Sony prioritized simple, practical design for their original PlayStation console, avoiding the complexity of emerging 3D hardware. They developed custom audio and graphics chips in-house while commissioning LSI Logic to build their System-on-Chip. The resulting architecture featured a MIPS-based processor that balanced power and affordability, critical for console competitiveness in the early 1990s market.

The PlayStation's CPU core ran at 33.87 MHz with the MIPS I ISA, featuring 32 general-purpose registers and a 32-bit data bus. Uniquely, it lacked a data cache, instead using a 1 KB Scratchpad area as fast SRAM. Sony implemented 2 MB of EDO RAM, offering lower latency than standard DRAM. This design allowed the console to efficiently handle gaming workloads while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Direct Memory Access (DMA) enabled subsystems like the graphics and audio processors to transfer data independently, bypassing the CPU when needed. This architecture represented Sony's pragmatic approach to console design, focusing on efficient data handling rather than raw power. The MIPS-based solution proved influential in early gaming hardware, demonstrating how custom silicon and clever memory management could deliver compelling gaming experiences without excessive complexity.