Happy 40th Birthday To The Compact Disc

First launched in Japan during 1982, the Sony CDP-101 was the world’s first commercially released compact disc (CD) player. The system was launched in Japan on October 1, 1982 at a list price of 168,000 yen (~$730). The Japan-only launch was said to be because Philips, Sony’s technology partner in the development of the CD format, was unable to meet the original agreed launch date.