PS1 #PlayStationClassic Released & Hacked --- Everything you need to know!

And there it is. After other Console Developers like Nintendo, SEGA or ATARI re-released their older but wonderful and classic Home Consoles in it's new and tiny chassis marketed with some catchy words like "Mini", "Retro" or "Flashback", Sony decided "to jump on the bandwagon" by releasing their own Classic Console in a miniature format - namely the "PlayStation Classic". Announced back in September 2018, the PlayStation Classic is a dedicated version of the Original PlayStation (in short "PS1" or as you would know it as "PSX") providing 20 Classic Video Game Titles built-in. And while reviews from other video gaming journalists showed already that sadly, the PlayStation Classic is a bad example how to re-release a "Retro Console" compared to it's competitors, this Thread will help you with Everything you need to know about the Console itself, it's built-in Video Games and how fast several well-known Developers from other Sony Consoles are already tinkering with it to fix several Problems Sony was too lazy for and to provide additional Features like Emulators and other Homebrew etc.​

By keeping the Original Design, but smaller, the PlayStation Classics provides 20 Game Titles built-in while mirroring the same Button layout and logos - but 45% smaller than the Original Release back in 1994.​

General Information 20 built-in Video Games Emulators & Homebrew Other Useful Features

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  The User Interface from the PlayStation Classic is a homage to the Original UI used on the Original PSX with the same color scheme like in 1994.
  
  With a price of 99,- USD (99,- EUR in Europe - 89,- GBP in United Kingdom - 9.980,- JPY in Japan), the PlayStation Classic comes with two wired Controllers. Sadly those are the Standard Controllers without giving any Analogue Sticks, or even a Vibration function, unlike the very first "DualShock Controller" for the PS1. And unlike the Original PSX (don't worry you don't need to search for your old AV/SCART cables from your basement ), the PlayStation Classic provides a HDMI Output giving a 720p Output Resolution with 60 Frames per Second (FPS). But it is important to note that while it ships with a USB cable to connect it on a USB power source, a USB AC adaptor is NOT included so you will need to use your own, like from your Smartphone or from your TV built-in for example. You also won't need to search for your old Memory Cards since each Game supports it's own Virtual Memory Card giving the classic 15 slots. So technically you have 20 Memory Cards built-in - One Memory Card for each Game. It also supports the neat feature of Save States, so you can resume your Game wherever you need to without searching for Save Points with Cloud and his Friends inside the Northern Cave while grinding your Characters to Level 99.
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  • General Website
  • PlayStation Classic FAQ
  • Game Manuals
  • Support
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  The review from Digital Foundry shows why the PlayStation Classic is sadly a "Disappointed" Approach of bringing the nostalgic Games back with the PlayStation Classic.
  
