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[nial]

Japan, as it's been the case the entire PlayStation 30th anniversary blowout, getting the good stuff once again.

"Project: MEMORY CARD" - Special PlayStation® 30th Anniversary Commercial Featuring Original Music by YOASOBI Released Today!​

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) released a special 30th anniversary commercial today, Friday, March 21st, using the song "PLAYERS," written by YOASOBI as part of "Project: MEMORY CARD," a project to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the release of the original PlayStation®. The commercial will begin airing on terrestrial TV channels today.

PlayStation × YOASOBI “PLAYERS” 30th Anniversary Special CM｜Project: MEMORY CARD​

The concept of this project is to "save your PlayStation memories in music," and PlayStation Official X is soliciting stories of "games you want to erase your memories and play again." Based on the "#MemoryOfPlay" stories sent in by everyone, YOASOBI has written a new song for the 30th anniversary, "PLAYERS," which has finally been released.
The 30th anniversary special commercial uses the song, and features a star-studded cast including actress Nanase Nishino, VTuber Pekora Usada, and game commentator Kiyo. The characters, inspired by each of the performers themselves, travel to the world of the game after receiving a mysterious memory card.
We hope you enjoy this special song and commercial, which was born from the love and memories of games, transcending all boundaries, from musicians, actors, VTubers, game commentators, and everyone in Japan who loves games. We plan to continue developing "Project: MEMORY CARD" in the future, so please stay tuned for further updates.

A rollercoaster-like "Play Has No Limits" train journey​

The story takes place in a retro game shop on a street corner. Maru, Peke, and Ki3 are having fun playing in the shop run by Peke's grandpa. One day, Maru picks up a mysterious memory card. He pulls out his original PlayStation and inserts the memory card...!? A "Play Has No Limits" train journey begins, racing through the world of games like a rollercoaster from the "PlayStation" to the "other station."

Comment from YOASOBI, the creators of the 30th anniversary song "PLAYERS"​

How did YOASOBI create the music based on your gaming memories, "#MemoryOfPlay"? Ayase and ikura gave us their comments.

(To Ayase) Was there anything you paid particular attention to when creating the song?​

Ayase: I love games, and I've been playing them up until now, and I still play them now. I think it's no exaggeration to say that I grew up with games.
There are many lessons I learned from the drama and stories depicted in games as the protagonists face various difficulties, and I think that has shaped who I am today.
I think this song is packed with my love for games, the memories I've grown up with games, and the emotions I've felt.

(To ikura) How did you feel when you first heard the song?​

ikura: First of all, I was so moved that I sent a message to Ayase-san without thinking (laughs).
I've been watching gameplay since I was in high school, and I've been in contact with games on a daily basis and they've supported me.
That's why, when I heard this song, my feelings for games exploded. I think it's a song that's filled with my own love for games.

YOASOBI​

YOASOBI is a "unit that turns novels into music." Their debut song "Racing into the Night," released in November 2019, quickly attracted attention immediately after its release, dominating various domestic distribution charts, and currently has a cumulative total of over 1.1 billion streams, the first time in history. Their opening theme song for the TV anime "Oshi no Ko," released in April 2023, "Idol," topped the Billboard JAPAN comprehensive song chart "JAPAN Hot 100" for 21 consecutive weeks, breaking Billboard JAPAN's all-time record for consecutive top spots. They also topped the US Billboard Global Chart "Global Excl. US," Apple Music's "Top 100: Global," and YouTube music charts TOP 100 songs Global, setting new records for the first time in J-POP history. In April 2024, they will appear at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the world's largest festivals. Starting in December, they will embark on their second Asian tour, and are scheduled to appear at the Spanish music festival "Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025" in June 2025. In Japan, they will celebrate their 5th anniversary in October 2024, and in the fall they will perform their first ever dome concert. Starting in July 2025, they will embark on a hall tour with 40 performances in 14 prefectures across the country. As an artist representing J-POP and making a name for themselves on the world stage, they are demonstrating outstanding achievements in all areas both at home and abroad.

Nanase Nishino, Pekora Usada, and Kiyo will appear as voice actors. Character design is by Kenichi Yoshida.​

The video features four characters based on the PlayStation symbol "△〇×□". "Maru" is voiced by actor Nishino Nanase, "Peke" by VTuber Usada Pekora, and "Ki3" by game commentator Kiyo - three unique game-loving voice actors, joined by "Roboji". The character designs, inspired by each of the actors themselves, were created by Yoshida Kenichi, an animator/character designer/illustrator known for works such as "Eureka Seven" and "Chikyuugai Shonen Shoujo".

