production and variants

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Variants
The first new version was actually a revision in early 1996, produced in response to complaints that PlayStations were overheating. Sony did not change the technical aspects or the cosmetics but did remove the RCA ports left over from the Japanese release. The parallel port (which was mostly unused by Sony) was also removed to reduce production costs. Sony also slightly improved the laser assembly.

Many gamers experienced skipping full-motion video or dreaded physical "ticking" noises coming from their PlayStations. The problem appears to have come from poorly placed vents leading to overheating in some environments — the plastic moldings inside the console would warp very slightly and create knock-on effects with the laser assembly. The solution was to ensure the console was sat on a surface which dissipated heat efficiently in a well vented area, or raise the unit up slightly by propping something at its edges. A common fix for already affected consoles was to turn the PlayStation sideways or upside-down (thereby using gravity to cancel the effects of the warped interior) although some gamers smacked the lid of the PlayStation to make a game load or work.

Sony then released a version dubbed "Dual Shock", which included a controller with 2 analog thumbsticks and a built in force-feedback feature.

Another version that was colored blue (as opposed to regular console units that were grey in color) was available to game developers and select press. Later versions of this were colored green. Contrary to popular belief, the RAM was not 4 megabytes but instead the standard 2 megabytes. The console included a CD-ROM emulator board connected to a PC. It was also able to run in-development games which lacked region coding (which would be rejected by a normal PlayStation as though they were pirated copies). A few of these units eventually appeared for sale through somewhat dubious channels at high prices.

A white version was also produced that had the ability to play VCDs.

The installation of a modchip allowed the PlayStation's capabilities to be expanded, and several options were made available. By the end of the system's life cycle almost anyone with minimal soldering experience was able to realize the modification of the console. Such a modification allowed the playing of games from other regions, such as PAL titles on a NTSC console, or allowed the ability to play illicit copies of original games without restriction. Modchips allows the playing of games recorded on a regular CD-ROM. This created a wave of games developed without official approval using free GNU compiler tools, as well as the illegal reproduction of original discs. With the introduction of such devices the console was very attractive to Programmers and Pirates alike.

Individuals that insisted on creating copies of games that would play as their original counterparts faced many issues at the time, as the discs that were produced by Sony were not easily reproduced. Not only did the original discs have a specific black tint to them, they also contained blank sectors of data that prohibited their copying. The device was purposefully designed not to read discs without this black tint,[verification needed] it was also made to disregard any disc that lacked sectors of data in certain areas. For some time the black-bottomed discs with blank sectors were unable to be reproduced by conventional software or hardware, and without the aforementioned modification to the unit, reproductions were useless. New versions of CD-copying software that could be configured to "ignore bad sectors", combined with the mods to the console made both of these issues surmountable, and allowed the general public to play any disc they chose, provided said modchip was installed in their system.

The creation and mass-production of these inexpensive modchips, coupled with their ease of installation, truly marked the beginning of console videogame piracy. Coincidentally, CD-ROM burners were made available around this time. Before this, the reproduction of copyrighted material for gaming consoles was restricted to either A.) People with exceptional ability, or B.) Access to very serious plastics manufacturing plants. With this console, Joe Public could replicate anything Sony was producing for a mere fraction of the MSRP.