Nintendo announced its NES Classic, and it caused real chaos. The Japanese giant was forced to expand availability of the mini console, and last year decided to repeat the bet with the SNES Classic, selling more than five million units. While fans ask for a new variant based on the N64, Sony decided to enter the party through the front door by announcing the new PlayStation Classic. That's right: the historic gray console will return to shelves before the end of the year, with 20 games included, and a price that will blow up pre-order systems.
The first PlayStation is about to return. The console that revolutionized an entire market and holds a privileged place in the minds and hearts of millions of players around the world will have a new version, and it's not some strange clone or a modification. The announcement comes directly from Sony, and they even confirmed its global release date. Next December 3 will see the start of distribution, though I imagine we should talk about "first phase," because on the official page there's already a pre-order option, and given its proximity to the holiday season, something tells me it's going to sell out quickly, beyond several protests over its price on Twitter and other social spaces. But before going into that, why don't we take a look at this?
https://www.youtube.com/embed/nl2h8LDq_oIA Smaller PlayStation with 20 Games
45% smaller than the original console, the PlayStation Classic features native HDMI output, two exact replicas of the gamepads, and 20 built-in games. The optical tray and memory card slots are decorative (it uses virtual equivalents when saving or suspending games), and according to available information there are no options to install new games (either locally or via the web), but Nintendo said the same about its Mini consoles, and we already know how that turned out. Now, the video only confirms five of the twenty games: Jumping Flash, Wild Arms, Tekken 3, and two heavyweights like Ridge Racer Type 4 (a personal favorite for a long time) and the very Final Fantasy VII. We don't yet know exactly whether there will be differences in the game list depending on the region, or if it will be a single global selection.
Price and Availability
So what about the price? Sony wants 100 dollars / 100 euros for the PlayStation Classic. Users who still own their original games aren't very happy with that number, and even the people at Xbox took the trouble to point out their platform's backward compatibility with a certain acidic touch, but personally I don't think it's exaggerated (especially if you didn't get to the original PS1 and are looking for a second chance)... as long as the console doesn't fall into the extreme madness of eBay resales. That's when the magic breaks.
