Sony’s plug-and-play PlayStation Classic hasn’t exactly received the best response from fans or critics, with the console slammed for its poor emulation quality, limited game selection, and lack of bonus features. It initially cost $100, but the system’s price has already been significantly cut across several different retailers.
Head to Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, Target, or Best Buy right now, and you’ll see that the PlayStation Classic now only costs $60. This is the original price of the NES Classic, and it’s below the original price of the SNES Classic — both of Nintendo’s plug-and-play systems offer more bells and whistles than the PlayStation Classic, and their emulated games are much closer to the experience players had when the games were first released in the 1980s and ’90s.
Just before the PlayStation Classic was released in early December, it was discovered that the system made use of PAL game code for nine of its 20 games. Due to the format of television sets in this region — which that covers most of Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and Oceania — games ran at a higher resolution but a reduced refresh rate, and are generally considered inferior to their North American counterparts. They run more slowly, and in certain genres such as one-on-one fighting, it seems as if you’re playing underwater. Games that use the PAL version on the PlayStation Classic include Rainbow Six, Tekken 3, Battle Arena Toshinden, and Grand Theft Auto.
In addition to the technical limitations of the console itself, the included controllers have also been a point of criticism. They’re the original-style PlayStation controllers rather than the DualShock models, meaning they have no analog sticks. For shooters, this makes them significantly more difficult to play, and it highlights how poorly some of the games have aged.
The PlayStation Classic also doesn’t come with its own AC adapter, and instead uses a standard wall plug you’d use for a phone or — as we discovered — the NES and SNES Classic systems. With a system originally priced at $100, that still seems like a pretty big omission, though it might not sting as much if you’re taking advantage of the new price cut.
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