  Sadly, we already have to speak about the bad things this "Mini-PlayStation" provides. While there was already a hefty discussion about the Gaming Line-up the PlayStation Classic provides with several well-known Classic Game Titles missing, the 20 Games built-in are barely optimized for giving you a 100% perfect and nostalgic experience like you had back in the 90's. While using a Open-Source Emulation solution - namely PCSX ReARMed - the PlayStation Classic shows several Problems during in-Game such as blurry and dithered effects, mismatching sound effects and the most important "bummer" is that several Games are provided as "PAL Versions". Especially the Users reading this Thread here in America will be surprised how slow several Games would run on this tiny machine and how bad this would be for your Gaming Experience. The Video above from Digital Foundry shows exactly how bad this Emulation solution, Sony has chosen, performs and even the other Games, which supports fully 60 FPS instead of 50 FPS only like the European PAL Versions does, has massive frame-drops compared to the Original Hardware and/or other Sony Devices supporting PS1 Games through Emulation.
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  • Games included in all Regions (PAL Versions are in red color):
    • Battle Arena Toshinden (known in Japan as バトルアリーナ闘神伝 [Batoru Arīna Tōshinden])
    • Final Fantasy VII (the Japanese PlayStation Classic uses the "International Version")
    • I.Q.: Intelligent Qube (known in Europe as "Kurushi")
    • Jumping Flash
    • Metal Gear Solid
    • Mr. Driller (known in Japan as ミスタードリラー [Misuta Dorira])
    • R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
    • Resident Evil: Director's Cut (Bio Hazard Director's Cut)
    • Revelations: Persona
    • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (known in Japan as スーパーパズルファイターII X [Super Puzzle Figher II X])
    • Tekken 3
    • Wild Arms
  • Games Exclusive for North America / Europe / South Korea
    • Cool Boarders 2
    • Destruction Derby
    • Grand Theft Auto (GTA)
    • Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
    • Rayman
    • Syphon Filter
    • Tom Clancy's: Rainbow Six
    • Twisted Metal
  • Games Exclusive for Japan / Taiwan / Hong Kong
    • Arc the Lad
    • Arc the Lad II
    • Armored Core
    • G-Darius
    • Gradius Gaiden (never saw a "Western Release" for the PSX, but for the PSP)
    • Parasite Eve
    • SaGa Frontier
    • XI [sái] (Devil Dice)
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  Thanks to @nvsofts, Doom is already playable on the PlayStation Classic (although it would be interesting to play this with the PlayStation Controller).
  
  Not only the PlayStation Classic itself shows how little Sony was interested to implement a proper self-made and internal Emulation solution like they did for their previous Home Consoles, it seems that they didn't showed any interest as well when we speak about Security Features for this Device. Since the PlayStation Classic runs on bare-metal, it shows that you can observe the internals in both Hardware and Software very easily, which sounds very great. In fact, several well-known Developers from other Sony Home Consoles already showed what's possible to do Sony won't like you do. It's impressive to see, that there are already so many Achievements presented in the first week of it's release. The following list will give you a overview what is already known about the technical specifications from the PlayStation Classic itself, as for playing with the Software itself such as Dumping the Firmware or playing additional PlayStation Games, Sony missed to include by their own. I think we will see a bright future here for this device when we speak about Emulators and Homebrew.​
  
  
  • Developer @v9938 dumps the Firmware used inside the PlayStation Classic
  • Developer xyzz shows the internal code from the Emulation Solution Sony modified to get it run on the PlayStation Classic which shows that Sony tested more Games during their Development
  • Developer @bakueikozo showcases a demonstration of loading additional PS1 Games not included by Sony
  • Developer @nvsofts presents that the Classic Doom is already running on the PlayStation Classic
  • Both Developers @yifanlu and @DaveeFTW also showcases how they were able to load additional PS1 Games on the PlayStation Classic
  • Developer @emuonpsp is showing more details about several "Debug Settings" used from the Emulator itself
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  Getting to the "Debug Settings" by pressing a single button? This was never so easy as before.​
  
  
  But not only the Developers themselves shows the potential of this tiny device. It seems that even Sony itself allows everyone to dig into the internals from their PlayStation Classic very easy. How you may ask? Well, if you already own the PlayStation Classic, just plug a external USB Keyboard in one of it's USB slots used for the Controllers normally and press the "Esc-Button". You will be surprised how easy you can contribute as showed by the Team behind the YouTube-Channel "RETRO GAMING ARTS". Their video shows how many entries you get by tinkering with this device but also that even Sony was able to making things better with the Emulation itself (like with the 50 FPS PAL Versions implemented as explained before). But also Developers like @yifanlu showed together with @madmonkey how easy you can implement your own Games, Emulators, Homebrew or nearly anything else by your own. This shows how lazy (or how inexperienced) the Developers from Sony are during the Development of the PlayStation Classic. Even the decision to choose a Open-Source Solution for the Emulaton shows how they wanted to keep this device as cost-effective as possible, with the bad side effect for those who can't enjoy the Classic Games. It seems that the Homebrew and Hacking Community has to fix Sony's own mistake again like in the past.​

Quite handy the new PlayStation Classic, isn't it?