Comment from Nanase Nishino​

Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of PlayStation. I really like the worldview of this video, and it gets me excited every time I watch it combined with the music. The three characters are all different, and some of my own elements are included, so I feel even more attached to them.
I've played every PlayStation from the original to the latest PlayStation®5. I still remember the feeling of having separate discs for old games and the sense of accomplishment I felt when I swapped discs. I also treasured the memory cards shown in this video. I remember carefully labeling them and writing my own name on them so that I wouldn't be confused as to whether they belonged to my brother.
It's the 30th anniversary of PlayStation, and as I'm the same age, I feel a connection with it and am very happy.

Nishino Nanase​

Actress. Born May 25, 1994, from Osaka Prefecture.
Debuted as a member of the idol group Nogizaka46. After graduating from Nogizaka46 in 2018, she began working as an actress. She has been active in many dramas, films, and stage productions, including the dramas Anata no Ban Desu, Unsung Cinderella: Hospital Pharmacist's Prescription, Hakozume: Fight! Koban Joshi, the film Shin Kamen Rider, and the stage play Basarao. She won the Best Supporting Actress and Newcomer Actor awards at the 45th Japan Academy Awards for her role in the film Koro no Chi Level 2, and the Best Newcomer award at the 44th Yokohama Film Festival for her role in Love is Light. She is currently starring in the film The Boy and the Dog, which is currently showing in theaters.

Comment from Usada Pekora​

Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of PlayStation, Peko!!! I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to be involved in this commemorative project! The visuals and music are all fantastic, thrilling to watch, and the melody makes you want to hum along when you hear it! I had a lot of fun playing Peke!
It is no exaggeration to say that games are an essential part of Pekora's life right now. Peko will continue to travel the world of PlayStation for a long time to come!!!

Usada Pekora​

A third-generation member of the female VTuber group "HoloLive." A lonely girl with bunny ears.
She loves carrots and carries them with her so she can eat them whenever she wants.

Comment from Kiyo​

Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of PlayStation.
PlayStation has been an irreplaceable part of my life since I was a child and even now as an adult.
I've played games alone, with my parents and siblings, with friends, and now online with people all over the world.
I have as many memories as I've played with so many people.
I'm happy to have had the opportunity to take part in this wonderful project in the 30th anniversary year.
The visuals and music were powerful. It was nostalgic yet new, a world unlike any other. I was drawn into the fast-paced development.
The character Ki3 is pronounced almost exactly like Kiyo. I had a lot of fun acting it. And I was also happy to be able to appear with the three best friends.
Please continue to support me, PlayStation, until my memory card is full!

Kiyo​

Born in Hokkaido. Game commentator. YouTube channel subscribers are over 5.19 million. Last October, she held a solo event "Kiyo's Higashikiyodome in TOKYO DOME ~15th Anniversary~" at Tokyo Dome to commemorate her 15th anniversary, and over 50,000 tickets were sold out immediately.

"PLAYERS" by YOASOBI, a song born from "Project: MEMORY CARD"​

"Project: MEMORY CARD", which has the concept of "Saving your PlayStation memories in YOASOBI's music", will start on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, 30 years after the release of the original PlayStation. On the official PlayStation website, we asked users to submit "#MemoryOfPlay" under the theme of "A game episode that you want to erase your memory and play again".

PlayStation®30th Anniversary Project "Project: MEMORY CARD" Launches! Collaboration with Music Unit "YOASOBI"!
Before the song and commercial were released, a collaboration logo was displayed with the words "NOW LOADING...", transforming the PlayStation symbol "△〇×□" into "YOASOBI".

And today, March 21st (Friday), the 30th anniversary song "PLAYERS", written by YOASOBI based on the "#MemoryOfPlay" sent in by everyone, was released along with the commercial. In addition, the save data of everyone's "#MemoryOfPlay" is now available on the special website, so please enjoy that as well.

YOASOBI "PLAYERS" music distribution site is here
"Project: MEMORY CARD" special site is here

「Project: MEMORY CARD」──YOASOBIによる書き下ろし楽曲を使用したプレイステーション®30周年特別CMを本日公開！

ソニー・インタラクティブエンタテインメント（SIE）は本日3月21日（金）、初代プレイステーション®発売30周年記念プロジェクト「Project: MEMORY CARD」から生まれたYOASOBIによる書き下ろし楽曲「 […]

blog.ja.playstation.com

 

[mckmas8808]

WoW!!!

 

[Darkkahn]

That is super cool!

 

[Robot Carnival]

this is really cool and love the music. having Pekora on this is also great. HoloLive members are really hitting it big in Japan lately. going into a lot of mainstream ads and what not.

I'm pretty sure I still have some PS1 and PS2 memory cards stored away somewhere. sadly lost my PS1 after a friend borrowed it and misplaced it during moving. might buy another one eventually just for collection.

