Walkman Story: The Early Years of the Iconic Personal Cassette Player

The original Walkman on display at Sony’s head office in Tokyo. Photograph taken in June 2019. (© Nippon.com)

The original Walkman sold for ¥33,000. (© Sony)

The catalog for the first Walkman was laid out like a magazine, with extensive explanations.  (© Sony)

The Pressman (left) and the first-generation Walkman were highly similar in appearance. (© Sony)

A demonstration for reporters in Meiji Park showed how the Walkman could be used on the move. The journalists were given their own devices with cassettes of music and narration to walk around with.  (© Sony)

The WM-2, launched in 1981.  (© Sony)

The WM-20, which went on sale in 1983, was the size of a cassette case.  (© Sony)

The original Discman, launched in 1984.  (© Sony)

The MiniDisc Walkman hit markets in 1992.  (© Sony)

WM-2 product listings on the Yahoo Auctions website. (Screencap by Nippon.com)