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Sony PlayStation Classic
67
Engadget Review
The PlayStation Classic has a few great titles, but for the most part it betrays the memory of the original console with inconsistent emulation and a baffling inclusion of PAL games.
Sony learned nothing from Nintendo.
Devindra HardawarDecember 12, 2018
Pros
- Console and controller look and feel nice
- Some great classic titles
Cons
- Lackluster and inconsistent emulation quality
- PAL titles play terribly
- Controller doesn’t include DualShock
- No AC adapter
Sony
PlayStation Classic
Engadget
67
Critics
10 reviews58
AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE
Users
22 reviews60
AVERAGE USER SCORE
View All Critic & User Reviews
Sony PlayStation Classic
- Critic Reviews (10)
- User Reviews (22)
- 58AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE10 ReviewsPC Mag60Sony PlayStation ClassicA strange selection of games and muddy upscaling keep the PlayStation Classic mini retro game system from doing Sony's first console justice.The Guardian60Sony's nostalgia trip misses the magicWhat we have is the bare minimum: a machine that looks nice, is really easy to use and has at least some games that people will remember and enjoy playing again. What we don’t have, is something that improves on or even equals what Nintendo has done with its own retro range. The PlayStation Classic is lodged between two worlds, the world of cheap and easy nostalgia and the world of historic recreation, and serves neither market wholly.Mashable80Back to the '90s with Sony's PlayStation ClassicSony's PlayStation Classic is a fun throwback to the early days of 3D gaming, but the included games won't please everyone.Kotaku50The Kotaku ReviewInstead of a PlayStation Classic that really celebrates the shared love for this bygone era of games, it’s a product that feels like it was delivered in the spirit of “Oh, you guys still like these old games? Well, here this is, we guess.” The PlayStation’s games are still beautiful, but the wrapping around them is something like putting a Picasso into an $8.99 plastic frame.Polygon60PlayStation Classic reviewThough value is subjective, for $99.99, this is a comparatively expensive way to relive the original PlayStation, only conveniently smaller. Many of the PlayStation games included with the system — with the noteworthy exception of Intelligent Qube — can be downloaded and played on other PlayStation platforms cheaply. Even then, many of these old PlayStation games are hard, sometimes to a heartbreaking degree, to revisit now.But the biggest disappointment with the PlayStation Classic is being left wanting what’s missing, rather than what it offers.TechRadar60PlayStation Classic reviewBecause it doesn’t enshrine the best-remembered games from the ’90s, the PlayStation Classic isn’t quite everything we hoped it’d be. But what it lacks in software is made up, in part, by its lovingly crafted hardware.The Verge70THE EXCITING, AWKWARD DAYS OF EARLY 3D GAMESWhen you really sit back and experience the device, though, it’s actually a fitting representation of the mid- to late-‘90s. No, the PlayStation Classic doesn’t have all of your favorite classic PlayStation games, and there’s a very good chance that you’re never going to actually play Destruction Derby. But what you are getting for your $99.99, aside from a blast of nostalgia, is a refreshingly honest glimpse at what the early days of the PlayStation were like, right down to getting up from your comfy seat to switch to a different game.It wasn’t always pretty, and it was frequently confusing and awkward, but it was also incredibly exciting. And now, that feeling is captured in a tiny gray box.IGN60PLAYSTATION CLASSIC REVIEWThe PlayStation Classic is more like a halfhearted nod than a top-shelf tribute to Sony’s era-defining console.Digital Trends40PlayStation Classic reviewThe PS Classic is a cute collectible, but not a great gaming machine.Destructoid40Review: PlayStation ClassicNostalgia might be king, but this device is more like a prince (or a knave).