Our community is also already discussing about the possibilities with the PlayStation Classic. Our own Admin [COLOR=#ff0000]@STLcardsWS[/COLOR] opened a dedicated Forum Section for the PlayStation Classic only where you are welcome to discuss everything related. I would personally welcome a discussion if the PlayStation Classic is even worth the money or to summarize the alternatives from the PlayStation Classic, especially compared to Sony's previous Emulation solutions like they used for the PS2, PS3, or even the PSP and PSvita. The PlayStation TV also looks like Sony's own competitor to the PlayStation Classic where many people already said that they don't need the PlayStation Classic when their PlayStation TV is already emulating their own PlayStation Library in a proper way. Also Thanks to User [COLOR=#ff0000]@GregoryRasputin[/COLOR], you can even share your own discoveries since he opened a new PlayStation Developer Wiki dedicated to the PlayStation Classic only. And lastly, User [COLOR=#ff0000][U]@Roxanne[/U][/COLOR] is also planing to expand her Compatibility Lists for the PlayStation Classic, which will be released very soon (UPDATE: RELEASED) and will give a great opportunity for everyone to contribute in both this Forum, as for the wiki. Again I have to admit that we will see great times here with this tiny toy.
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So what do you think of Sony's approach for releasing the PlayStation Classic? You are welcome to discuss your opinions down below.​

 

Yes in its raw stock format....

No. The emulator menu doesn't help at all. Read the review first, please.

Ridge Racer Type 4 dips way below 30 FPS and that's because the hardware itself is too weak. The reviewer used the more powerful Shield TV hardware with PCSX and the game still dipped way below 30 FPS. That's how demanding PS1 emulation can be. The game, of course, doesn't have those performance issues on real hardware, or on PSP and PS3.

Also, forcing NTSC on those PAL disc images won't help at all because the games are coded for PAL. For example, the battle timer in Tekken 3 PAL will go too fast if you force the game into NTSC.

 

No. The emulator menu doesn't help at all. Read the review first, please.

Ridge Racer Type 4 dips way below 30 FPS and that's because the hardware itself is too weak. The reviewer used the more powerful Shield TV hardware with PCSX and the game still dipped way below 30 FPS. That's how demanding PS1 emulation can be. The game, of course, doesn't have those performance issues on real hardware, or on PSP and PS3.

Also, forcing NTSC on those PAL disc images won't help at all because the games are coded for PAL. For example, the battle timer in Tekken 3 PAL will go too fast if you force the game into NTSC.

Read lol.. Okay.. Has the device not got new features and progressed very quickly.
How do you think this will look next month?

Did you not see the NES Classic and SNES classic run things like RetroArch lol.

 

Read lol.. Okay.. Has the device not got new features and progressed very quickly.
How do you think this will look next month?

Did you not see the NES Classic and SNES classic run things like RetroArch lol.

In terms of performance, it will look exactly the same because the mobile SoC used by Sony is too weak for accurate full-speed emulation. The reason why it works much better on an old PSP is because PSP doesn't have to emulate PS1 in full since they share the same CPU technology. As for PS3, CELL is a very powerful processor and Sony created a very good emulator especially for CELL.

 

It will look exactly the same because the mobile SoC used by Sony is too weak for accurate full-speed emulation. The reason why it works much better on an old PSP is because PSP doesn't have to emulate PS1 in full since they share the same CPU technology. As for PS3, CELL is a very powerful processor and Sony created a very good emulator especially for CELL.

Your going to find problematic games on any platform when it comes to emulation.
The PS3 is no stranger to this. Sometimes it config files that can fix emulation errors.

