Playstation Classic Mini System

ClassicGMR · 8 Jan 2019, 09:09

My step-daughter bought one for me 2 weeks ago when they dropped to $50 US here. This is a really nice system for $50 since it includes 2 controllers, power cord(no power block but who here doesn't have a bunch of extra plugs laying around) and an HDMI cable. It beats a complete Pi setup for that price. All I had to supply was a 2.0 thumb drive.

It performs very well. Granted RetroArch isn't fully functional yet - you have to load a core then a game manually and it doesn't scan directories yet - but if you can live with that for now it plays great. I added a bunch of PS1 games to the system and, honestly, either emulator works fine as far as I can tell. So I tend to use Bleem! for PS1 games. Yes... unfortunately it still doesn't like Driver "Retry mission" commands. It still crashes out.

Overall I love this system. I'm going to grab a 2nd one and duplicate the setup for my son and grandson to use once the bugs are ironed out.

I'm using:
2.5A power adapter (had this extra when I upgraded to a 3A for my Pi)
SanDisk Cruzer Glide 128GB
Generic USB 3-port hub had lying around (this is new since I didn't know you could do this until yesterday)
BleemSync 0.4.1 (0.7.0 is right around the corner)
RetroArch 1.7.5c (Classic+)

ruckage · 8 Jan 2019, 10:36

@BobHarris said in Playstation Classic Mini System:

@ruckage Where do you live? In the Netherlands prices have already dropped from €100-120 to as low as €50,-. It's a well deserved loss for Sony imo. The design is great but I won't buy it just for that. Do you want the controllers for the original feel of them? I wouldn't want to go back from Dual shock 4 to the first Playstation controller.

I'm in the Uk. And you're right they have dropped quite a bit here, they're down to £50 now which isn't unreasonable but for me I just felt I could get a better experience by doing it myself using a rpi so I would only be buying it for parts really. I do think the controllers look pretty good but I have lots of Sixaxis and Dualshock 3 controllers so I still get an authentic feel and they have the added bonus of analogue sticks for games like ape escape. Plus can be used wirelessly.

I think it was a badly missed opportunity by sony. Outside of the really nice case and authentic controllers they messed up everything else. The choice of games is quite poor, missing games out like Wipeout was a mistake even though I understand why they probably couldn't due to the licensed music tracks. The menu looks cheap imo and isn't iconic - particularly if you had a PS1 outside of the USA as it has zero nostalgia factor here. On top of that mixing pal and NTSC version of games was a dumb idea as was having no extra options for enhancing visuals with scanlines etc.

@ClassicGMR said in Playstation Classic Mini System:

My step-daughter bought one for me 2 weeks ago when they dropped to $50 US here. This is a really nice system for $50 since it includes 2 controllers..........

I agree, it is a great system for getting everything you need in one go at that price. For me personally though I already have controllers so I just needed the pi and a SD card which was cheaper than the classic and I think will always be more flexible. I would still like to get a classic if the price drops a bit more as I do think they made a really good job of it aesthetically but can't justify the cost just for a nice rpi case. Also as I still have an original PS1 I don't feel I'm missing out too much.

lilbud · 8 Jan 2019, 12:28

@ruckage said in Playstation Classic Mini System:

I think it was a badly missed opportunity by sony. Outside of the really nice case and authentic controllers they messed up everything else. The choice of games is quite poor, missing games out like Wipeout was a mistake even though I understand why they probably couldn't due to the licensed music tracks. The menu looks cheap imo and isn't iconic - particularly if you had a PS1 outside of the USA as it has zero nostalgia factor here. On top of that mixing pal and NTSC version of games was a dumb idea as was having no extra options for enhancing visuals with scanlines etc.

They really did butcher this whole thing. I get what they were trying for, but they didn't quite reach it. They were trying to jump on the whole 'retro microconsole' trend started by Nintendo. This had the potential to be incredible, Sony had it easy. They had one of the most iconic systems of all time, with the games to match. But they couldn't even do that right.

ClassicGMR · 8 Jan 2019, 13:38

@lilbud Absolutely. The system in and of itself is an embarrassment. Sony should be firing whomever was in charge of the project AND whomever did the quality audits. I usually say stuff like that with a tongue-in-cheek(I don't usually want to see anyone lose their jobs) but in this case they seriously should.

They also didn't learn anything from the news reports of the Big N downloading rom(s) from the internet to use in their Classics. They just grabbed some cheap hardware, threw in a PSX emulator they didn't even create and dropped the ISOs into the system. That cannot get any more lazy.

Quick question - what's the legalities of using an open-sourced emulator in a for-profit venture? Isn't that covered by the licensing agreement? Granted Sony is distributing Sony products under a Sony brand but it's technically NOT Sony's emulator... Mostly just curious on that one since I doubt that would ever see any type of litigation.

dankcushions · 8 Jan 2019, 13:44

@ClassicGMR said in Playstation Classic Mini System:

Quick question - what's the legalities of using an open-sourced emulator in a for-profit venture? Isn't that covered by the licensing agreement? Granted Sony is distributing Sony products under a Sony brand but it's technically NOT Sony's emulator... Mostly just curious on that one since I doubt that would ever see any type of litigation.

totally fine to use "open source" (assuming that means GPL) software in commercial products.

lilbud · 8 Jan 2019, 14:04

@ClassicGMR said in Playstation Classic Mini System:

Quick question - what's the legalities of using an open-sourced emulator in a for-profit venture? Isn't that covered by the licensing agreement? Granted Sony is distributing Sony products under a Sony brand but it's technically NOT Sony's emulator... Mostly just curious on that one since I doubt that would ever see any type of litigation.

