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Have you ever been thinking about the PlayStation and wondered if it was made in America or made in a different country? Maybe you know Sony headquarters is in Japan so you want to know if the PlayStation is made there as well.
Well, in this article we will answer all of your questions about the PlayStation and where it was made.
So who makes PlayStation and where exactly are the PS4 & PS5 consoles made?
The PlayStation consoles are made by Sony which is a Japanese company. This may make you think that the PS4 or PS5 are made in Japan as well but that is no longer the case.
Although the original PlayStation console was made in Japan the PS2, PS3, PS4, & PS5 consoles have all been made in China. The PlayStation consoles are designed and developed in the USA but are all manufactured in China and then shipped worldwide.
So even though you can find PlayStation games and consoles in your city in stores like Best Buy or Gamestop or even online at sites like Amazon or PlayStation Direct the consoles and games themselves are not made locally and instead are manufacturers overseas and shipped back to the USA.
If you want to know more about where the different PlayStations were made, you will want to keep reading.
If you prefer you can watch the video below instead.
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If you have a PlayStation console you should also have one of these stands. It makes it incredibly easy to organize your console and games as well as charge your controllers at the same time.
Plus it has a cooling fan to make sure your console doesn’t overheat when you have your weekend gaming marathons!
What PlayStations Are Made In Japan?
Many people want to find out where the Sony PlayStation is made. Since it is a product of Sony, many people also believe that they are made in Japan. Well, this is not completely true. The PlayStation consoles were originally produced in Japan, but for the development of consoles in later years, PlayStation outsourced its expertise to develop the product to Foxconn.
When the PlayStation released its first product, Sony acted as the national company of Japan, therefore, all of the developing and assembling was done in Japan.
Eventually though, after a little bit of time had passed, Sony declared itself an international gaming company. This meant that they developed their working and manufacturing setups in many different regions of the world.
By name, all of Sony Computer Entertainment’s products are Japanese but the latest products of Sony such as the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 4, and the PlayStation 5 are completely developed in China and the USA.
Today almost all of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles and other latest hardware are made in China.
The PlayStation platform is not just one console either. It is a complete brand in itself that has consoles, handheld devices, the Dualsense controller, and other hardware as well. All of these devices are not developed in the same place.
Some are developed in Japan while some are developed in other parts of the world. Also, one type of console is not only developed in one place. There are many places for the development of the same console so many things have to be considered when you think about only one facility making one system.
Originally, The PlayStation was developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment which is a Japanese brand. This made the PlayStation a Japanese product, but it has multiple locations around the world that develop the product in different countries.
When Was The First PlayStation Released?
The first console from Sony, the original PlayStation was released in Japan in 1994 along with a variety of games, controllers, and accessories. This makes the original PlayStation a Japanese product that was designed and produced in Japan.
As with most products, as the video game console increased in demand, they began to outsource the production of their products and it did not stay in Japan long term.
The original PlayStation sold a total of 102.5 million consoles making it the third best-selling PlayStation of all time.
When Was The PS2 Made?
The PS 2 was PlayStation’s second home gaming console. It was released in Japan in March of 2000 and was released in the USA in October of 2000.
The PlayStation 2 sold a total of almost 158 million consoles over its lifespan. Making it the most popular PlayStation console that has been released to date.
When Was The PS3 Made?
The PS3 was PlayStation’s third home gaming console. It was released in Japan and North America in November 2006 and was released in Europe & Australia in March 2007.
The PlayStation 3 sold a total of almost 87.4 million consoles over its lifespan. Making it the fourth best-selling PlayStation console that has been released to date.
When Was The PS4 Made?
The PS4 was PlayStation’s fourth home gaming console. It was released in North America, Europe, South America, & Australia in November 2013 and was released in Japan in February of 2014.
The PlayStation 4 sold a total of almost 117.2 million consoles over its lifespan. Making it the second most popular PlayStation console that has been released to date.
When Was The PS5 Made?
The PS5 is the new console that PlayStation made. It is their fifth generation of home gaming consoles. It was released worldwide in November 2020.
This next-generation console has sold a total of 22 million consoles since it was first released. These new systems have been sold out for the majority of the time since release so how many of these consoles will be sold over its lifespan is hard to tell.
When Was The PSP Made?
The PSP had a release date of December 2004 in Japan, in North America in 2005, and in the rest of the world in September 2005.
The PSP sold a total of 81 million handheld consoles worldwide. That makes it the lowest-selling console that PlayStation has released to date. This also might be why they haven’t released another handheld console since the PSP as well.
