*intro sound* [huffing in disdain] [large sigh of discontent] [box sounds] [smol huff] I guess we'd better take a look at it.... [music begins] Where do I even start with this thing? We could look at it from a number of angles
and go, ooohhh, that's pretty. It's like a Playstation, but smaller. We can't actually open the lid, but we already
knew that, and it's a shame, as I'd love a collection of mini-CD based games. Oh look, the controllers aren't Dual Shock
pads. But to be fair, they have included 2, which
is clearly better than one, and also this is the Playstation controller I remember best. Back in 1995, we didn't understand the wonders
dual analogue sticks could bring. This is nostalgia. Some buttons and a D-Pad, marvellous. Weight wise, it's not far off an original
Playstation pad and feels almost as durable. Although the wire isn't actually that practical
- it's quite short, not ideal for couch gaming. AND.... like all these minis, I hold issue
with the pads being the wrong scale as the console, but I guess IN THAT INSTANCE practicality
seems to take precedence. Talking about scale. It's roughly to scale with the SNES Mini,
although you can see something is amiss when paired with the NES. Now we'll just have a bunch of mis-matched
consoles to plonk next to each other. Cheers guys. At least it works through an HDMI splitter. So in the future we can all have 60 mini consoles
all plugged into the same TV, and only then realise how much we've been duped. *PIE SPEAKS*
"Guys, I can emulate pretty much everything you know, with just one HDMI Cable?.... SHUT IT RASPBERRY. No one likes a smart ass"
*PIE STOPS SPEAKING* Alright, let's get down to business then. AND TRY AND HACK THIS BASTARD. Now a couple of lads have been able to find
a hidden menu of the underlying PCSX Rearmed emulator, by simply boshing a keyboard in,
and hitting ESC within a game. Apparently it works with Logitech or Corsair
keyboards. Unfortunately my EasySMX doesn't seem to be
compatible. Ahh, I guess we'll actually have to play this
thing instead. Obviously the controllers plug in using a
conventional USB connector. No proprietary shenanigans here folks. and the game selection. Well, it's alright. It's like the game collection you or I might
have had in the 90s. You know, a range of games, some we picked
up cheap, others we really wanted, but a nice mix, and just nice, something spectacular. It feels more like Sony are trying to recreate
the 90s nostalgia of limited choice, of a lack of funds, or even your mate Ben's game
collection from down the road, who didn't have the best taste. I mean, there are some games here I absolutely
love, like Grand Theft Auto, but there's nothing really I see and think, god damn, I really
want to play that. If you want the ultimate Playstation experience
then this isn't it. Look, here's a dump of the firmware on Github,
and within this mass of code are actually the names of various games which were clearly
tested for the PS Classic. We've got; Tomba
Parasite Eve Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider 2 Grand Theft Auto 2
Fighting Force Driver
Toy Story 2 Syphon Filter
Gran Turismo Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot 2 even Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone I'll put a full list below. But some (even many) of these games you would
argue should be included with the PS Classic, so why aren't they? Now we could speculate that it's probably
due to licensing or localisation issues. I mean most of the Playstation's titles weren't
exactly first party releases. Maybe it's just because Sony didn't want to
damage the sales of modern day remakes. But it could also be due to poor performance
of some titles on the open source emulator Sony decided to pair this device with. It seems a strange (and possibly morally dubious)
software choice for what could be such a successful commercial product. But the more you delve into this thing, the
more it feels like, it was kinda rushed and thrown together. Possibly to get it in stores before Christmas. By this point, I'm sure you've both seen & heard
of all the issues surrounding this little device. Now, you could argue that these things are
aimed at the casual retro gamer, who just wants to plug a system into their HDMI TV
and relive the past. They're not going to care about frame drops,
about slightly shoddy emulation or even about having NTSC titles mixed with PAL variants. In fact, they probably won't even notice. They'll be having a whale of a time reliving
the mid-90s, while haters hate and critics critique. BUT, you can see why people might be upset. It's not even about the product, it's really
about Sony shifting a half arsed device to their fan base. It's about breaking a trust which has built
