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[JORMBO]

Digital Foundry:


IGN - 5.5 / 10:
https://m.ign.com/articles/2018/11/27/playstation-classic-review



Gamespot - no score
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-classic-review-too-little-too-late/1100-6463467/


Push Square - no score
http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/11/hardware_review_ps_classic_-_a_nostalgic_nineties_novelty


Digital Foundry/Eurogamer first look
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-playstation-classic-emulation-first-look

Polygon - no score
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2018/11/27/17897994/playstation-classic-review

Giant Bomb


Unboxing video:

 

[dark10x]

I've run this through our frame-rate analyzer and it's worse than you could ever imagine. No review until maybe this weekend, though, at best. Waiting on my unit (received footage from elsewhere).

 

[ClanOfNone]

PS era aged about as well as the 2600 era, I don't think I want to revisit this stuff. I'll leave my memories intact.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Pre-order cancelled.

 

[JordanN]

These "mini" consoles just feels like a waste of plastic.

I remember playing PS1 games on a PSP. Because it's emulated, there was no limit to the actual library and it was portable so it could be played anywhere.

But with this, you're just buying a plastic toy that is shaped like original Playstation with only 20 games ever included. Why not just buy the OG Playstation instead?

Even the controllers featured here are the primitive no analogs/rumble. It's a damn shame because the Playstation 1 is a legendary console, so why is Sony shitting on its legacy by releasing such a barebones product?

If they wanted nostalgia, just re-release the PS1 but update the hardware so you could download games to it.

 

[Spukc]

 

[mneuro]

This is unfortunate. Sony needs to get their act together. It seems like a completely different company than when PS4 was announced. Sony in 2018 seems like the Sony that announced the PS3 at $600.

 

[JORMBO]

These "mini" consoles just feels like a waste of plastic.

I remember playing PS1 games on a PSP. Because its emulated, there was no limit to the actual library and it was portable so it could be played anywhere.

But with this, you're just buying a plastic toy that is shaped like original Playstation with only 20 games ever included. Why not just buy the OG Playstation instead?

Even the controllers featured here are the primitive no analogs/rumble. It's a damn shame because the Playstation 1 is a legendary console, so why is Sony shitting on its legacy by releasing such a barebones product?

If they wanted nostalgia, just re-release the PS1 but update the hardware so you could download games to it.

It’s quick and easy. I can see the appeal. If it had 20 games I wanted to play it would be worth it for the price. Sony really dropped the ball on this one.

 

[dark10x]

PS era aged about as well as the 2600 era, I don't think I want to revisit this stuff. I'll leave my memories intact.

I wouldn't say that's true.

Some stuff has aged horribly but the PS1 is also home to lots of great 2D games and 60fps 3D games with cameras distant enough to work. Klonoa still plays brilliantly, for instance. There is simply a massive gap between games that hold up and those that do not.

 

[Theognosis]

Bad frame rate, ugly 3D graphics, horrible input lag and long load times should carry over to this system to make it authentic. 3/10 then, 1/10 now.

 

[Yoshi]

I've run this through our frame-rate analyzer and it's worse than you could ever imagine. No review until maybe this weekend, though, at best. Waiting on my unit (received footage from elsewhere).

Looking forward to it! Too bad they managed to fuck up the emulation as well, because PlayStation has a long history of being emulated, so I'd have thought they could get a good solution here.

 

[JordanN]

I wouldn't say that's true.

Some stuff has aged horribly but the PS1 is also home to lots of great 2D games and 60fps 3D games with cameras distant enough to work. Klonoa still plays brilliantly, for instance. There is simply a massive gap between games that hold up and those that do not.

I don't think the actual polygonal graphics are a problem, but I can see the resolution is.

Remember how the Wii looked on HDTV? It was indeed very ugly to look at. But when it was emulated in HD, it was a lot more passable.

PS1 games run at an even lower resolution (240p), so blowing it up on modern TV's is indeed going to look very bad.

 

[Breakage]

I saw Rainbow Six on the IGN video, and all those feelings of motion sickness that I got when I played the demo many years ago came right back. It has aged terribly. No idea why Sony decided to add it to the line up.
The decision to add early 3D games that crudely attempt realism is stupid and isn't going to do the console any favours. I think if Sony went with a lineup that had more vibrant, stylised games eg Klonoa, the Classic would have been better received.

 

[Simply_Bry]

When emulating on your PC for free is better than paying for the real thing.

 

[dark10x]

I don't think the actual polygonal graphics are a problem, but I can see the resolution is.