The simple truth there is a million ways to play PS1 games better, but the fact is once the scene is done tinkering with the device it will be more attractive then just a piece of junk (as it is as a stock unit)/

Sony as usual did not get the potential out of the hardware the scene will. How far that goes is up for debate because we are taking emulation here and there is a million and one tricks to get desired effects and other emulator options.

 

Your going to find problematic games on any platform when it comes to emulation.
The PS3 is no stranger to this. Sometimes it config files that can fix emulation errors.

The simple truth there is a million ways to play PS1 games better, but the fact is once the scene is done tinkering with the device it will be more attractive then just a piece of junk (as it is as a stock unit)/

Sony as usual did not get the potential out of the hardware the scene will. How far that goes is up for debate because we are taking emulation here and there is a million and one tricks to get desired effects and other emulator options.

It's not a problematic game. The hardware is problematic because it doesn't have enough power for accurate full-speed PS1 emulation in HD. You can't fix that. The emulator is also subpar, but you won't find any other PS1 emulator optimized for the ARM technology.

PS3 doesn't have such severe performance issues. The PS1 emulation on PS3 is great for all the officially released PS1 Classics. Even if there were issues like with Silent Hill, Sony eventually patched the emulator on PS3.

You keep talking about the scene and the mini consoles from Nintendo, but this is not the case here. Tha't simply because PS1 emulation in HD requires more hardware power than Sony provided. The only way community could get more performance would be through lowering the emulation quality and it's already not that accurate. Who wants such a compromised experience when any PSP or PS3 will play these games much better?

Sony totally screwed this one up and nothing can save it because it's not powerful enough for accurate PS1 emulation at full speed.

 

It's not a problematic game. The hardware is problematic because it doesn't have enough power for accurate full-speed PS1 emulation in HD. You can't fix that. The emulator is also subpar, but you won't find any other PS1 emulator optimized for the ARM technology.

PS3 doesn't have such severe performance issues. The PS1 emulation on PS3 is great for all the officially released PS1 Classics. Even if there were issues like with Silent Hill, Sony eventually patched the emulator on PS3.

You keep talking about the scene and the mini consoles from Nintendo, but this is not the case here. Tha't simply because PS1 emulation in HD requires more hardware power than Sony provided. The only way community could get more performance would be through lowering the emulation quality and it's already not that accurate. Who wants such a compromised experience when any PSP or PS3 will play these games much better?

Sony totally screwed this one up and nothing can save it because it's not powerful enough for accurate PS1 emulation at full speed.

NO Shit sony f%$#ed this one up lol .. I think we agree there, where we disagree and you keep wanting to look at very specif details about this and that. Where i said that the scene will make it better and make the purchase worth it. By the time this is done with it will be playing NES/SNES ect.... Its a matter of opinion if one wants to spend their money for it. Yes stock untouched its a piece of shit. but the scene will make it much less of a piece of shit and actually make it much more useful. Its a mini retro box so a problematic game or two or three or six over the whole library is not really that shocking.. Half the value is the nostalgic effect of the retro shell and controllers. That is for sure a factor in the price and that is honestly why many buy it as the components can be replicated easily or PS1 emulators can be ran on just about everything nowdays.

Sony messed it up but also user's expecting much more as well for what it is.
You can't really compare games that they did not intend to run on it.. While sony had a sub-par game list.. they did not intend for you to run that game either..

If one is to buy it for the case TBH because there is so many other options for PS1 and a 100$ that plays subar games is not ideal but again the scene will make it a better product and that is where i am coming from.

 

NO Shit sony f%$#ed this one up lol .. I think we agree there, where we disagree and you keep wanting to do in to very spefic details about this and that. Where i said that the scene will make it better and make the purchase worth it.

How can you fix this when the hardware itself is at fault? Don't you see? With the mini consoles from Nintendo, only the software was an issue. That's why people could fix it. With this, the hardware is a problem. You can't fix that. This will never run PS1 games well.

 

How can you fix this when the hardware itself is at fault? Don't you see? With the mini consoles from Nintendo, only the software was an issue. That's why people could fix it. With this, the hardware is a problem. You can't fix that.

