The PlayStation Classic has always seemed like a bit of a hasty attempt by Sony to try and cash in on the popularity of the NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini’s success. Which is fine, of course—the PlayStation brand has a history and a legacy that deserves to be celebrated, too.
But the hastiness of the effort seems to have compromised it. The list of games on the hardware seems to be, well, not the best, while there are basic baffling decisions like the decision to not have the controllers be the DualShock controllers, instead reverting to the no-analog original controllers.
However, now, more shortcomings with the package are emerging. Reports by Kotaku and Eurogamer are mentioning that the device has rather shoddy emulation, and that Sony is using the open source PCSX emulator, instead of a custom built one. Emulation problems include only one save state offered, a lack of filters, input lag, and, most damningly, 50Hz versions of games on PAL consoles, at least in Europe. This means that the games run slower, with distorted sound and squashed resolutions.
Given that this was supposed to be a celebration of Sony’s legacy, the whole package feels underwhelming and surprisingly slapdash. I do wish this was better done overall. PlayStation as a console, and its fans, deserve far better.