
The original Sony PlayStation is 20 years old this month. Launched in Japan in December 1994, it didn’t arrive in North America and Europe until the following September. It went on to become the first games platform to ship more than 100 million units, wiping the floor with its rivals the Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64. Somewhat ironically in the latter instance, since the PlayStation had its origins in a joint CD-ROM venture between Sony and Nintendo.
The launch line-up of games for the system’s European debut included such gems as Ridge Racer, Rayman, and the Raiden Project.

Sir Clive Sinclair has revealed a games system based on his hugely successful Spectrum brand of the early 1980s. The Sinclair Spectrum Vega is being launched by Retro Computers, a start-up company in which Sinclair Research Ltd. is a shareholder.
The standalone, sub-£100, console-type unit arrives complete with around 1,000 games built-in. Additional games can be downloaded, free of charge, from the Internet.
Currently at prototype stage, the company has launched an initial round of funding on Indiegogo.


The launch of Little Big Planet 3 on the PlayStation 4 has disappointed, after landing in the Chattrack All Formats chart at number 15. The biggest new launches of the week were Pokemon Omega Ruby and Sapphire, landing in the top ten at 6 and 7 respectively. Call of Duty: Advance Warfare marched to the top once again, up from last week’s number 3.
