PlayStation Classic Announced (3rd Dec 2018)

[Ashley]

9 minutes ago, WackerJr said:

Retro games are still popular at the moment and while other companies, such as Sega, did a similar thing to Nintendo, and released a collection of older games on a standalone unit, Nintendo gained mainstream attention for actually marketing theirs and using decent emulation.  They were also incredibly smart and did their old tactic of releasing only a small number of units and watching the demand soar as the ‘Mini’ sold out (I’m assuming it was a deliberate move anyway...).

While the copying is laughable and unsubtle, it makes good business sense for Sony to do this.

It will be interesting to see how well received it is and the games they actually put on it.  While many Top Videogames of All Time lists include games included on the NES and SNES Minis, I’m struggling to think of many PS1 games that jump out as being included on those lists (FF7 notwithstanding, which is being re-released / remastered on all current gen consoles anyway).

Switch, Wii, Smash Bros GameCube Controller Adaptor thing, amiibo... I think Nintendo is just bad at predicting their own popularity at times.

It's been pointed out the box says 18 so RE is likely. That is one of the PS1's most defining titles. Tomb Raider perhaps? Wipeout? Hell, that game (along with the PlayStation brand) redefined the gaming audience in many ways.

[Ronnie]

37 minutes ago, WackerJr said:

Retro games are still popular at the moment and while other companies, such as Sega, did a similar thing to Nintendo, and released a collection of older games on a standalone unit, Nintendo gained mainstream attention for actually marketing theirs and using decent emulation.  They were also incredibly smart and did their old tactic of releasing only a small number of units and watching the demand soar as the ‘Mini’ sold out (I’m assuming it was a deliberate move anyway...).

While the copying is laughable and unsubtle, it makes good business sense for Sony to do this.

It will be interesting to see how well received it is and the games they actually put on it.  While many Top Videogames of All Time lists include games included on the NES and SNES Minis, I’m struggling to think of many PS1 games that jump out as being included on those lists (FF7 notwithstanding, which is being re-released / remastered on all current gen consoles anyway).

Yeah that's why I think if it matches sales of the NES/SNES they'll be pleased. I just don't think the quality is there, at least on games that'll likely be on the thing. I suspect the original Wipeout and Tomb Raider will be unplayable these days. Grinding to a complete halt when you hit the side of the track or a precise 3D platforming game without an analog stick don't sound too good by 2018 standards.

Also apparently stock will be very limited in Japan so maybe they're copying Nintendo there too! Now just need to see if the cables will be short...

Edited September 20, 2018 by Ronnie

[Hero-of-Time]

Full list has finally been revealed.

Pretty rough list, IMO. 

Edited October 29, 2018 by Hero-of-Time

[Ronnie]

Disappointing no Wipeout

[killthenet]

Good to see Metal Gear and Resident Evil on there but outside of that the only game I'd be interested in playing is Syphon Filter, otherwise it's fairly weak for me. Are there any Sony developed games on there? I'd have thought stuff like Wipeout and Parappa would be a given considering licensing costs would be pretty negligible. GTA is a weird one, obviously a big name but the early GTA games are really rough by todays standards so I can't imagine it being much fun to play for more than a couple of minutes. 

[dwarf]

Micro Maniacs would've been a no-brainer too but hey, this is the problem of limiting the library to 20 games.

[S.C.G]

And now suudenly I'm struggling to find five games which I think I'd actually play on the device out of those twenty.

I think I'll just cancel that pre-order now and save some money.

[Ronnie]

I might cancel too, actually I don't have that fond memories of the PS1 anyway, apart from the Fade to Black, the Die Hard Trilogy and Wipeout 2097. Oh and Shockwave Assault. Now that was a game!

[Hero-of-Time]

It's crazy how they've dropped the ball with this line up of games. Why even bother releasing such a product if you can't get the content to back it up? Stuff like Wipeout, Gran Turismo, Dino Crisis etc. needed to be on this. Things like Mr Driller and Rayman not so much.

[killthenet]

It could be an awesome emulation machine if its easy to hack and if the actual casing is as good quality as the Nintendo classics. The lack of Dual shock functionality will make some of the PS classics difficult, if not impossible, to play but surely if it does get hacked you'll be able to use other controllers with it. 

I'd probably have been interested in picking one up if it had Castlevania and FF9 on it but I may aswell just pick them up on PS4 instead of paying £90 to play them with an original controller.

[dwarf]

16 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

It's crazy how they've dropped the ball with this line up of games. Why even bother releasing such a product if you can't get the content to back it up? Stuff like Wipeout, Gran Turismo, Dino Crisis etc. needed to be on this. Things like Mr Driller and Rayman not so much.

OK back off pal

[Glen-i]

Yeesh, that's a pretty sub-standard set of games.

FF7 would have been nice if it hadn't just recently got a port confirmed for the Switch. Why FF7, when you can FF7 on the toilet?

Lack of Crash and Spyro is no surprise what-so-ever.

I suppose the signs were there when Sony only announced a few of the games when revealing this.

[Mandalore]

Intelligent Qube and Jumping Flash! sound like mobile phone shovelware. I never owned a PS1, I was hoping for at least one WipeOut to be on there. Castlevania would've been very welcome too.

[Goafer]

I dunno, I'd say that was a pretty good list. Not perfect by any means and there clearly is some filler, but still pretty good.

The best RPG (FF7), the most cinematic game of the era (MGS), the first game in one of the biggest franchises of all time (GTA), the original survival horror game (RE), one of the best platformers on the system (Rayman) alongside the best iterations of Sony's exclusive racing and fighting games (RR and Tekken). I'd say that was pretty good.

I won't be buying it, but that's mainly because I don't like any of the mini consoles.

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

I suppose the signs were there when Sony only announced a few of the games when revealing this.