up over decades. Because if anything is going to be scrutinised. It's a product which is based on the console
many people who live and work within gaming today were brought up on. It may even be the system which drove them
into this line of work. So you can bet your ass they're going to notice
even the smallest difference and then have their say about it. I am probably, myself, in a quite a good position
to give an impartial verdict on the PS Classic, mainly because by 1995, my console days were
pretty much over. I'd moved onto PC, and although I played my
friend's Playstations, most of the games don't hold a nostalgic memory for me. Surely I'm not going to notice if there are
glitches or slow downs. But, I honestly do. From the moment you power on the console,
it feels like you're using emulation. You can hear sounds cutting off, pops and
clicks. You can see frames stuttering from place to
place and emulation issues aside, we also have those PAL variants, like Grand Theft
Auto. Now, given I'm from the UK, this shouldn't
bother me, I'm used to it, and as GTA is actually a UK developed game, so it's programmed for
50Hz regions well. But it still feels like you're sloshing a
bowl of water about compared to when I've played it previously. And the PAL thing is weird, because you'd
think, given this console is pushing out a 60Hz display, that the 50Hz PAL issues would
be canceled out. BUT in fact, the software is just emulating
a 50Hz machine for the games keyed to that region, and so instead we get the timing of
a 50Hz gaming running through a 60Hz output and that actually creates more frame rate
issues. A lot of PAL games were actually re-programmed
to compensate for the output change, so you wouldn't notice much difference, but its rare
to find a game which fully compensated for the speed difference, or made use of the increased
PAL resolution. Most were just lazy tweaks, and most of the
titles here are an example of that less than favourable conversion. Why they chose the PAL versions is odd, but
it may be due to those variants having better localisation options than NTSC versions, thus
meaning the PS Classic can be shipped all over the place without being region sensitive. What else do we have? Ahhh yes, I didn't expect the lack of display
filters to bother me, but the 720p output isn't sharp, so you almost want those filters
to mask that problem. I mean if you want a positive, it does a decent
job of replicating the a fuzzy 90s RF output anyway, proving that once again Sony seem
to be looking for nostalgia in 90s limitations, rather than creating that ultimate experience. But really, I want to see sharp jagged edges. Jagged enough to rip my face off, and with
the setup they've chosen here, you just don't get that. It's not all bad. I mean it's a nice enough menu, replicating
the feel of the original system. It's a nice enough memory card feature for
each game. Nice enough save state option as well. Nice enough warping textures, just like the
original. and the games, if you can forgive the odd
glitch are nice enough too. I mean, at least Sony didn't kick us completely
in the teeth by supplying a load of light gun games. Although I would have awarded points for humour
in that instance. If I'm honest, I think the biggest issue with
the games is that they're from an era which just doesn't age as well as the consoles which
came before or even after. This early age of 3D is very much a unique
thing, which we only witnessed for a brief period of time, and actually, they're arguably
better to play through an emulator with all the bells and whistles turned on, to make
everything look like our rose tinted brains remember them. Actually, ironically, you can make games look
superb through the PCSX Emulator, just not through the Playstation Classic... well, without
being hacked anyway. But it is what is is, and it is Sony's Playstation
Classic. It's got fantastic packaging, which is probably
the highlight, and it's a system designed for the casual user, which would appeal to
the casual retro gamer. In that way, it's very similar to an AT Games
Mega Drive Flashback. In fact, this console feels a lot like a system
made by AT Games, just without their logo anywhere to be seen.... I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing
at this point. For the more serious gamer, well, you've probably
already got an original Playstation, or just a copy of Final Fantasy VII on the PS4, either
way, there's no reason to either buy the classic or moan. Or buy it and moan, or not buy it and moan. Unless you feel betrayed by Sony, which I
would not blame you in the slightest. In which case, moan away. But not like that. You filthy animal.