Like arguing with a fence post
Your suggesting that i am saying its a perfect flawless product..

I said the scene will make it better and they have.. not sure what is hard to understand about that. Your expecting it to be perfect, I am not expecting it to be perfect.
I am not expecting it to run some games especially if not included.

The product is what it is, Its what can be done to get most out of what there and that is what your losing sight of looking at whats not there and instead of looking what is there and what can be done. Something that the community and scene is about.; getting the most out of what is there and that is what is being done.

 

Like arguing with a fence post
Your suggesting that i am saying its a perfect flawless product..

Ditto.

Yo keep repeating your mantra and I keep telling you how this works. You have the best hacker in the world and he won't fix this because he can't fix the hardware. You can't swap it for a faster SoC actually capable of running PS1 games at full speed and with accurate emulation. It simply does not compute.

As for running NES/SNES on this - lol. You can also run C64 on it, or whatever. So what? Just like you can on virtually any PC or smartphone. People are supposed to buy this crappy product to play NES/SNES after hacking it? What? Where's the logic in that? This is supposed to run PS1 games. That's the only sane reason to buy it. However, it can't run PS1 games with good performance and accurate emulation, so it's a horrible way to waste 100 bucks.

 

Ditto.

Yo keep repeating your mantra and I keep telling you how this works. You have the best hacker in the world and he won't fix this because he can't fix the hardware. You can't swap it for a faster SoC actually capable of running PS1 games at full speed and with accurate emulation. It simply does not compute.

As for running NES/SNES on this - lol. You can also run C64 on it, or whatever. So what? Just like you can on virtually any PC or smartphone. People are supposed to buy this crappy product to play NES/SNES after hacking it? What? Where's the logic in that? This is supposed to run PS1 games. That's the only sane reason to buy it. However, it can't run PS1 games with good performance and accurate emulation, so it's a horrible way to waste 100 bucks.

Again not trying to see a fix to every issue.. Trying to get the most out what is there..
I am not looking it to be a 1:1 clone to the original. OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE DIFFERENT...

LOL i was showing how the scene may add other features, (like was the case for other retro devices that were running RetroArch as an example). So while you may not operate some games (that many not even care about) due to the hardware limitations you laid out (or someone reviewing it from an official viewpoint) You may give up the ability to boot a few PS1 games you may gain alot of other functionality.

By time the community is done with it, it could be a decent device, but its a Piece of crap

 

Again not trying to see a fix to every issue.. Trying to get the most out what is there..
I am not looking it to be a 1:1 clone to the original. OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE DIFFERENT...

Yes, OK. Just please tell me why? Why would you invest time and money into something so poor? Why reward Sony for screwing up so badly? Why not show them they need to do better?

 

Yes, OK. Just please tell me why? Why would you invest time and money into something so poor? Why reward Sony for screwing up so badly? Why not show them they need to do better?

Again your not seeing the point. I would not buy one, but the SCENE will make it a better product and i think its good for the community to do better or fills the gaps of what Sony should of did and also have that information ready for those to show the limitation that Sony is doing. No better example then seeing A (stock) and B (exploited) units

PSTV was a product that sony did wrong.
The community corrected it.

The PS1 Classic was a proiduct that sony did wrong.
The community will corrected it. (how much that is TBD)_

I like seeing the community 1up Sony.

 

Again your not seeing the point. I would not buy one, but the SCENE will make it a better product and i think its good for the community to do better or fills the gaps of what Sony should of did and also have that information ready for those to show the limitation that Sony is doing. No better example then seeing A (stock) and B (exploited) units

The point is, it's not worth it. Even Raspberry Pi is better than this. PSTV is MUCH better than this. There's no point to waste time and money on something so fundamentally poor. I could maybe see the point if it at least had genuine Dual Shock controllers, but with those cheap digital controllers it's a bad, bad joke. Sony needs to go back to the drawing board.

