Sony produces the PlayStation video-game console family.
The original PlayStation was released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, 1994. It used CD-ROMs rather than the cartridges favored by several competing consoles at the time, giving game publishers more storage for audio, video, and game data.
The PlayStation brand later expanded through home consoles, handheld systems, online services, accessories, and a large software catalog. Sony's gaming business is operated within Sony Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary focused on PlayStation products and services.
Sony was founded in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo and adopted the Sony name in 1958. PlayStation is only one part of the wider Sony Group, which also has businesses in entertainment, electronics, imaging, and financial services. Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Switch are competing platforms, but they are not PlayStation products.