Self-explanatory. This is an appreciation and discuss thread for a mini-console which most would consider to be a failure, but has its dedicated following and players, including me.
These solutions are first-party emulation boxes which companies took advantage of for a short time before the current era of the handheld emulation market boomed (Previously with jailbroken Nintendo Switches and VITAs, now with Steamdeck and its competitors). These were pretty popular, especially with the Nintendo classic line and the MegaDrive minis, however SEGA mostly sold their MG mini 2 in Japan and Asia.
When the PS Classic was finally released, it turned out to be a huge disappointment and caused a general dip in the mini emulation box movement companies were banking on. No more Dreamcast Classic, No more Saturn Classic, No N64 Classic and no more nicely packaged mini/classic consoles
(the new Atari and Amiga emulation boxes are both great, I do recommend those).
The games were lacking, the controllers were digital-only with no vibration and even reviewers couldn't defend it. Let's just say that eventually, people managed to hack it and turn it into their very own PS minis.
I really started to love it and slowly but surely made dedicated libraries of games I always wished I could play, since these minis can be mostly hacked and turned into emulation machines with more potential. Sure, I couldn't have used a Raspberry Pi, but I already had that for my arcade game emulation and I like the look and profile of the PS classic.
For Those looking to get into PS Classic, here are some sources and a list of pros and cons to keep in mind:
Sources:
https://psclassicmods.com/
https://github.com/autobleem/AutoBleem
https://modmyclassic.com/project-eris/ (Successor to BleemSync)
and Youtube for any further personal research and any new mods or news regarding the PSC.
Example of the two Homebrew options for most people to consider.
Pros:
* Small form factor.
* Ease of setup, though you'd need an OTG micro-USB cable for higher capacity hard drives or USB sticks along with the ability to have both controller ports free.
* Good quality controller with the ability to use them and HID devices on PC (some slight compatibility issues).
* ReArmed core allowing for decent performance from most games.
* Good, stable support for Homebrew options.
* Great for RPGs, with some staples including FFVII, Wild Arm, Persona (granted, it's the minstrel show version) and games like Saga Frontier in the Asian regions and compatibility with other RPGs and JRPGs being very good.
* Third-party support from 8BitDo with their bluetooth wireless dongles allowing a wide range of controller support.
* Generally decent compatibility.
* RetroArch cores for more console and systems such as Dreamcast, N64, Megadrive/Genesis and NES/SNES if you go the Homebrew route, which you should.
* Nice mold and production quality on the physical unit, including the controllers.
* Great sense of discovery when compiling a library of games to play.
Cons:
* Not an enjoyable out-of-the-box experience.
* No analog support outside of Retroarch.
* Awful stock ROMs, with many PAL region games running at cringe inducing framerates and good JP games being locked behind their region-specific console offerings.
* Homebrew is an absolute must if you wish to actually enjoy the PSC.
* More work needed if you wish to get more out of the unit if you wish to go the ProjectEris route or get almost complete compatibility.
* Not advisable to leave OTG cables plugged for long periods if you are using USB drives to load games, as it may overheat and damage the USB sticks.
* A lot of games taking advantage of analog sticks such as Ape Escape can only be played through Retroarch core with specific controllers.
* Select games with compatibility issues require Retroarch cores such as Diablo requiring the music fix patched in real-time.
* Very barebones Rearmed overlay and options.
Despite its many issues and cons, I love this things and since it's been 30 years since the release of the original PS, I thought it was time for us to start appreciating this little box, since most of us probably bought it for a huge discount.
These solutions are first-party emulation boxes which companies took advantage of for a short time before the current era of the handheld emulation market boomed (Previously with jailbroken Nintendo Switches and VITAs, now with Steamdeck and its competitors). These were pretty popular, especially with the Nintendo classic line and the MegaDrive minis, however SEGA mostly sold their MG mini 2 in Japan and Asia.
When the PS Classic was finally released, it turned out to be a huge disappointment and caused a general dip in the mini emulation box movement companies were banking on. No more Dreamcast Classic, No more Saturn Classic, No N64 Classic and no more nicely packaged mini/classic consoles
(the new Atari and Amiga emulation boxes are both great, I do recommend those).The games were lacking, the controllers were digital-only with no vibration and even reviewers couldn't defend it. Let's just say that eventually, people managed to hack it and turn it into their very own PS minis.
I really started to love it and slowly but surely made dedicated libraries of games I always wished I could play, since these minis can be mostly hacked and turned into emulation machines with more potential. Sure, I couldn't have used a Raspberry Pi, but I already had that for my arcade game emulation and I like the look and profile of the PS classic.
For Those looking to get into PS Classic, here are some sources and a list of pros and cons to keep in mind:
Sources:
https://psclassicmods.com/
https://github.com/autobleem/AutoBleem
https://modmyclassic.com/project-eris/ (Successor to BleemSync)
and Youtube for any further personal research and any new mods or news regarding the PSC.
Example of the two Homebrew options for most people to consider.
Pros:
* Small form factor.
* Ease of setup, though you'd need an OTG micro-USB cable for higher capacity hard drives or USB sticks along with the ability to have both controller ports free.
* Good quality controller with the ability to use them and HID devices on PC (some slight compatibility issues).
* ReArmed core allowing for decent performance from most games.
* Good, stable support for Homebrew options.
* Great for RPGs, with some staples including FFVII, Wild Arm, Persona (granted, it's the minstrel show version) and games like Saga Frontier in the Asian regions and compatibility with other RPGs and JRPGs being very good.
* Third-party support from 8BitDo with their bluetooth wireless dongles allowing a wide range of controller support.
* Generally decent compatibility.
* RetroArch cores for more console and systems such as Dreamcast, N64, Megadrive/Genesis and NES/SNES if you go the Homebrew route, which you should.
* Nice mold and production quality on the physical unit, including the controllers.
* Great sense of discovery when compiling a library of games to play.
Cons:
* Not an enjoyable out-of-the-box experience.
* No analog support outside of Retroarch.
* Awful stock ROMs, with many PAL region games running at cringe inducing framerates and good JP games being locked behind their region-specific console offerings.
* Homebrew is an absolute must if you wish to actually enjoy the PSC.
* More work needed if you wish to get more out of the unit if you wish to go the ProjectEris route or get almost complete compatibility.
* Not advisable to leave OTG cables plugged for long periods if you are using USB drives to load games, as it may overheat and damage the USB sticks.
* A lot of games taking advantage of analog sticks such as Ape Escape can only be played through Retroarch core with specific controllers.
* Select games with compatibility issues require Retroarch cores such as Diablo requiring the music fix patched in real-time.
* Very barebones Rearmed overlay and options.
Despite its many issues and cons, I love this things and since it's been 30 years since the release of the original PS, I thought it was time for us to start appreciating this little box, since most of us probably bought it for a huge discount.
