Without Nintendo it's safe to say Sony may never have entered the console gaming market. Nintendo and Sony were going to make a console together, but then Nintendo broke the deal. This led Sony to go ahead and make a new console instead, the PlayStation, which was released in 1994 in Japan and a year later in North America. For the PlayStation brand, the rest is history, as Sony is currently basking in its success with the PS5.
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Before making the PlayStation, however, Sony was a publisher in the SNES era under the name Sony Imagesoft, with a couple of games developed under their brand as well. Since there are so many subdivisions, and these games came out so long ago, it can be difficult to gather accurate information. That said, this list is a good bet on a few the earliest games were mainly developed and released by Sonyand not by a subdivision such as Japan Studio, unless otherwise noted.
Danger
Before the PS1, there were game programs
- Developer: Sony Imagesoft, Absolute
- Publisher: Sony Imagesoft
- Platforms: Sega CD
- Estimated release year: 1994 (NA)
When it comes to CSG Imagesoft, or Sony Imagesoft, 90s kids probably played a Sony game on their NES or SNES, which Mickey Mania, Super Dodge Ballor Hookbut the company developed some games as well, such as Danger. There are other, non-Sony versions of the Dangerlike on the NES, but the Sega CD version has an advantage as it uses video, albeit a bit grainy.
Players can compete in a typical game by choosing a category and answering questions, and the best part is that the late Alex Trebek is in the game, voice and all. It might not be the best conversion from game show to video game, but it was solid at the time.
Wheel of Fortune
Solve the puzzle
- Developer: Sony Imagesoft, Absolute
- Publisher: Sony Imagesoft
- Platforms: Sega CD
- Estimated release year: 1994 (NA)
Wheel of Fortune is another Sega CD game based on a game program and made by Sony Imagesoft that features digitized actors going through the motions of a typical game. Players can spin the wheel, ask for letters and then solve the puzzle to win (virtual) cash prizes.
The strangest thing about this adaptation is that Vanna White is the main presenter instead of Pat Sajak. It probably made more sense financially to focus on Vanna, but it's a bit of a pain. Anyway, Wheel of Fortune is a reasonably nice adaptation, just like Danger.
Motor Toon Grand Prix
Racing before Gran Turismo
- Developer: Poly's Entertainment (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Development Division 1)
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Released: December 16, 1994 (Japan)
Motor Toon Grand Prix is a racing game no different Mario Kart series, as the vehicles and characters were crazy, but it was still a more focused racing experience than Nintendo's flagship racers. That's no surprise considering Poly's Entertainment developed it, a studio categorized as part of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Development Division 1 in the credits.
It should be noted that Poly's Entertainment eventually morphed into Polyphony Digital within Sony, which it would continue to work with Gran Turismo series starting in 1997, do Motor Toon Grand Prix a very important stepping stone in PlayStation history.
ESPN Extreme Games
Long before Tony Hawk
ESPN Extreme Games
- Released
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September 9, 1995
- Developer
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Sony Interactive Studios America
- Publisher
-
Sony computer entertainment
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater would not enter the scene until 1999, when extreme sports began to become more popular in games. Before that, PS1 players got ESPN Extreme Gameswhich featured more extreme sports than just skateboarding, including roller skating, street luge and mountain biking.
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Players could choose the games they wanted to compete in, but it was more restrictive than one Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game. There wasn't as much freedom to do tricks in a sandbox, but this series would improve with sequels. Later the name of ESPN Extreme Games was changed to 1Xtreme to coincide with the sequels' new naming convention.
A destructive derby
Twisted Metal took the racing out of typical driving games and made it all about the sport of blasting opponents. It was something new for gaming and was more mature and brutal than anything else besides Mortal Kombat. Things would only get darker with the sequels and Twisted Metal comics would continue to thrive for a while.
Players could choose multiple racers and compete in destruction derby arenas, armed with rocket launchers, machine guns and more. It should be noted that Twisted Metal was developed together with a company called SingleTrac, a studio that also developed Jet Moto series.
Warhawk
Death from Above
- Developer: Sony Interactive Studios America and SingleTrac
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Released: 10 November 1995 (NA)
Warhawk was released on the same day as Twisted Metal in North America, and it was also co-developed with SingleTrac. It was a typical 3D aircraft shooter of the era, with each unit equipped with different weapons. Players would fight against tanks on the ground as well as air-based enemies in linear levels.
Warhawk wasn't a particularly long game, and it wasn't as big a series as Twisted Metalwhich makes sense considering the destruction derby series was more mature and better suited to the PS1 demographic than Warhawk where.
NFL Game Day
Before Madden
- Released: 4 December 1995 (NA)
The Madden series has been the most popular football series on consoles and other gaming devices since 1988. That said, many challengers came to the king, including Sony's NFL Game Day 1995, which blossomed into a minor franchise that lasted for a decade.
It had everything Madden did, including officially licensed NFL teams, and the ability to run plays. It's not an easy game to go back to these days, as soccer games have changed so much over the years, but for its time, it established itself well in the soccer game market.
NHL Face Off
On the ice
NHL Face Off
- Released
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January 1, 1996
- ESRB
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all e10+
- Released: 19 December 1995 (NA)
NHL Face Off was Sony's attempt to develop a hockey game series under its belt, and it lasted a while. It was officially licensed as NFL Game Dayso that players could choose their favorite team to compete on the ice with.
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There was multiplayer along with a single player mode. Multiplayer is a big reason why most sports fans buy sports-related games today, and the same was true back in 1995. NHL Face Off isn't exactly impressive now, but Sony was ahead of the curve when it came to covering all their bases in sports, including hockey.
Shootout in the NBA
Play some ball
- Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Released: 20 March 1996 (EU)
To complete the sports package, Sony also had Shootout in the NBA for all basketball fans out there. Basketball games are some of the most accessible sports games on the market, because the courts are small and the rules are simple to follow: catch the ball, shoot a basket, repeat.
ShootOut in the NBA is one of the few PS1 games released in Europe first, which made sense considering it was developed by the European arm of Sony Interactive, but North America got it a week later, so there wasn't a huge gap.
Motor Toon Grand Prix 2
One more lap
- Developer: Poly's Entertainment (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Development Division 1)
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Released: May 24, 1996 (Japan)
Finally, the oldest Sony-led PS1 game was a sequel: Motor Toon Grand Prix 2. This was the first game in the series to be released in North America, as the original never left Japan. It was well reviewed, but the series never really took off, even with a trio of re-releases in 2002, 2008 and 2011.
Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 plays very similar to the original, although the racing is a bit tighter, and there are more options for both playable characters and crazy powerups. It would have been interesting to see Poly's Entertainment continue with the more cartoony racing series rather than the more simulation-like one Gran Turismo series.
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