Remember how the Wii looked on HDTV? It was indeed very ugly to look at. But when it was emulated in HD, it was a lot more passable.

PS1 games run at an even lower resolution (240p), so blowing it up on modern TV's is indeed going to look very bad.

Ahhh, yeah. I always play on a PVM where PS1 games look pretty great. They don't hold up well on a flat panel.

Well, the 2D games hold up beautifully but 3D games are dithered and ugly. Also, the PS Classic doesn't even handle this aspect right - it's super blurry and ugly.

 

[JordanN]

It’s quick and easy. I can see the appeal. If it had 20 games I wanted to play it would be worth it for the price. Sony really dropped the ball on this one.

I checked on ebay, plenty of PS1 consoles going from $10 ~ $100.
A lot of them already come with some games.

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/Video-Game-Consoles/139971/i.html?_from=R40&Model=PlayStation%201%20%2D%20Original&_nkw=playstation+1

I dunno, what Sony is selling is just a bad value. It doesn't even have the best games that defined the PS1. So people buy it, get bored of it, and then it collects dusts forever.
In this age of emulation and the internet, it doesn't make sense to just handicap yourself to a limited selection of games. The PS1 library is absolutely huge. 20 games doesn't even meet the bare minimum of fun.

I would rent that amount of games in one month from Blockbuster!

 

[dipsylalapo]

Glad I checked this topic, cancelled my pre-order too. It doesn't look like something that's going to be in short supply either way.

 

[dipsylalapo]

I checked on ebay, plenty of PS1 consoles going from $10 ~ $100.
A lot of them already come with some games.

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/Video-Game-Consoles/139971/i.html?_from=R40&Model=PlayStation%201%20%2D%20Original&_nkw=playstation+1

I dunno, what Sony is selling is just a bad value. It doesn't even have the best games that defined the PS1. So people buy it, get bored of it, and then it collects dusts forever.

But they wanna jump onto the Nintendo bandwagon and make some quick $$

 

[JORMBO]

I checked on ebay, plenty of PS1 consoles going from $10 ~ $100.
A lot of them already come with some games.

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/Video-Game-Consoles/139971/i.html?_from=R40&Model=PlayStation%201%20%2D%20Original&_nkw=playstation+1

I dunno, what Sony is selling is just a bad value. It doesn't even have the best games that defined the PS1. So people buy it, get bored of it, and then it collects dusts forever.
In this age of emulation and the internet, it doesn't make sense to just handicap yourself to a limited selection of games. The PS1 library is absolutely huge. 20 games doesn't even meet the bare minimum of fun.

I would rent that amount of games in one month from Blockbuster!

I fully agree that what they are selling is a bad value. If it had a better game selection then $100 wouldn’t be a bad deal. In its current form I canceled my preorder and picked up a few discs off EBay I can pop in my PS3.

I see the appeal of the mini consoles in general, it just feels like Sony went out of their way to make this one unappealing. I got a lot of use out of my SNES Classic and feel that was done right.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

I apologize if this was posted elsewhere but as much as I wish I was buying this (PS1 Classic) as a fan, man....what CANT the SNES classic do. It even runs PS1 games and supposedly better than this PS1 classic. Why did they get so many things wrong.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

I'm sure some people will enjoy this even with it's shortcomings but I've always seen this as a cash grab.

 

[Senior]

Effort Rating = Bare Minimum / 10

 

[Leonard Washington]

As expected.

Nintendo really knocked it out of the park with the Snes Mini as it was just so well done all round and the games didn't look/play like ass.

Whats the bets we'll see these in clearance bins for 30 bucks by the summer?

 

[Nikana]

Seemskke a half assed attempt to cash in on Nintendo's idea.

 

[jshackles]

Cancelled my pre-order yesterday afternoon when most of these reviews started coming out. There are way too many problems with this console and the $100 asking price is just too high.

 

[Futaleufu]

Watching the Giant Bomb footage, i deduce they picked the PAL versions because 3D games have slightly sharper graphics than the NTSC versions.

 

[Vawn]

This is unfortunate. Sony needs to get their act together. It seems like a completely different company than when PS4 was announced. Sony in 2018 seems like the Sony that announced the PS3 at $600.

Because of the PS Classic? This same Sony just followed a fantastic 2017 with another great year that gave us games such as God of War, Spider-Man, Astro Bot and Detroit.

And they still have a ton of huge games to come for PS4. They aren't making as many PR comments as the competition, but they're killing it on quality games. That's all that really matters to me

 

[Spukc]

Because of the PS Classic? This same Sony just followed a fantastic 2017 with another great year that gave us games such as God of War, Spider-Man, Astro Bot and Detroit.

