PlayStation classic 99 dollars (3rd December 2018)

[tongue_of_colicab]

Terrible consumerism choices though for your wallet and for the environment.
They should focus on making games easier to install, patching and OS features easier. Existing discs should work etc.
I mean yea, this solution works...but it's not ideal by any means.

By that definition there isn't a whole lot you can buy. A console isn't exactly great either for people that don't want to play that many games. And yes there are plenty of people that don't buy dozens of games.

I don't find it hard to imagine plenty of people enjoy a product like this. Even if there are only a dozen or half a dozen games on the system you like, if you only play a few hours a week it can take years to finish them. It's not bad value for money either in that case.

 

[Shortbread]

Terrible consumerism choices though for your wallet and for the environment.

But there is a large share of casual gamers whom are demanding just that. A simple and inexpensive way of playing certain classics for a reasonable price... without the need for paying $299-$499 hardware on doing so. Sure, Sony is riding Nintendo's coattail on doing so, but that's the nature of demand and competition. As for the environmental aspects, I agree... but we're not going to resolve those issues easily in a world where consumer demand and consumption for the latest and greatest technology (or just stuff in general) is outpacing the environmental needs of supporting it. For effective change, it starts with the consumers... not major corporations capitalizing on what they do best - "making money off demand."

They should focus on making games easier to install, patching and OS features easier. Existing discs should work etc.
I mean yea, this solution works...but it's not ideal by any means.

I agree, but, certain gaming consumers just want simplicity of ole'. How many of us hasn't helped a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend, and so-on, on setting up their consoles, tablets, smartphones, etc!? Consoles requiring much more time on setting up (i.e., internet access configuration, game installs, patching, resolution and audio setup, app-updates, etc.). Some 'folks' just want to plug and play.

 

[Theeoo]

The lack of analogue sticks isn't great, especially if you can load more ps1 games onto it. They went too retro.

 

[Nesh]

I can't play these old games anymore. They were fantastic back then but there are so many new games that I don't have time for.

I still rate Final Fantasy 7 as one of the greatest games I have ever played but that's from 12 year old me back then. That memory will remain untainted.

DO

NOT

TRY IT

NOW

OR

IN THE FUTURE

 

[steveOrino]

Just as worthless as the Nintendo minis. The worst part about the Nintendo versions is that they were nowhere near cycle accurate and had bad output options to top it off. I highly doubt the PS mini will be any different. If you need PS emulation just grab your old CDs, image them and use Mednafen's PS core on your OS of choice. I can't wait to hear how bad the Megadrive mini's YM2612 emulation sounds

 

[MrFox]

5th gen mini is a more interesting category than nintendo 3rd and 4th minis, but hardware needs a lot more power and storage. They'll probably make the N64 but after that it's hard to imagine this trend would reach 6th gen at $99.

 

[AlNom]

That's exactly what it is. Sony have seen Nintendo printing money and copied them verbatim. It's not even that mini. PS1 BC on PS4, with improved quality, and a £30 'greatest hits' collection, would be far more welcome by gamers, I imagine.

Sell a collectible chassis that comes with a digital key to attach the BC collection to your profile. Don't even bother with manufacturing electronic parts for something that belongs in a museum.

 

[dten]

Imagine if this could connect to PSN and download other PS1 Classics.

Sony probably could've added storage for downloadable games but setting up the infrastructure/coding probably not worth it. I'm not a fan of these pre-curated machines. It misses the whole point of consoles. But obviously there is an audience for this stuff.

 

[MrFox]

They still sell like hot cakes, so we're obviously not the target market.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

But there is a large share of casual gamers whom are demanding just that. A simple and inexpensive way of playing certain classics for a reasonable price... without the need for paying $299-$499 hardware on doing so. Sure, Sony is riding Nintendo's coattail on doing so, but that's the nature of demand and competition. As for the environmental aspects, I agree... but we're not going to resolve those issues easily in a world where consumer demand and consumption for the latest and greatest technology (or just stuff in general) is outpacing the environmental needs of supporting it. For effective change, it starts with the consumers... not major corporations capitalizing on what they do best - "making money off demand."