That is perfectly legal under the open source license. All Sony would've had to do is make their source code and any modifications public.

Also, the PCSX-Rearmed guys can't really do anything about this. It is kind of wrong for them to take code that isn't theirs and sell it for a profit, but they have that ability.

Also, I found it funny hearing about Sony basically selling an emulator. Consider that fact that around ten years ago, they were suing a small company out of everything for making an emulator. And now Sony is selling one themselves.

BobHarris · 1 Aug 2019, 16:28

@lilbud I bet them using this emulator can also be one of the reasons why we didn't get a dual shock 1 controller...as people would expect vibration to work (for example in Metal gear solid), but afaik vibration still doesn't work properly in pcsxrearmed.

Clyde · 8 Jan 2019, 23:14

@lilbud said in Playstation Classic Mini System:

Also, the PCSX-Rearmed guys can't really do anything about this. It is kind of wrong for them to take code that isn't theirs and sell it for a profit, but they have that ability.

I don't see anything wrong with it if the license allows it. If the devs didn't want that, they should have used another license.

Besides, do we know if there were any legal agreements between Sony and the emulator's devs in addition to the public license?

goobatroopa · 8 Jan 2019, 23:17

@Clyde you would imagine a company like Sony would've got this squared away by their legal department before release. Such is the scale of the product launch.

Clyde · 8 Jan 2019, 23:25

@goobatroopa I don't quite get what you want to say in relation to my post. Could you please explain it a bit more or differently? Thanks.

goobatroopa · 8 Jan 2019, 23:31

@Clyde I was replying about legal agreements between the Devs and Sony. Suggesting that if there was, this would've been dealt with early doors. I'm not aware of any however, but they probably dotted I's and crossed T's just in case.

Clyde · 9 Jan 2019, 06:49

@goobatroopa Ah, now I (think I) understand. Thank you.

Maybe they did arrange something, maybe they just used the public license. As far as I know, we don't know the former (yet?), although I concur that it is very likely.

goobatroopa · 9 Jan 2019, 06:52

@Clyde I mean maybe they haven't and it's a more "well two can play at that game" mentality, but I suspect it was done by the book.

dankcushions · 9 Jan 2019, 10:24

they have done it by the book - they used GPL software and provided source code for their change changes (i don't have the link but it's on their website somewhere). they wouldn't need to make any further legal agreements.

this sort of thing happens for many/most consumer electronic devices these days. they often have some open source package in their somewhere. eg, nintendo: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/support/oss/

BobHarris · 28 Jan 2019, 13:44

And the price keeps on dropping. I saw it for 40 euros so I decided to buy one..40 is great value for the hardware. It definitely needs a software mod though :-) will wait a bit longer with that untill all is a bit more streamlined.

The difference in the attention to detail between the hardware and the software really couldn't be bigger..such a neat little Playstation.

ruckage · 28 Jan 2019, 13:57

@BobHarris
That is cheap, where did you buy it for that price?

Dipkid · 28 Jan 2019, 14:32

@BobHarris I think BS 1.0 is well done, but w 1.1 they`ll have otg support. (mount usb in the backport) + support for folder drag n drop, it will actually make it a really good retro game system :)

BobHarris · 28 Jan 2019, 15:11

@ruckage I bought it at a dutch store called Mediamarkt. Nedgame.nl currently also sells it for 40 euros.
or https://www.bol.com/nl/p/playstation-classic/9200000099248672/?Referrer=ADVNLTWE002012-X2YIPKC2UQV3S&utm_source=tweakers&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=tweakers-Games&utm_term=9200000099248672&Referrer=ADVNLTWEENTERTAINMENT2018

@Dipkid I'm still hoping some day I can remove most of the games on there and make a personal top 20-30 games (whatever fits) without needing a flashdrive at all (got my Pi for that).

Dipkid · 28 Jan 2019, 16:21

@BobHarris I hear you, first thing I asked the devs at discord was if I could change the artwork for the stockgames. Obvsly I cant right now, since everything runs from the usb. But give it a couple of weeks, im sure its gonna be doable. fingers crossed
It does support eboot/pbp etc now, so the 16 gig internal should be enough for your top 30 list.

AndersHP · 28 Jan 2019, 18:15

Being a "first generation" console of its era, I really think the Playstation 1 have aged poorly, considering that it's newer than, say, the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

Even though these consoles are older, and run fewer bits, because they were the last in their generation of consoles, I really think they've aged so much better and games are really playable today.

Just my humble opinion, I had a PSX emulator running on my build for 1 day, before my eyes bled so terribly from the pixelation and bad 3d, that I decided to stop at 16 bits :)

Still, it's cool to have Sony on board the retrogaming rocket.