Sony’s PlayStation goes retro for a birthday release

If you haven’t said “happy birthday” to Sony’s PlayStation, now might be the time to do so, and if you really love the console, you can even grab a special edition version to celebrate the anniversary.

When the original PlayStation came out, this journalist was but a pint-sized pipsqueak. He couldn’t afford it — he was 14 — but he remembered playing the demos at video games stores, with Ridge Racer and Street Fighter and Battle Arena Toshinden.

Technically, that was closer to 19 years ago, as regions outside of Japan didn’t see the PlayStation 1 until 1995, but the first of Sony’s foray into mainstream gaming was in 1994.

Specifically, it was December 3, 1994, and this week, the company is celebrating a 20 year anniversary with a limited edition 20 year anniversary PlayStation 4.

“The PlayStation 4 20th Anniversary Edition is a very special model that is reminiscent of the original PlayStation, which has inspired every other PlayStation platform launched in the past two decades,” said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

“This limited edition PS4 offers a great sense of nostalgia to long-time PlayStation fans, while also providing a fresh experience to those who never picked up the original console.”

So what’s changed? Well, if you own a PlayStation 4 or have ever seen one, not much.

There’s a fresh coat of paint, bringing the console back to the PlayStation 1’s grey, as well as some details with a repeating pattern of the controller button symbols and a “20” printed into the grey paint job on the console and the black touchpad of the controller.

There’s also a special edition box for it to come in, with the console displaying what number special edition console you will have.

But getting one may prove a touch difficult because there will only be 12,300 around the world in total.

We’re checking with Sony to see just how many are coming into Australia, but for now if you want one, we’d snap it up as soon as you see it, because once they’re gone, that limited edition model is gone, and you’ll just have to have a black or white PS4 like the rest of us.