I'd argue that the vast majority of people buying them are either...

1. Already own a current gen console by the same maker and want one due to nostalgia.
2. Already own a current gen console by the same maker and want to give one to their child due to nostalgia.
   1. Child checks it out and then never touches it again leaving the person who bought it to keep it out of nostalgia.

And then there's the few people that actually are playing the games and wishing they had actual enhancements to make them look better than what they are actually playing because their memory is making the game look better than it originally was when they first played it.

But since we won't ever get the demographics, we'll never know who is in the majority or who is in the minority and whether these things ever get played or whether most of them sit on a shelf gathering dust as people hang onto them for nostalgia or are speculators hoping they turn into valuable collector's items in the future.

I know a couple guys here who have garages full of such things. Basically speculating on whether they'll get a large return on their investment in the future. Most of it never pans out for them.

That said, it's cute, and I kind of want one like I kind of wanted an NES classic or SNES classic. But since I can play all the games emulated, it's not worth it to buy something that's going to just sit on my shelf gathering dust or provide an inferior playing experience.

Regards,
SB

 

[milk]

The mini replica is a cool sort of collectors item for people who like that sort of stuff. But the actual machine could be much better.
The the fact it's limited number of games machine that only supports the wired USB replica controller is just lazy. It was kind of excused for the NES because those games were so simple and almost arcadey, that the closed box approach kind of seems appropriate for the machine it's laying homage to.
But PS1 is from the era of the CD rom. It was a different type of game console. It needed a different type of retro homage. It's games were more specific. In style and themes. It's library was huge. It's games were long and involved. And Sony is not Nintendo. It is the hight tech company. They should wear that with pride. Not blatantly copy Nintendo's cheap ass toy approach to gaming. Make it a connected device with acces to the PSN store and SD card support. The replica controller should have Bluetooth and it should damn well support the dualshock 4 as well at the very least.

 

[Tkumpathenurple]

That said, it's cute, and I kind of want one like I kind of wanted an NES classic or SNES classic. But since I can play all the games emulated, it's not worth it to buy something that's going to just sit on my shelf gathering dust or provide an inferior playing experience

Pretty much my feelings with all of these.

 

[Sigfried1977]

The fact that it ships with the old PS controllers pretty much guarantees we're not gonna see some of the newer PSone-era classics. I don't think games like Colony Wars work without analog sticks. (and if they do for the sake of compatibility it's gonna be awful)

I'm kinda hoping for some of the wacky PSone launch era games myself. Stuff like Krazy Ivan, Novastorm or Loaded. Jumping Flash is already on there, so that's a good start. Inclusion of the demo disc with the T-Rex would be much appreciated as well.

 

[Karamazov]

Hmmm i Wonder what size would be the PC engine mini ...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Hmmm i Wonder what size would be the PC engine mini ...

There's no need for any of these things to be bigger than a matchbox.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-3-model-b-plus/

The Pi isn't the smallest possible size. Could have two micro USB connectors instead of 4 standard sized, and doesn't need the pin breakout. Maybe half the size?

 

[MrFox]

It's a collector item, it wouldn't sell much unless it's an official product thay looks and feels close to the original.

If you're into piracy, all you need is a smartphone app and a bt controller. Sorry I mean homebrew.

 

[Nisaaru]

Does this come with a digital blur? When I tried an old PSX1 on a TFT about 10 years ago it gave me eye cancer with all the horrible texture resolutions.

 

[Theeoo]

I think a Saturn mini will be more interesting for gamers, since the Saturn hasn't been emulated properly yet, and working ones are rarer, not to mention back catalogue support over newer generations.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Through true, the fact it hasn't been well emulated means it'd need custom hardware, meaning it'd be an expensive project. Very unlikely.

 

[Theeoo]

I thought at least part of the challenge of emulation is figuring out the internals of the machine without access to the original technical documentation? Maybe if Sega has access to the original docs they can write a good working emulator.