And they still have a ton of huge games to come for PS4. They aren't making as many PR comments as the competition, but they're killing it on quality games. That's all that really matters to me

that is not how you spell flop ofc

 

[Xenon]

Sony's me too efforts have always been lacking. They see success in a space in the industry and they rush to market to take advantage. But when they are leading the pack like with PS VR they take their time and do a much better job.

Bad choice of games, implementation and controls are all fails here. Really sad considering what they could have done.

 

[Northeastmonk]

They should have stepped up on this one. Especially with their legacy lineup of games on PS1. Greatest Hits sold incredibly well even after the PS2 came out. They even managed to impress with their digital PS1 Classics. I guess when their management changes over the years, so does their R&D department.

 

[Spukc]

They should have stepped up on this one. Especially with their legacy lineup of games on PS1. Greatest Hits sold incredibly well even after the PS2 came out. They even managed to impress with their digital PS1 Classics. I guess when their management changes over the years, so does their R&D department.

it is basically their portfolio they just shat out and left to die. Bad pr if anything

 

[dark10x]

We put this up in the meantime which gives you an idea of how bad this is.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-playstation-classic-emulation-first-look

 

[Spukc]

We put this up in the meantime which gives you an idea of how bad this is.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-playstation-classic-emulation-first-look

well that is it

cancelled thanks for saving my money

 

[Neon Noire]

Yikes. Not a good look when Nintendo is embarrassing you technologically.

 

[AV]

Still not sure I understand these things. Aren't they aimed at people nostalgic for the old console who don't know anything about emulation and have no interest in learning? They seem like Christmas gifts. I just can't imagine anyone who knows anything about emulation shelling out for these things. You're paying $100 for an old controller and a cheap plastic shell. Maybe I'm wrong. Seems to me the target market isn't going to know or care what, for example, GiantBomb thinks.

Either way, it's still bad and lazy.

 

[jshackles]

We put this up in the meantime which gives you an idea of how bad this is.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-playstation-classic-emulation-first-look

I won't even pretend to know as much as you guys do about this stuff but - do you think the fact that the hardware itself seems under-powered to the point that it can't even run the PAL versions at their full framerate is the likely cause of them not including the NTSC versions, which have to run faster to be smooth? Is it even an issue of processing power, or is the software emulator just extremely bad?

PS1 games running more smoothly in Retroarch on an SNES Classic is a pretty bad look.

 

[Dr. Claus]

PS era aged about as well as the 2600 era, I don't think I want to revisit this stuff. I'll leave my memories intact.

Playing a number of games on my PS1 recently (Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon, Suikoden, Silent Hill) - they all run very well and still play great!

 

[Makariel]

We put this up in the meantime which gives you an idea of how bad this is.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-playstation-classic-emulation-first-look

Wow, there were a few red flags the past weeks but this mix of PAL and NTSC versions is just bizarre.

 

[cryptoadam]

Sony just cheaped out on the whole thing. First mistake not including dual shocks w/rumble. I get the PS launched with out analogue but PS is known for its dual shock, its almost its defining visual in a way. Automatically the system would be better with dualshocks.

Then they cheaped out on games. They either didn't have the time/money/desire to reach out to 3rd parties and get actual classics on the system.

And then they cheaped out on everything else. Open source emulater, PAL games, bare bones, basic ass menu.

I said it before but they are even trying to ride on Nintendo's classic branding and couldn't be arsed to come up with their own unique branding.

hopefully Sony learns and the PS2 classic is much improved.

 

[cryptoadam]

Still not sure I understand these things. Aren't they aimed at people nostalgic for the old console who don't know anything about emulation and have no interest in learning? They seem like Christmas gifts. I just can't imagine anyone who knows anything about emulation shelling out for these things. You're paying $100 for an old controller and a cheap plastic shell. Maybe I'm wrong. Seems to me the target market isn't going to know or care what, for example, GiantBomb thinks.

Either way, it's still bad and lazy.

basically these things were cheap knock off machines at first, like those Genesis flashback devices. Then Nintendo came along and made the NES classic. Actually put some effort into it and charged a permium for the product. This caused a light bulb to go off because companies saw the money train pulling out of the station.

At least Nintendo put some love and care into their classics. SNES even had an unreleased game come with it. PS classic is more akin to those 3rd party Genesis min consoles but at a premium price. 50-80$ makes a cute little fun thing you can justify playing around with a few hours. 100$ not so much, you gotta up the game outside of nostalgia IMO.

