PlayStation is Sony's video game brand and one of the most successful names in gaming history. The original PlayStation console launches in Japan in December 1994, driven by engineer Ken Kutaragi after a collapsed disc-drive partnership between Sony and Nintendo; it becomes the first console to ship 100 million units. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, released in 2000, remains the best-selling video game console ever with over 160 million units sold. The brand is operated by Sony Interactive Entertainment, headquartered in San Mateo, California, and spans the PlayStation 5 console, DualSense controllers, the PS VR2 headset, the PlayStation Plus subscription service with cloud streaming, and the PlayStation Store digital marketplace. PlayStation Studios, its first-party group, includes Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Insomniac Games, and Guerrilla, producing franchises such as God of War, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, Horizon, and Gran Turismo, and the brand also owns Destiny developer Bungie. The PlayStation 5 launches in 2020 and passes 75 million units sold, while the PlayStation Network serves over 100 million monthly active users. Sony increasingly extends the brand beyond consoles, publishing PC ports of its exclusives and producing film and television adaptations of its games. PlayStation is a core pillar of Sony Group, with the games segment consistently ranking among the company's largest revenue sources.
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