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ABOUT
The PlayStation Museum is the culmination of
years of research and dedication to the Sony PlayStation. It is intended
to provide images and information on all areas of the Sony PlayStation.
MISSION
The mission of the
PlayStation Museum is to enrich people's lives by enhancing their
appreciation and understanding of the history, design, development, and
technology of the original PlayStation. The Museum provides
screenshots, movies, and other media for the education and enjoyment of
the public and the development community. In support of this, we are
committed to:
Recognition of the
Development Community
The Museum is
dedicated to the recognition and appreciation of the PlayStation
development community for their outstanding achievement and perseverance
in creating everlasting gaming experiences that have been enjoyed by
gamers around the world. The Museum acknowledges the hard work and sacrifice that
goes into designing and developing a PlayStation game even if the title
is never released.
Research
The Museum provides
screenshots and movies for the education and enjoyment of the
development community and the public. Each year the museum provides
experiences to thousands of website visitors. Through research via the
development community, many of these experiences would never be
understood by the average gamer.
Collecting and
Preserving
The PlayStation
Museum collects and preserves artifacts and records that illuminate the
history of the original PlayStation. The Museum owns and cares for
thousands of software, hardware, books, documents, and other materials.
These enable and support our educational activities and serve
developers, gamers, collectors, and others who study the PlayStation.
Message from the Director
The PlayStation Museum seeks to
capture personal stories and document the history of the "PlayStation
explosion" that officially ignited in 1995. When we get former
PlayStation developers who "burst into tears" upon seeing certain games
which may have defined their lives and careers, we are eager to capture
their inevitable stories. Thus the online virtual museum constitutes a
kind of "memory palace" for the gaming-inclined and helps piece together
the amazing story of the invention that impacted so many lives. It is my
fantasy to one day "get professional help" (ie: a foundation grant,
philanthropic support, or officially recognized by SCE) and really have
the resources to fully document the people and their work, and thereby
capture the true essence of this period in video game history. If you
are interested and able to provide such support, please don't hesitate
to
contact me.
If you are inclined, please keep on reading, for there is
more on the nature of this project to follow.
A Bit of Background
What
is the PlayStation Museum?
The PlayStation Museum is an online virtual museum. It
is intended to show hardware, games and videos and to inform the general
gaming community of artifacts that are deemed important to the history
of the PlayStation.
The PlayStation Museum website’s
thorough cataloguing of NTSC games was used as the basis for the game
material found in the book titled “PSX: The Guide to the Sony
PlayStation” A free downloadable version can be found
here.
How the PlayStation Museum got Started
The PlayStation Museum was originally intended to
pictorially showcase all PlayStation software and hardware in a simple
navigation-friendly website. In 2004 I initiated contact with a former
PlayStation games programmer who recently lost his job. He told his
story of the long hours that he invested in programming and the many
projects that were ultimately cancelled. He had been employed at two
different development studios both of which were purportedly mismanaged
and went out of business. His story of family stress due to extended
work hours, little pay, and no recognition had an adverse affect on me.
From that point forward I invested time to get to know more people
intimately involved with the PlayStation. I started to document
patterns of long hours and no recognition. I decided to officially
create a PlayStation Museum with the main mission to not only showcase
PlayStation software and hardware but to tell the story of the people
behind the game. The Museum is more about giving proper recognition to
those hardworking artists, designers, producers, and programmers who
created such wonderful works of art. With the support of the gaming
community, the Museum has been able to preserve and showcase cancelled
projects.
So Who
is David O’Connor?
David O’Connor is a little known follower of the gaming
age. I have never worked in the gaming industry and never will after
listening to stories of others who have. I am a certified green belt in
Lean Six Sigma and work in corporate finance for a major corporation.
I grew up with the Atari 2600 and progressed to the Atari
800, 800XL, ST, and Lynx. In 1991 I decided to purchase my first 16-bit
gaming system. I thoroughly researched both the Sega Genesis and Super
Nintendo. I ultimately chose to purchase Nintendo’s newly released
Super Nintendo solely based on Sony’s intention to manufacture a CD-Rom
drive for the system. Had I known that the Sony deal would collapse, I
would have purchased the Sega Genesis. Although I don’t regret
purchasing the SNES, I do often reflect on the Sony-Nintendo deal.
My first contact with the PlayStation was in December
1994 when I walked into a local games store. The store had just set up
an imported Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. Although I was thrilled
to see Virtua Fighter playing on the 32-bit Sega Saturn, it wasn’t until
I walked around the corner and noticed the Sony PlayStation playing
Ridge Racer that my life changed. The next month I purchased a Japanese
PlayStation and have enjoyed thousands of games since.
Most Sincerely and at your service,
David
Director, The PlayStation Museum
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