didn’t think was possible.  Even though it did have some limitations (especially in terms of memory), the Sony Playstation hardware was well-crafted and made it easy for developers to quickly learn how to maximize performance results compared to the Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64 (read our full technical comparison).

Not to downplay some of the stunning visuals that the likes of Square’s art direction and pre-rendered elements, but there is a LOT of competition on the PS1 for some truly impressive coding that really maxed out what the Playstation was capable of. Square will indeed get some mentions below, but you might be surprised by a few developers and games that somehow stayed under the mainstream radar.

One of my other goals in this piece is to try to present diversity – not only in the types of games, but also in the ways developers worked around the limitations of the PS1. There are so many great stories of developers trying new things and accomplishing impressive feats.  I hope you find them all fascinating as well!

Being released in August of 1999 (after two and a half years of development) Soul Reaver was up against the upcoming US release of the Sega Dreamcast and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time had redefined gamer’s expectations of action adventure titles. However, Crystal Dynamics’ labor of love ended up being possibly the biggest technical achievement of the Playstation’s library while sharing an ambitious interactive storytelling experience.

We came up with the idea of leveraging the 3DS Max animation timeline to attach spectral values to the vertices in the geometry – i.e., frame 0 was the material world, and frame 1 was the spectral realm (or vice versa; I can’t remember for sure). This way we could alter the x,y,z coordinates of each vertex, as well as its RGB lighting values, to create a twisted, more eerily lit version of the physical realm.”

Soul Reaver’s soundtrack often gets a lot of acclaim. Even though it could have been simple to include pre-recorded CD audio on a PlayStation game, Soul Reaver actually uses a high-quality sequenced audio (similar to the SNES) that could dynamically altered and shifted based on what is happening on the screen. The Crystal Dynamics team was able to create a soundtrack of phenomenal quality while taking up very little storage space on the disc.  DF Retro’s 36 minute Soul Reaver video digs into some of these.

On top of all this, Soul Reaver runs at a resolution of 512×240 while targeting 30 fps. While it does have some occasional slowdown dipping into the 20 fps zone during larger areas and battling larger quantities of enemies, this is still impressive considering something like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64 only ran at 320×240 at about 20 fps during the same time period.

With many of the innovative art direction and storytelling choices made in Metal Gear Solid, it is easy to overlook many of the technical optimizations accomplished by Konami’s team to create a game that would not only make the most of the Playstation’s hardware but would be an entity that would age relatively well at such an evolutionary stage for console gaming and is one of the most defining games on the PS1.

The effective use of polygons and textures was a solid foundation for Metal Gear Solid, but Konami took it one step further by having a dedicated “optimization” programmer that went through all the code to find crucial points of the engine to turn into assembly code. (Mostly to get models to fit nicely in the PS1’s small 1kb fast-cache)

Team created their own development ecosystem to maximize PlayStation hardware for the purposes of 3D platformers – complete with custom programming language and texture compressors.

They also got their hands dirty quickly and kept learning as they worked on their first fully–3D game. They did a lot of impressive problem-solving and innovation, especially for a small upstart, but didn’t rest on their laurels after a single success. They continued to work on refining both the gameplay and engine of their game and also their internal development processes as they worked on the sequels. This process could easily be compared to what we have all experienced as gamers: the first time you play a game or a certain level, you’re trying to out what needs to be done to be successful. But after you made it through most of the battle the first time, you now have a better idea how to play through it again – learning from your mistakes and taking new approaches that could work better. (See this classic scene from Scott Pilgrim vs The World ** spoilers **)  While the original Crash Bandicoot was pushing the PlayStation when it arrived, this constant refinement and growth at Naughty Dog resulted in Crash 3 pushing the limits all the more.(You can read about Naughty Dog’s evolution in their processes here)

To help with the more cartoon-like animation, they used a sophisticated three or four-joint weighing system instead of a 1-joint system with few “bones” that a lot of developers were using at the time. They used high-end animation software on their PCs and then mapped every vertex for every frame at 30 fps since the PS1 couldn’t render it in realtime. The also wrote their own vertex compressors in assembly language to optimize the processing efficiency.

“We did experiments in free roaming camera control and settled on branching rail camera + pre-calculation = gorgeous visuals. The idea was that the camera would follow along next to, behind, or in front of the character, generally looking at him, moving on a “track” through the world. Dave and I experimented with pre-calculating the visibility and sort (the Playstation had no z-buffer, and hence no easy way to sort polygons) ahead of time on the SGI workstations the artists used. Although painful and expensive, this worked really well. As long as you could never SEE more than a set number of polygons (800 for Crash 1, 1300 for Crash 2 or 3) from any given position we could have perfect occlusion and sort, with no runtime cost. We conceived of using trees, cliffs, walls, and twists and turns in the environment to hide a lot of the landscape from view – but it would be there, just around the corner.”