 

[struggler_guts]

Soo they made a commercial, making big deal about the artist, then put talking over the entire thing?

 

[nial]

this is really cool and love the music. having Pekora on this is also great. HoloLive members are really hitting it big in Japan lately. going into a lot of mainstream ads and what not.

I'm pretty sure I still have some PS1 and PS2 memory cards stored away somewhere. sadly lost my PS1 after a friend borrowed it and misplaced it during moving. might buy another one eventually just for collection.

I want to start a collection myself someday. I really love some of these.

Soo they made a commercial, making big deal about the artist, then put talking over the entire thing?

Eh, Nanase, Pekora and Kiyo were as much of a big deal.
Also, the hype with YOASOBI mostly came from people knowing that they were going to release this song since November. The commercial wasn't announced until a few days ago.

 

[The Lunch Legend]

Ah, this must be the mythical kanjobazooie memory card!

 

[Astray]

Playstation has been pushing hard in Japan lately, but I think they need a handheld and a substantial change to their software pipeline if they want to really make in-roads there again.

 

[Robot Carnival]

Playstation has been pushing hard in Japan lately, but I think they need a handheld and a substantial change to their software pipeline if they want to really make in-roads there again.

honestly, if they had allowed the PSP and PSV to use normal memory cards instead of their own stuff, the PSP brand would probably be a bigger thing. they probably still won't be able to match Nintendo but it won't be completely dead as it is right now.

 

[Astray]

honestly, if they had allowed the PSP and PSV to use normal memory cards instead of their own stuff, the PSP brand would probably be a bigger thing. they probably still won't be able to match Nintendo but it won't be completely dead as it is right now.

Sony has historically always interfered with Playstation hardware initiatives in some way or other. You would expect that Playstation would be dictating vs the opposite considering how much of Sony's revenue they account for, but that's not happening.

PS Vita had to contend with the memory stick weirdness, and even PS5 had a lot of pushing for the X900H tvs as a companion piece (which iirc didn't end great because the HDMI 2.1 implementation was awful on those TVs).

 

[Fafalada]

PS Vita had to contend with the memory stick weirdness

PS Vita wasn't compatible with memory sticks at all.

And PSP wasn't limited by those at all - by the time software downloads were meaningfully available on PSP, memsticks were barely more expensive than SDCards, of the same time, matching capacity, and broadly available at that - from the same vendors people mostly buy SD cards from (ie. not Sony).
Further to that, proliferation of piracy only drove sales of MemSticks even higher (And prices lower).

None of that was ever true for PSVita memory.

 

[Loomy]

That's a lot of cool talen on the project.

 

[Astray]

PS Vita wasn't compatible with memory sticks at all.

And PSP wasn't limited by those at all - by the time software downloads were meaningfully available on PSP, memsticks were barely more expensive than SDCards, of the same time, matching capacity, and broadly available at that - from the same vendors people mostly buy SD cards from (ie. not Sony).
Further to that, proliferation of piracy only drove sales of MemSticks even higher (And prices lower).

None of that was ever true for PSVita memory.

I'm fairly certain they had some weird proprietary storage solution on the Vita, no?

 

[Fafalada]

I'm fairly certain they had some weird proprietary storage solution on the Vita, no?

Yes - not Memory Stick.

If they had stuck with MS - Vita wouldn't have received the complaints it did - partly because memory would be 3x cheaper, and partly because it wouldn't require ordering cards bigger than 32GB from Japan because no other country ever sold them through entire lifespan of the console.
I doubt it would have done anything for overall sales though - but that's another story.

But yea - Sony was paranoid about security after the self-own goal with the PSP so they decided the way to 'fix' it was to punish everyone other than the pirates (because those never bought the Vita anyway).

 

[PixelatedBeast]

I would love to watch an animated film or show with this art work that involves Playstation IPs.

 

[Puscifer]

Yes - not Memory Stick.

If they had stuck with MS - Vita wouldn't have received the complaints it did - partly because memory would be 3x cheaper, and partly because it wouldn't require ordering cards bigger than 32GB from Japan because no other country ever sold them through entire lifespan of the console.
I doubt it would have done anything for overall sales though - but that's another story.

But yea - Sony was paranoid about security after the self-own goal with the PSP so they decided the way to 'fix' it was to punish everyone other than the pirates (because those never bought the Vita anyway).

Version 1.5 is fucking legendary

 

[nial]

122K likes, 28.5K reposts, 26.1M views.

Best commercial they've done this gen, IMO.

 

[yogaflame]

I still have my memory cards. I remember fighting with my brother for save space.

 

[yogaflame]

This video commercal is so cool. I hope they can make that into a game. Team Asobi can do it.