 

[stranno]

If anyone is wondering..

The SOC is an MTK MT8167A + PowerVR GE8300. First quality chinese crap.

The memory is an eMMC Samsung KLMAG1JETD-B041 module of 16GB (given the linux core + emulator + PBP games that will make around 10GB free).

 

[Guileless]

Wow, there were a few red flags the past weeks but this mix of PAL and NTSC versions is just bizarre.

Seriously. Somebody really screwed that up.

 

[Lionel Richie]

The software line-up is egregious enough, but the hardware is a piece of shit as well? Way to mail this one in Sony.

 

[wvnative]

It's almost like they should of just put these on the store on PS4 instead.

 

[Elios83]

It was evident since the beginning that this product was developed as a quick cash grab with little effort.
It deserved to be much more with the possibility to download all the Classics available on the store and with the emulator providing some sort of HD rendering or adavanced filtering.
If a quick and non invasive way to add more games is found at 50$ it might still be worth it. As it is it's a big no.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

Kind of amazing that even with the low expectations and a disappointing library, it still wound up being far worse than expected.

Still not sure I understand these things. Aren't they aimed at people nostalgic for the old console who don't know anything about emulation and have no interest in learning? They seem like Christmas gifts. I just can't imagine anyone who knows anything about emulation shelling out for these things. You're paying $100 for an old controller and a cheap plastic shell. Maybe I'm wrong. Seems to me the target market isn't going to know or care what, for example, GiantBomb thinks.

Either way, it's still bad and lazy.

That was kind of the way with the NES Classic, even Nintendo treated it as othing more than a holiday collector's item until the recent re-release. although the SNES Classic was pretty cool given that it also gave us a finished Star Fox 2, and it was actually a good game minus the old SNES Star Fox framerate. Although contrary to what you think, people that know about emulation really love the SNES Classic since it's so easy to add games if you know how, making it a convenient little emulation box as well.

 

[Shin]

Leave it to Sony to screw up one of the things that's pretty much carrying the company these days.
Just an hour ago I was reading about the Xperia XZ4 leak, still nothing learned in that department.
Then they release a fast cash grab of a classic system which is symbolic instead of putting in actual work and release a product they can hold their heads high about.
......SMH....

 

[Redneckerz]

Bad frame rate, ugly 3D graphics, horrible input lag and long load times should carry over to this system to make it authentic. 3/10 then, 1/10 now.

Your opinion would be in the minority given the tremendous legacy the OG console gave to the industry. Longevity is another one: To this very day my 1997 machine still works flawlessly.

That, and the 90s were a wholly different time where low framerates were far more accepted, especially with the rise of accelerated graphics. CD players also maxed out at 4x at the time, which i think the smaller PSOne did solve later on.

As such i feel your critique (Although let's be honest, what was your intent with making that comment?) lacks historical details.

Cancelled my pre-order yesterday afternoon when most of these reviews started coming out. There are way too many problems with this console and the $100 asking price is just too high.

Unless the machine opens up to homebrew or the quality is improved before release.

I won't even pretend to know as much as you guys do about this stuff but - do you think the fact that the hardware itself seems under-powered to the point that it can't even run the PAL versions at their full framerate is the likely cause of them not including the NTSC versions, which have to run faster to be smooth? Is it even an issue of processing power, or is the software emulator just extremely bad?

PS1 games running more smoothly in Retroarch on an SNES Classic is a pretty bad look.

It is likely that it runs an ARM processor given it uses PCSX-Rearmed. The question is what SoC it runs upon. It obviously is low end but is it NES/SNES Classic low end? (4x Cortex A7, Mali 400 MP2, 256 MB DDR3) or better/worse?

 

[jshackles]

Unless the machine opens up to homebrew or the quality is improved before release.

I dunno man, I feel like even homebrew doesn't have much of a chance of saving this. I guess it all comes down to what chip they're using, but this thing seems too underpowered to emulate the system properly. It'd be hilarious if someone hacks the system and is able to install Retroarch (or even a newer version of the open source emulator Sony used here) and gets the included games running better than stock on the same hardware. Seems like a stretch though.

Not much of a chance of quality being improved before release considering release is 6 days from now.

 

[Blam]

I've run this through our frame-rate analyzer and it's worse than you could ever imagine. No review until maybe this weekend, though, at best. Waiting on my unit (received footage from elsewhere).

Yeah that's about as much as I expected from Sony who probably has not a single documentation on anything for PS1 which is why they resorted to the Open Source emulator