Happy 20th Birthday, Sony PlayStation

It was September 9, 1995. A game console already making waves in Japan arrived on U.S. shores for the first time. It announced its intention right in its name—if your computer was your work station, this would be your PlayStation.

Even if we clearly weren’t ready for it:

Within a year, however, the console would exceed $1 billion in hardware and software sales for Sony, and the battle for game console supremacy would slowly begin to intensify (it’s still amazing that PlayStation’s current biggest rival, Microsoft’s Xbox, wouldn’t even enter the fray until five years later).

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the PlayStation’s American debut, we take a look back at its evolution through the years, from the clunky (though breathtaking at the time) graphics of some of its classic launch titles to sleek controllers to unforgettable earworm opening jingles

Click through the slideshow above to see some highlights from the PlayStation’s long and iconic history. Say it with us now…