Sony PlayStation Classic announced for December 2018
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment via AFP Relaxnews
With 20 games built in, including “Final Fantasy VII”, the PlayStation Classic is being listed at $99 (about P5,300), $129 CAN, €99, £89 and ¥9,980.
Classic adventure game “Final Fantasy VII” is among the first five titles announced for the PlayStation Classic’s on-board library ahead of a Dec. 3 launch.
Nintendo has already found great success with the $59 (about P3,100) NES Mini and $79 (about P4,300) SNES Mini, and now PlayStation is responding with a sub-$100 shrunk-down retro console of its own.
Five entries to the PlayStation Classic’s on-board games library were revealed upon announcement.
Revolutionary Japanese role-playing game “Final Fantasy VII” is joined by racing title “R4: Ridge Racer Type 4”, fighting game “Tekken 3”, hybrid 2D and 3D wild west adventure “Wild Arms”, and first-person jump-and-run excursion “Jumping Flash”.
At the time, each one was well-received and recognized for a particular technical accomplishment.
At 45 percent of the 1994 PlayStation’s size, the PlayStation Classic adopts a similar form factor to its Nintendo equivalents.
It replicates the original console’s design, a top-loading CD bay now decorative rather than functional, while RGB display cable ports have been replaced with an HDMI output for HD screens.
Like the Nintendo Mini range, the PlayStation Classic ships without the USB AC adaptor needed to power it up, but does include the required USB cable as well as two control pads.
Those controllers are modelled on the PlayStation’s original pads and, because of that, omit the dual analog stick set-up introduced with the 1997 Dual Analog and 1998 DualShock controllers.
That omission is thought to rule out 1999’s iconic “Ape Escape” from the retro console’s 15 unannounced games, as it relied upon the presence of analog controls.
Similarly, “Metal Gear Solid” featured a sequence that depended on controller vibration, another feature introduced with the Dual Analog.
And with a games library limited to 20, it is not yet clear whether the PlayStation Classic will be vulnerable to the sort of simple software hacking process that allows NES and SNES Mini owners to add unlicensed games.
A release date of Dec. 3, 2018 coincides with the PlayStation’s 24th birthday. JB
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