Looks like they got to go and have a hands-on with it, and it seems like a pretty underwhelming experience.
https://kotaku.com/playstation-clas...m_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow
From Eurogamer:
From GamesRadar:
With the PlayStation Classic's release less than a month away, I went to PlayStation HQ this week for three hours of hands-on time with Sony's nostalgic mini-console. It plays its selection of 32-bit classics like Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil: Director's Cut just fine, but the features of the device are pretty much the bare minimum.
Oddly, many of the games on the PlayStation Classic were the European versions. When I booted up Final Fantasy VII, for example, I got the classic "Licensed By Sony Computer Entertainment of America" splash screen. But when I ran Battle Arena Toshinden, Grand Theft Auto, or Tekken 3, the screen said "Licensed By Sony Computer Entertainment Europe."
"Bare-bones" is probably the most accurate summation I can give of the PlayStation Classic so far. There are no special screen borders or graphic display options.
https://kotaku.com/playstation-clas...m_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow
From Eurogamer:
Hardware:There's nothing by way of rewind feature, or anything much beyond barebones emulation. Perhaps we've been spoilt in recent years by the work of companies like Digital Eclipse, but the lack of options present in the PlayStation Classic is a disappointment.
The PlayStation Classic's controller, meanwhile, is a 1:1 likeness of the original (and that's the original original, remember - this isn't the DualShock that was introduced in 1997, and as such it lacks rumble and those two analogue sticks). It is ever so slightly lighter in the hand, though that's simply down to the fact there's a slimmer cable protruding from it - and at that cable's end is a USB A connector, itself protruding from a plastic nubbin that perfectly mimics the connector on the original PlayStation controller and that slots neatly into place on the console. It really does all look the part.
The console hardware itself has some neat functionality too. Around the back it's powered by micro-USB, and there's a single HDMI out, while on the top of the console the three buttons are all put to use. The power button is self-explanatory. The reset button throws you out of any particular game and into the PlayStation Classic's main menu, while the eject button is used to change discs in games that are split across several CD-ROMs, such as Final Fantasy 7.
Software:the belief is that the same silicon that powered the Vita and PlayStation TV is at work here, and a brief hands-on does little to dent that suspicion.
There are next to no options - you'll have the ability to enable a screensaver, tinker with power saving modes and language and... That's it. There are no screen filters, and nothing to try and soothe the transition of these games onto TVs that they were never designed for.
The output is 720p, a logical enough choice given the majority of the games here are 244p and upscale fairly cleanly with small black borders either side of the image, but it can't hide the fact that something feels off about how these games look and play. Getting the relatively crude 3D work of original PlayStation games to play nicely on modern displays was always going to be a tougher task faced by Nintendo with its previous 2D-dominated Classic consoles, but the soft scaling doesn't help its cause, and there's noticeable lag - minimally so when playing a 30fps game such as Ridge Racer Type 4, but much more pronounced in 60fps games such as Mr. Driller or Tekken 3. They feel soupy in the hand
This is, at best, a functional take on the mini-console phenomenon, and a cute stocking filler for the coming Christmas period - even if the price doesn't quite reflect that. It most certainly is not a decent emulator, and far from the best way to play this (limited) selection of games.
From GamesRadar:
From what I've played, the PlayStation Classic is a lovely little thing. With a great spread of varied games there's likely a good, solid choice of things to please most palates, and an interesting enough cross section to mean there are no fillers. Combine that with the perfectly recreated experience of using the original hardware and you've got a playable slice of history.
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