Steve Jobs was convinced that Apple could have a say in the game console market. To make this happen, he entered into a collaboration that Sony didn’t like at all.
Thanks to Steve Jobs, Apple’s product launches were always a special event. He knew how to inspire the people around him. A performance in January 1999 was no different.
He talked about the Sony PlayStation and called it the best gaming console in the world. But what no one expected was his ambition to work with Apple to deliver an even better console.
His ambition paved the way for many Apple products. But former employees also felt this if Steve Jobs was not satisfied with them. For example, the head of marketing for the first Apple Macintosh was fired by him 5 times.
For $49 you can turn your Mac into a Sony PlayStation
How should Apple systems become a game console? At the Macworld Expo in 1999, the former Apple CEO took the stage to announce big things. During his appearance, Jobs said he wanted to deliver nothing less than the best gaming console in the world. Incidentally, Apple is not moving away from this approach these days and says: The iPhone 15 Pro is intended to be “the best games console”, but does not want to be competition for the PS5 and Xbox.
However, his project at the time did not involve a new development of the popular Apple Mac series. The first iPhone was also still many years away from production. Instead, Steve Jobs presented special software that was intended to shake up the console market in collaboration with developer Aaron Giles from Connectix.
With complete conviction he said: For $49 you can turn your Mac into a Sony PlayStation. The “Virtual Game Station” emulator was presented together with Phil Schiller from Apple’s management team.
What could the program do? The Virtual Game Station emulator was installed on an iMac G3 system, mimicking the Sony PlayStation hardware. This made it possible to play console titles on the Apple device.
The iMac-G3 already had a compatible CD drive for the PlayStation game discs. All you had to do was purchase a suitable controller with a USB port. During his talk, Jobs spoke of hundreds of games that are compatible with the emulator.
Although the presentation was only a preview, several hundred copies were already sold at the Macworld Expo. The product seemed to be a complete success at first.
Sony reacts and sends its lawyers
How did Sony react to the “Virtual Game Station” emulator? The Japanese console manufacturer was anything but happy about Steve Jobs’ plan. Sony was informed about the upcoming release before the public appearance.
They sought licensing and wanted to get Sony’s approval for further development. At this moment, the PlayStation developer saw its strong market position at risk. This resulted in a cease and desist declaration.
Sony wanted to prevent its own code from being used to develop the emulator. However, Aaron Giles managed to rewrite the program code in the emulator. This meant that the “Virtual Game Station” emulator could be presented as planned at the Macworld Expo 1999.
Was that the end of the legal dispute? No, Sony now really got started and filed another lawsuit. Developer Connectix emerged victorious in the case. But an interim injunction prevented further sales of the software.
Ultimately both parties came to an agreement. The program code became the property of Sony. This meant that Steve Jobs’ ambitions came to an abrupt end. At the same time, public interest in the first PlayStation fell and with it the demand for emulators. With the new generation of consoles on the horizon in the form of the PlayStation 2, the chapter was finally over.
By the way, this wasn’t Apple’s first attempt to gain a foothold in the console market:
Did you know that Apple released a console a few years earlier?