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Sony joins the classic-console fray with $99 PlayStation Classic on Dec. 3

First five games confirmed, including Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3.

Sam Machkovech – | 195
That's pretty small, but we'd like to see the PSOne in a side-by-side comparison before we make any judgements. Credit: PlayStation
That's pretty small, but we'd like to see the PSOne in a side-by-side comparison before we make any judgements. Credit: PlayStation
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Coming December 3: the PlayStation Classic.
Coming December 3: the PlayStation Classic.
How much smaller is it than the original PlayStation? This much.
How much smaller is it than the original PlayStation? This much.
That’s pretty small, but we’d like to see the PSOne in a side-by-side comparison before we make any judgements.
PlayStation
That’s pretty small, but we’d like to see the PSOne in a side-by-side comparison before we make any judgements. PlayStation
Unsurprisingly, the accompanying controllers are roughly as big as the classic console’s shell.
Comes with everything here. (AC adapter sold separately.)
USB ports—which means there’s a decent chance these new DualShock 1 controllers will play nicely as wired PC controllers. (We can dream, anyway.)

On the eve of this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Sony took the wraps off what will likely be its biggest hardware launch of 2018: the PlayStation Classic.

This $99.99 system, shrunken roughly 45 percent from the original PS1’s size, will reach international store shelves on December 3. It will include two wired PlayStation 1 controllers (the same size as the originals, only now with USB plugs) and 20 pre-installed games. Five of those games have been confirmed, and it’s a solid starting set, in terms of popularity and acclaim: Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII, Bandai Namco’s Tekken 3 and Ridge Racer Type 4, and Sony’s Jumping Flash and Wild Arms.

Like the NES Classic Edition before it, the PlayStation Classic will exclusively support HDMI-out for video and micro-USB for power. Sony has not yet confirmed what hardware it’ll slap inside the PS Classic shell, but its use of the dated micro-USB standard may indicate adoption of an existing, Linux-friendly SoC solution (again, much like the NES Classic).

A blog post at Sony’s Japanese PlayStation site indicates that the final list of PS Classic games may vary from region to region, and it confirms that the system will not officially support additional downloaded games. If you’re wondering, its shrunken memory card slots won’t function, either, and the disc tray doesn’t appear to open, but its reset button will now work as a “suspend” button so players can save games in progress and return to them later. (Why do all of these features sound so familiar?)

The biggest difference from the NES Classic, at least as of press time, is that the device hasn’t yet sold out at American retailers. Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and GameStop all currently list the device as being in stock. FYI.

PlayStation Classic reveal trailer.

With three major third-party PS1 games locked down thus far, the PS Classic seems poised to capitalize on the console’s massive range of ’90s developer support. The trouble, of course, is deciding which other games do the PS1 era justice, all while making room for Sony’s own solid exclusives. Let the comment-section rabble-rousing commence!

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Sam Machkovech
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