Andy also did some other crazy coding work that would help create a system for making their work efficient and make the most of the Playstation’s resources. Their level designs came out at about 8 to 16 megs each, so he developed an algorithmic texture packer that would efficiently cram the levels into the PS1’s 2 megs of RAM. Some of the levels came out at 128meg, so Dave created a bidirectional 10x compressor to help get the 128meg levels down into 12 and also developed a tool for managing the construction of the gigantic 3D worlds. On top of all that, Andy created a new programming language (with Lisp syntax) that featured “all sorts of built in state machine support (very useful with game objects), powerful macros, dynamic loading etc.”.

“The Crash series employs an extremely complicated virtual memory scheme which dynamically swaps into memory any kind of game component: geometry, animation, texture, code, sound, collision data, camera data, etc. A workstation based tool called NPT implements an expert system for laying out the disk. This tool belongs to the class of formal Artificial Intelligence programs. Its job is to figure out how the 500 to 1000 resources that make up a Crash level can be arranged so as to never have more than 1.2 megabytes needed in memory at any time. A multithreaded virtual memory implementation follows the instructions produced by the tool in order to achieve this effect at run time. Together they manage and optimize the essential resources of main, texture, and sound RAM based on a larger CD based database.”

Because of this, the team was actually a bit concerned that Crash was accessing the CD more than the PS1’s drive was rated for. So if you ever notice that it seems like the drive is being read a lot while playing, you’ll know why.

For Crash 2, the team at Naughty Dog rewrote approximately 80% of the game engine and tool code based on the lessons they learned and the bottlenecks they saw in the first game. In the end, Crash 2 aimed for twice as much on the screen while maintaining the 30 frames per second. It also added more effects such as Z-buffer-like water effects, weather, reflections, particles, talking hologram heads, etc.

Crash 3 challenged the team to develop new engines or sub-engines to power a more free-roaming 3D style, up to 10X longer view distances, and more level of detail features. They had to overhaul the background polygon resource manager and the AI memory manager to handle the increasingly large firehouse of data that had to be processed for the game.

After Super Mario 64 and Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie on the N64 has made its mark and Naughty Dog was about to release its third installment with Crash Bandicoot: Warped, another upstart studio by the name of Insomniac Games unleashed a new platformer for the PlayStation with a 3D panoramic engine to allow the players to have open exploration without restrictions of how far you can go.

With this ambitious plan of flying and full movement, the Insomniac team needed to figure out how to handle long view distances without the “fog” that was common in this console generation. Insomniac developer Peter Hastings explained the team’s fresh take on the problem: “There were actually two separate worlds being rendered in a Spyro level. Each level had a detailed version built out of textured polygons, and a much more impressionistic, simple version built out of fast-rendering untextured polygons. For anything near the player, the detailed world was drawn, but for distant objects the simple version was used. This ‘Level-Of-Detail’ system is now used by pretty much every game on the planet, but at the time it was quite new.” Alex Hastings, Insomniac’s VP of Software built the panoramic ending using Assembly draw routines for seven different renderers that worked on a different level of detail in the environment (Alex claimed that 80% of Spyro was written in assembly for peak efficiency). Alex knew that the PlayStation could handle many more polygons than the other consoles (and even many PCs) at the time, so him programming these ambitious engines in assembly was the best way for their new title to stand out from the crowd.

To supplement the expansive worlds, Matt Whiting and his experience designing flight systems for NASA was a critical part of developing Spyro’s control system and camera code. Hastings praised Whiting’s contributions, “the smoothness of the controls is owed to his ability to squeeze a great deal of matrix algebra into the tiny slice of computational time that the PlayStation could give us.” The natural and smooth controls found in Spyro are especially impressive when you realize this was before the PlayStation controller had analogue controls – you get just as good control with the standard D-Pad.

By the time Spyro 3 was published, Insomniac was pulling off great ice reflections, semi-dynamic lighting and a lot of impressive particle systems for fire, water, smoke, and explosions. There were also many subtle graphical and animation refinements from the previous installments that were already technical marvels. It was obvious that the team had become skilled professionals of creating a clean and cohesive visual package on the PlayStation.

DreamFactory was a modest but star-filled development firm headed by Shiichi Ishii, a developer on Virtua Fighter and director for Tekken. With his industry experience, it shouldn’t be a surprise that their first projects, Tobal No. 1 and Tobal 2, were not only stunning technical feats, but were also some of the first pure 3D fighting games – not just 3D characters on a 2D plane. Namco eventually worked on this concept with Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, but Tobal pioneered it on the PlayStation and pulled it off with a superior resolution and frame rate. Within Tobal, you can dash towards, jump around, and circle around your opponent with complete fluidity and confidence. In another great detail, the characters block differently for each incoming attack.

Tobal No. 2, in particular, feels very organic, smooth, and vibrant. The animation in this brawler is silky smooth with its high frame rate and it has some great touches that gives the game some personality. Tobal 2’s visuals actually rival some N64 titles as the character models are very smooth (unlike Tobal No. 1’s more blocky presentation). Designed by Dragonball Z and Chrono Trigger character designer, Akira Toriyama, the characters have an anime-inspired look to them, but still feel very human. The Gouraud shading and the vibrant colors bring in this feel, but avoid it feeling cartoon-like. The lighting effects are very nice looking as well, especially on the game’s fireballs.