Where Is The Main Headquarters Of PlayStation?
Today, the PlayStation has its headquarters in California, London, and Tokyo. The main headquarters that operates all the main functioning and decision-making has shifted from Tokyo to California. The main headquarters of PlayStation today is in San Mateo, California.
Not all of the PlayStation products are developed in the same region either. PlayStation consists of many parts and all of them are developed in different parts of the world. They are then exported and assembled at one location.
Most of PlayStation’s accessories like their DualShock controllers, cables, headsets with built-in microphones, etc. are all developed in the USA but manufactured overseas. The same is true for most of PlayStation’s new games.
The graphics, audio, and other media for the games are designed in a studio in the USA or Japan but then the manufacturing of the CDs or Blu-Rays is done in places like China or Mexico.
Although there are many manufacturing warehouses in China and other Asian countries for PlayStation, they do not have the office setup that does the complete decision-making of the PlayStation. This means that there are only three parts of the world that actually make the decisions about the PlayStation. They are California, London, and Tokyo.
New product launches are normally announced at one of these three main headquarters.
PlayStation Manufacturing in China
Today Sony has set up its manufacturing plant in China because of the demand all over the mainland. China can now manufacture, assemble and sell PlayStation products in its region on its own. The only restrictions are that they will have to follow the same quality standard and procedure in the making of the console in order to keep the standard of the gaming console high.
This means that the CPU, processor, hard drive, CD-ROM, internal storage, etc. are all assembled in China.
China has the biggest gamer market in the whole world and they participate in almost all of the gaming competitions all over the world but their main gaming system isn’t a console but is a PC instead.
Originally China had to import all of Sony’s products, but now they have warehouses that make the PlayStation. This allows them to sell the game system cheaper for the gamers in China similar to the prices here in the United States which is a ploy that Sony is using to try and increase their presence in that country.
Because of the gaming demand, China and Japan have agreed on the manufacturing of the PlayStation in China as well. Even though they produce and assemble the PlayStation, it does not make it a Chinese company. The company originated in Japan, and even today its products should be called Japanese products.
Aren’t Games Banned In China Though?
China faced a huge gaming ban of almost ten years in the past. This ban was due to the bad gaming environment that was originally in China. China wanted its youth to focus on something much more productive, so they placed this ban but it did not work as planned.
Black markets spread a lot of gaming tech all over China. This forced China, after almost ten years, to rescind the ban.
When they removed the ban, they agreed to manufacture the PlayStation consoles in their region. This made the cost a little less because almost all of the PlayStation’s small equipment was manufactured in China as well.
The Original PlayStation
The PlayStation (also known as the PlayStation One) was the first of Sony’s gaming consoles and originally had to compete with Nintendo and Sega which were both powerhouses in that era. The PS1 was made in Japan so it was a genuine Japanese product.
The newer Playstation consoles are not manufactured in Japan so they are still Japanese because Sony is a Japanese company but they are not made in Japan anymore.
The PlayStation 2 Manufacturing
Originally, the PlayStation 2 was produced in Japan but later its manufacturing was extended to the USA and European regions as well. Even though it was extended to other countries, it was originally an entirely Japanese product.
The PlayStation 3 Manufacturing
The PlayStation 3 followed the same steps as that of the PlayStation 2. It was first produced in Japan therefore it is a Japanese product. In the later versions, it was produced in the USA and Europe.
PlayStation 4 Manufacturing
PlayStation development’s main headquarters is in Japan. The Japanese company exports its entire product to other parts of the company in other parts of the world.
Since the PlayStation is a product of Sony which is a Japanese company, the PlayStation is also a Japanese brand. It exports its entire product line to a variety of other countries and most of the console is made and assembled directly in China.
Along with the above-mentioned products, there are a lot of other products as well that are also developed in different regions.
Most of the development work of PlayStation is done in China because of the cheap labor and development cost. After that, the products are exported throughout the world with many of the decisions being made in the main headquarters in San Mateo, California.
Conclusion
Now that you know that the PlayStation is a Japanese company, you can let all of your friends know. You can also use this information to impress your friends and family that you know all about where every PlayStation console is and was made at.
Although the original Playstation was made in Japan that has not been true for quite some time now. The Playstation is still a Japanese console but it isn’t made there anymore.
No matter where the console is made, Sony has high standards that the countries have to follow in order to produce the PlayStation. This means that the PlayStation that you purchase will work properly no matter what country it is manufactured in.