- 60AVERAGE USER SCORE22 Reviewstester70January 27, 2020Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Wish they had built-in support for more games. Easy enough to mod.Krishna80May 22, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I highly reccomend this productGabriel60April 8, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!When I first started using it, my thought was "the graphics are worse than I remember". And I was right as everyone knows by now. I was able to tweak the emulator settings to where the games looked great, but having to essentially hack it means it should have already been set like that out of the box. Now, if you have the technical chops to reconfigure the PCSX emulator or use a third-party program like BleemSync, the PSClassic can be a great experience. But for everyone else, don't waste your time or money. Sony pulled a bait-and-switch, & I fell for it. Don't make the same mistake I did unless you want to get your hands dirty.freedonut40April 8, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Apart from hack it, this thing for me basically is just a pretty console to be display on a shelf. I do occasionally play when my friends come over for fun, but those are very rare instances. Also, recent hacking mods aren't good enough to make it usable as well. Not worth it as I initially thought.KaaPow40April 7, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Not a review as much as what Sony should have done: i know there are plenty of mods and games on usb now but again, this is what Sony should have done from the start:Sony could have simply repackaged the PS TV inside the PS classic. They still could if they were smart. Have it come with "5" triple A titles (instead of 20 games) and "Let Us Pick" which PS1 games we want to buy after and download to the device. Just like how you go to the sony store and buy games for the old PSTV, Its that simple! The infrastructure is already there, the tech is there, but something is missing....Oh yeah, where the F is my Duel Shock Sony???!!!People say the problem with its $100 price was because of Sony getting those games for the system and paying the fees for those titles. So if Sony didn't have to pay for 20 games but 5 games and let us pay for and download the other ps1 titles we want, the system could have been sold for less than $50. And people would praise Sony instead of ...well, we all know, for this sorry attempt at a PS1 classic. Was it a rushed job Sony?For one, repackaging a PS TV seems the most cost effective because they already have the patents for the device and that tech is cheaper now and second, its cheaper for Sony and customers are happy to buy something they can afford from the start and if they want to spend more it'll go into the online purchases of more games. Serve it with some upconverting technology and mix in those games at 720-1080p, sprinkle some red netflix, green hulu, on top whole pouring some amazon butter scotch prime around it and its a delicious "PS1 Classic Sunday!" Dont forget the shock factor, Duel Shock! that is. Hope your Paying Attention Sony.... Who doesn't like a PS Classic Sunday that is duel shocking? you have permission to use my analogy. Id buy this today if it existed. Think about it Sony. Man i wish i was in charge of this project. Everyone would be happier. Seriously I'd listen all you gamers instead of just doing whatever the Sony execs think (they seem to think about themselves alot instead of the customers). Starting with a simple poll of what top 5 games people want in the machine in the first place with majority of votes going into the mini console...not to forget duel shock! Sony would be happy with the sales, we all would be happier with the, choose your own selection, it could have been good from the start. Games could have sold from 99cents to $10, $15 for bundles...etc. Good news is we always find a way to work with it, mod it and add like 100 more games from a usb stick. And some 3rd parties are hookin up some duel shock! thanks everyone!... no, sorry, sit down Sony, your in time out.So, Oh well, its at Sonys Loss for this lacking device, and poor selection of titles for what could have been a big ps1 mini release that could have been soooo much better. And lets not forget, A Loss as well for any of the Gaming Producers that would have benefited from a “download purchase plan” at the sony store like i mentioned. Thing is, Sony likes money...and guess what?, i do too! So im not going to spend it on a Half-@$$ device. That's why I'm waiting for this system to sell for under $20 next holiday sale and maybe ill purchase it. Thats my 2 cents, ummm, more like 10 cents. Peace Out!-KaaPow!!!Mickey70April 7, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!At the original price of $100 and the selection of the 20 games that came with it, I didn't feel it was worth the money. I picked mine up when it was on sale for $40 and felt much better about my purchase at that price point. I felt the feel of the controllers matched what I remembered when I had the original back in the day. The fact that you get 2 of them and they are standard USB controllers almost covered half the cost right there. The game play overall was close to what I remember as well but it has been many years since I have touched a PSX. Now with the ability to add other games with Bleemsync (nostalgia there with the name, I had a copy of Bleem when it was in Beta) has made this a great little device that I can use to show my kids what console gaming was like.Kevin80April 6, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Its actually a very good console how ever it is only a great console once you realize it only takes 5 minutes to add all the games you would want people give it a bad wrap if you want i am glad i got the ps classic the controllers are great and the games remind me of when i was young sad part is most the people doing these reviews are kids who didnt grow up playing on the original system and remember the laggy load time or the glitchy game play or the dread of having a playstation freeze up on you cause the disk couldnt be read or my favorite a single scratch that