I assumed it was because they were still sorting out licenses for some of the other 15 but maybe you're right, probably made more of a splash than if they'd released the full 20 from the start.

[nekunando]

Maybe there will be a PSOne Classic next year with Dual Shocks and 20 different games..

[Julius]

That list is a real letdown; the only game that I would the Classic it for, really, is Metal Gear Solid...in which case I’ll just wait until I have a PS3 and purchase it digitally, or pick it up on a disc and play it on the PS1 or PS2. 

I think that an indicator of the problem with this lineup is that Final Fantasy VII is already available on PS4 - has been for a while - and is coming to Switch next year. Compare that with Final Fantasy VI on the SNES Classic, which I don’t believe had been released on console since the Wii (via Virtual Console). There’s just no real demand for VII to be on here over some other games other than it being as popular as it is, because everyone who has wanted to play it recently likely already has; if this were Final Fantasy VIII, then I think you’d see more people biting, because it’s still not available on current generation consoles. 

PlayStation really could have done so much to differentiate this from the Nintendo Classic systems, and arguably even improve on how these types of systems are done. Sure, there were more than likely licensing issues for some games, but why not do your best to accommodate every game that you possibly can? A digital storefront for the largest collection of PS1 games on a modern console might have helped them to grab some more games in this case, and allowing publishers to decide on how they price their game between a reasonable range could have motivated them to do as much as they could with regards to licensing. Perhaps even physical Memory Cards packed with a small collection of games could have been released every few months; a JRPG Collection with Final Fantasy VII - IX, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, etc., for example, could have been a great selling collection if reasonably priced. Trophy support of some manner linked to our current PlayStation accounts, I’m sure, would have helped move more units.

It just feels a little half baked to me, because there’s so much more that they could have done. Instead, this is inevitably going to become a housing unit for a much greater collection of games which will be available online for free in a few weeks. 

Edited November 3, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[martinist]

Actually thinking of canceling my pre-order after that list was put out. £90 to play Tekken 3 and Wild Arms isn't what I was looking for. Grand Theft Auto is a deffinate maybe but why are they putting Kurushi in there of all things?

[S.C.G]

1 hour ago, martinist said:

Actually thinking of canceling my pre-order after that list was put out. £90 to play Tekken 3 and Wild Arms isn't what I was looking for. Grand Theft Auto is a deffinate maybe but why are they putting Kurushi in there of all things?

I'll cancel my pre-order if you cancel yours...

At the same time... ready?

3, 2, 1... go!

...

What do you mean you didn't cancel?

Oh well, that's £90 saved anyway.

Edit - I just cancelled my pre-order on ShopTo, plus my pre-order for Days Gone (don't want it) and the three amiibos (that could be the name for a parody film) which I have since pre-ordered on the Nintendo Store UK and for around six pounds less each.

Edited November 7, 2018 by S.C.G

[martinist]

1 hour ago, S.C.G said:

Edit - I just cancelled my pre-order on ShopTo, plus my pre-order for Days Gone (don't want it) and the three amiibos (that could be the name for a parody film) which I have since pre-ordered on the Nintendo Store UK and for around six pounds less each.

An hour late but I also cancelled my ShopTo pre-order.

I'm not paying that kinda money to play 2 or 3 PS1 games.

[Ronnie]

Not great hands-on impressions

The UI is hideous.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Ronnie

[Hero-of-Time]

A lot of the hands on for it are pretty meh. It seems like it's perfectly functional but there's no love or effort gone into it.

In the Kotaku hands on they mention that some of the games appear to be EU versions. This could be a deal breaker for a lot of gamers.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Hero-of-Time

[Ronnie]

It's sounding more and more like a cash grab to be honest. Forget the menu UI, lack of aspect ratios, cheap emulation, 50hz games (?), no dual analogs, the high price tag, 1 save state per game etc. The library itself is so disappointing. I know they want to sell their remasters instead but no Wipeout, Spyro, Crash etc??

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

It's sounding more and more like a cash grab to be honest. Forget the menu UI, lack of aspect ratios, cheap emulation, 50hz games (?), no dual analogs, the high price tag, 1 save state per game etc. The library itself is so disappointing. I know they want to sell their remasters instead but no Wipeout, Spyro, Crash etc??

The game selection is for the most part out of their hands. Crash and Spyro are iconic but Activision would rather people buy the remasters. I imagine Tomb Raider may be in the same situation, with S-E wanting to push the latest game rather than an old one. The likes of Tony Hawks, Wipeout and Gran Turismo are in licensing hell, what with the soundtracks, skaters and cars needing licenses.  

Despite this, I do think that more effort should have gone into the product. It is a cash grab and a blatant one at that. Had it been a cheaper price then you could forgive the lack of effort but at £90 you would expect and bit of care and attention to have gone into it.

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The game selection is for the most part out of their hands. Crash and Spyro are iconic but Activision would rather people buy the remasters. I imagine Tomb Raider may be in the same situation, with S-E wanting to push the latest game rather than an old one. The likes of Tony Hawks, Wipeout and Gran Turismo are in licensing hell, what with the soundtracks, skaters and cars needing licenses.  

Despite this, I do think that more effort should have gone into the product. It is a cash grab and a blatant one at that. Had it been a cheaper price then you could forgive the lack of effort but at £90 you would expect and bit of care and attention to have gone into it.

Good point about their hands being tied but I kind of get the feeling Sony have been coasting this whole gen. They’ve got their games and huge sales, they don’t have to do much else.

Compare to Xbox’s work this gen with backwards compatibility, Game Pass, the Elite controller, cross play with Nintendo, Design Lab, their mid-gen hardware update not being a bit pointless etc. Sony have just sat back and watched the money roll in, same thing here, barebones cash grab.