 

The point is, it's not worth it. Even Raspberry Pi is better than this. PSTV is MUCH better than this. There's no point to waste time and money on something so fundamentally poor. I could maybe see the point if it at least had genuine Dual Shock controllers, but with those cheap digital controllers it's a bad, bad joke. Sony needs to go back to the drawing board.

many are buying it for not whats inside or what it can do. .. but more for the nostalgic look of the case and controllers.

If it was just a black box, it would not have that hype. So lets realize why its being bought in the first place.

I would not, i agree better options.. PSTV and many things, but they are being bought for that reason the most.

 

many are buying it for not whats inside or what it can do. .. but more for the nostalgic look of the case and controllers.

The problem with that? If people buy something so horrible on the inside, Sony will assume it's OK to release garbage products.

If only they just packed PSTV into this mini PS1 case...

 

Ok we get it, you wont buy one. As a collector i have. Crap or not the sceners will allow me to get more enjoyment out of it then sony had intended. Isnt that what its all about? I cant wait to see where it sits in a month or two, bc at one week its looking pretty good. If i wanted an og experience i would fire up my ps1, but with this i can run it into the ground and keep my og ps1 in the condition its in. Thats why i bought every mini console, i collect. They made this for the collectors, not hardcore pc master race people.

 

Ok we get it, you wont buy one. As a collector i have.

It's not about me. It's about the community sending the right message to Sony: crappy hardware - reminiscent of AT Games garbage - won't be tolerated. Fortunately, most people understand how bad this product is and Sony already received extreme criticism on social media. I hope they won't release such low quality products in the future. The legacy of PS1 deserves high quality preservation, not subpar emulation on an underperforming mobile chipset.

 

It's not about me. It's about the community sending the right message to Sony: crappy hardware - reminiscent of AT Games garbage - won't be tolerated. Fortunately, most people understand how bad this product is and Sony already received extreme criticism on social media. I hope they won't release such low quality products in the future. The legacy of PS1 deserves high quality preservation, not subpar emulation on an underperforming mobile chipset.

I understand where you are coming from and yes Sony should not be rewarded..

No matter how much we say its bad, no matter hoe many video's it will still sell to the unsuspecting.. No matter how much info is out there ......

So when someone gets it and is like this is junk, this is why the scene will rescue it (in some way) and the best insult we can give to sony. because they will sell the stock they created its a one off sale around the holidays..

They may want to save face next time and make a better product, so its not yet again advertising the homebrew community as that is essentially what they are doing.

 

People don't understand the power of their wallets. If they give in to marketing tricks (like the cute PS1 mini shell), the products will just keep getting worse... and more expensive.

If this had been done right, I would have loved to pay Sony for a great PS1 mini. However, as this is the worst possible scenario (no Dual Shock, underperforming mobile chipset, outdated and glitchy emulator), Sony shouldn't be rewarded in any way.

 

It's not a problematic game. The hardware is problematic because it doesn't have enough power for accurate full-speed PS1 emulation in HD. You can't fix that. The emulator is also subpar, but you won't find any other PS1 emulator optimized for the ARM technology.

[...]Tha't simply because PS1 emulation in HD requires more hardware power than Sony provided. The only way community could get more performance would be through lowering the emulation quality and it's already not that accurate. Who wants such a compromised experience when any PSP or PS3 will play these games much better?

Sony Xperia Play had a worse ARM SoC but its emulator did the job right.

edit: I also bought PSC because i knew it would be hacked quickly and we would be able to load our own images. I based this on the fact that Sony would never get any profit from software sales from this device, due to lack of connectivity. So, they couldn't care less if you hacked the thing or not. Not wanting to undermine the hacker's tries ofc, those guys did a great job. To put matters into perspective at least from my point of view, the only thing that bugs me the most is the clicky feel of the physical buttons on the console itself. My original never was like that.