stopped the disk from being read to the point we was pulling out the tooth paste and banana peels to attempt to remove the scratch enough to play it only to realize half way through the game when it glitched out again you had to start from the beginning or the fact we had no clue in the beginning what a vibrating controller would do for and game or how joysticks would make it easier to play we just didnt know but what we didnt know is the games we had we loved and like it or lump it the games and set up of the ps classic is exactly like when we was kids minus the disk issues and with much better save systems so before you argue and put something down because you wanted this or you wanted that remember it gave us exactly what it was supposed to give us a flash back to the days when a ps was the clunky box that every kid wanted or talked about now look at us if it was that big of a failure then why are we all still talking about it with "all these better systems" out there.Timmmay60April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!After modding and sideloading a bunch of great games like Castlevania Symphony of the Night - and many other games that don't utilize a dual shock controller, it's well worth the $40 investment it now costs, but was never really on my radar when it was selling for $100.Really my only original complaint was the game selection. Everything else, even the controllers, were great. I never cared for the dual shock since most games I play are platformers, RPGs, puzzle games and SHMUPs.Matthew30April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A poor product that's more likely to be frustrating than useful. - EngadgetElranzer40April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!PlayStation games have aged much worse than the pixel-based retro systems before it. Couple that with the selection being pretty poor, and some weird decisions like using the inferior PAL versions (such an AWFUL video standard), it's not worth it unless you're a collector. The mini PlayStation model itself is very attractive, though.mario70April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A dependable product that doesn't really stand out from the competition. - EngadgetDonPolo70April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The Playstation Classic could have been an amaizing device if for starters it would have been priced out correctly, $99.99 is way to high of a price tag. The console is nicely designed and its a great addition to my existing classic console collection. But it really didn't hit the nostalgic mark with its game library and it should have included the dual shock controllers. Overall, because I was able to purchase this on a marked down deal of $36.99 it made the entire venture less painful. So if you can pick it up on a deal, go for it. But its not worth the asking price of $99.99. If you want good emulation go with Nintendo's options.ChaseHammer70April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A dependable product that doesn't really stand out from the competition. - Engadgetsanban01320April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!You read various lists of the "best PS1 games of all time" and they all vary on positions of certain games, but not the games itself. Resident Evil 2, Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Gran Turismo 2, Crash bandicoot, Tekken 3, Parapa the Rapper, Tony Hawk 2, Tomb Raider 2, silent Hill.....NONE of those games are in this, out of 20 best games only 1 or 2 are in here, hence, this is AWFUL.dgarra80April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Bought this for Intelligent Qube, works great, still love it.Ryan100April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I love my PS Classic. It sits proudly next to my SNES and NES Classic. It's modded with a selection of my favorite games.KillamanShank110April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Trash.Spencer70April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A dependable product that doesn't really stand out from the competition. - EngadgetTravis70April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!I pre-ordered this, I enjoyed it for what it is. I herd its pretty easy to hack and add more games too, I will defiantly be doing that in the near future.CanuckJ50April 5, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!For its initial price and what it contained, the PS Classic was an overpriced and underperforming product.At its current retail price, which is drastically cheaper, it might be worth it to die-hard fans of the system, though keep in mind that many of these games may be "hard" to play nowaday. Not in a difficulty sense, but in a product of its era sense.I enjoyed about a fourth of the library: Coolboarders, Resident Evil, FFVII, Twisted Metal and Metal Gear Solid.I love the design of the system, it's almost a perfect replica of the PSX I played and spent far too much time with. I'm not a fan of how the games are all based on their PAL versions from back in the day. You may not notice a specific issue with PAL vs NTSC, but there are some drawbacks.All told, if you're a collector, get it. If you're a fan of the games and you don't have your PSX and discs anymore, get it. Otherwise, you're fine passing on a system that, while visually is a great representation, is lackluster in both library and everything else.Andrew100February 19, 2019Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!While this system, as is, is probably about 3 out of 10, you can modify it!With Bleemsync, a powered hub, and a 2 TB ps4 external hard drive, this system is INCREDIBLE. In other words you can literally have ALL of the 1300 US released psx games, as well as Retroarch, which supports nes, snes, atari, genesis, and mame.It has enough power to run mortal kombat 1 for mame, which I think is very impressive.Luke40December 14, 2018Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A poor product that's more likely to be frustrating than useful. - Engadget
Key Specs
GAME FORMAT
Built-in game(s)
CONTROLLER TYPE
Wired
VIDEO OUTPUTS
HDMI
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