Even with all these great visuals, the Tobal games (and DreamFactory’s other fighter, Ehrgeiz) are the only Playstation fighters to hit 480i at 60fps without many polygon sacrifices. The games actually ran at a very sharp (relatively speaking) 512×512 resolution and then scaled to 640×480. Not many games used the PSX’s 640×480 mode because most games focused on the shimmering textures we all love in. 2stead of the shaded polygons that Tobal pulls off so well.

Unlike Tobal No. 1, No. 2 was never released in the US. It is unfortunate as Tobal No. 2 improves on the original in every aspect. Tobal was also just as impressive (if not more) than the mighty Tekken 3, but we will get into a comparison in just a bit.

Sega’s Virtua Fighter had broken into the fighting scene with revolutionary 3D technology in 1993, but within a year or two, Katsuhiro Harada was at Namco working on way to create a strong rival to Sega’s creation. His initial research project revolved around how the body reacts in 3D movement and to replicate something like judo or Chinese kenpo. Harada admits that due to a lack of balancing, “Tekken 1 isn’t really a fighting game. It should be called a human body action game. They have abilities, and they hit each other, but it’s not really a martial arts game.” Developer Yutaka Kounoe added, “the first two games were created as an experiment; even the developers couldn’t predict how it would turn out… The third game which I was in charge of, was a more calculated production.”

Converting from the original arcade versions is always a challenge, but with the third installment, not only was the source game more refined, but the PlayStation port was almost arcade-perfect. The animation speed is impressive and the textures are carefully crafted to make the limited polygon models look as solid as possible. On the original Tekken, the PlayStation version had its animation compressed of 30% from the arcade version. By the time the team had improved their skills for Tekken 3, compression was much less severe – only reduced by 10%. The main compromises from the arcade are a slightly reduced polygon count and the backgrounds are 2D graphics instead of the the sharper 3D backgrounds found in the arcade.

It is interesting to compare some of the most innovative 3D fighters from the era – Tekken 3, Tobal 1 & 2, Virtua Fighter 2 (on the Sega Saturn), and Dead or Alive all had some impressive technical capabilities, but also have some distinct advantages and disadvantages. Tekken 3 and Tobal No. 2 are the top contenders on the PlayStation and it is up for debate which one actually pushed the PlayStation hardware most. Both games run 60 fps at 480i – the best frame rate and video output you can get on the PlayStation. One could argue that the textured polygons in Tekken 3 are more taxing than the shaded polygons in Tobal (but the shading may have actually aged better). However, Tobal No. 2 has 3D elements in its backgrounds (vs pure 2D for Tekken 3) and Tobal No. 2 has more free-range 3D movement to process.

As one of the biggest mainstream hits with an attention to detail, we couldn’t overlook Gran Turismo 2’s drive for realism. While the original Gran Turismo was groundbreaking at its release, the sequel had subtle improvements such as lighting effects and car rendering that made it one of the most convincing PlayStation games on the market.

While he didn’t publicly comment on the sequel, lead developer Kazunori Yamauchi estimated that the original Gran Turismo utilised around 75% of the PlayStation’s maximum performance. Based on the subtle improvements, it is easy to assume Gran Turismo 2 is more toward the 80% to 85% range.

The original Ridge Racer was one of PlayStation’s first big system pushers. Regardless of what you thought of Ridge Racer as a game, you had to agree that it was an excellent port of the arcade version that showed the true potential of Sony’s 32-bit wonder. However, in order to compete with the high standard set by the Gran Turismo series, Namco had really bumped up the graphic quality of the Ridge Racer series in Type 4 while staying true to its arcade roots. Ridge Racer Type 4 features a smooth framerate locked solidly on 30 frames per second and lots of detailed textures throughout the game. Also, it hits that target much more reliably that Gran Turismo 2.

The environment design and use of color is especially praiseworthy. When you are cruising around the tracks, the moody skyscapes either share the warmth of summer or put you under the trance of night. The lighting effects on the cars and roads for night time driving give the game a stylish edge that retro gamers appreciate in Japanese-made titles. The whole environment of the game is a work of art and was otherwise unseen on the Playstation.

Ridge Racer Type 4 also works around standard limitations of the PlayStation hardware, such as affine texture mapping issues, by using a healthy volume of triangles for the track’s surface. This approach minimizes warping compared to other Playstation games, including the original Ridge Racer.

Ridge Racer Type 4 has a great use of light sourcing and things like brake lights give off tracers in tunnels. There are still some imperfections in this fourth Ridge Racer increment, however, such as seeing the opposing cars through walls. Nevertheless, this late Playstation racer is still a great sight to behold on Sony’s 32-bit platform.

While Ridge Racer was the main technical showpiece during the Japanese launch of the Playstation, WipEout was one of the biggest draws during the Western launch. The team at Psygnosis showed remarkable talent in creating such a stunning 3D racer running at 30fps so early in the Playstation’s life. On top of pure speed, WipEout pulled off the impressive floating element of these futuristic vehicles. The game’s design language and the soundtrack were also crucial to setting itself apart from its competition.

This leads us to WipEout 3, which is an easy selection of the most technically impressive installment on the PlayStation. Overall, this thi