Gaming console wars are alive and well with 2020 being the year we step into the next generation. Let's take a look back at some classic eras in video game advertising from today's big 3; Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo.

We'll start things off with the Playstation 1. They hit the streets back in 1995 with the "U R Not (red color)e" campaign. How many of these PS1 classics did you own?

One of my favorite Playstation slogans is “Live in your world. Play in ours.” You could NOT run this ad in today's climate

Playstation Europe (imo) has better ads than the US. The print ads are edgy and a bit disturbing. The video spots are even more compelling. Arguably the best Playstation ad ever is this "Double Life" commercial for the EU that nails gaming as escapism.

Sony leaned into the weird all the way with the PS2. Here's a look at some of the wildest print ads out of Europe.

By the early 2000s, online gaming had become more accessible to millions of gamers worldwide and a shift in advertising from focus on individual escapism to gaming being a bridge to community started to arise. Sony's 2003 "Mountain" ad is wonderful.

Also in the early 2000s arrived a new challenger for Playstation. On November 15th, 2001, the Microsoft Xbox entered the stage and would become Playstation's closest rival still to this day and our next dive in this thread.