440°

Why is the PlayStation Classic so unpopular?

PlayStation Classic owners dish on what the retro system is like (and what it isn’t).

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engadget.com
Juusterey1771d ago

Cos it sucks
Nintendo did it better
Earlier too

S2Killinit1771d ago

Its because 3D games dont age well because they are compared to the most recent games of today, while 2D scrolling games are not. When you play a 2D game you are not looking for the best graphics. Just something to pass the time. When you play 3D you think why am i playing this instead of the newest games.

Seraphim1771d ago

that's part of my take. 8-16 bit games age well imo. Everything else hasn't. The block textures, the bad animations, etc. The HD era [at least for me] brought a irrelevance to the 64+ bit games/consoles. Secondly the PS isn't that old. Most people my age don't miss those games [yet] but many have missed NES/SNES for years. Personally I've kept most my consoles so always had the ability to go back and play those games periodically... Simply put though, I think the PS Mini was ahead of it's time. I bet if they waited another 5-10 years there would be more demand. But due to not aging well perhaps I'm off the mark on that.

EazyC1771d ago (Edited 1771d ago )

Generally true, there are exceptions though. Super Mario 64 has aged very well as an early 3D title, must have been amazing playing that in '96

Shiken1771d ago

I really get tired of the whole "aged well" excuse that in of itself, is just an excuse. The games it offered were just sub par, period. A good game does not stop being a good game years down the road. I just started playing Banjo Kazooie again and I enjoy it now just as much as I did back in the day.

The truth is really simple, Sony dropped the ball. They had hundreds of better games to put on there or take the time to get the license to use from the PSOne era, but they gave us (for the most part) lower tier games.

gam3r_4_lif31771d ago

Yeah some of my favourite gaming experiences were on the PS1 games like MGS and the first resident evil and soul reaver, but man I could not stomach those visuals now or more importantly those control schemes

S2Killinit1770d ago (Edited 1770d ago )

@shiken
That is very wrong. So the PS1, one of the most dominant forces in console history had “sub par” games? No, its because the PS1 ushered in a new direction that we are still on to this day improving upon. So those games are now “outdated” for that very reason. Imagine we only had 2D side scrolling games for years, would we still hold the old 2D games in the same light? No. At some point a new 2D game would arrive and revolutionize things and then from then on every other 2D game would pick up where that one left off and improve on that formula. At some point, you would no longer see a 10 year old 2D game in the same light. It would now be “outdated”. It doesnt mean it wasnt good, or that its not fun anymore, but your perception of a proper 2D game would be changed to the point that not as many people would want to play the old 2D games.

Muzikguy1770d ago

@Seraphim

Yes I agree. I also think that good games don't get bad as time wears on though either. They could have put some amazing games like Syphon Filter, Legend of Dragoon, and many others but didn't. I think the older (pre 64 bit) games have a different feel for sure. Like I keep telling myself I want to get the remake of Secret of Mana on PS4 but haven't yet. I feel like the game isn't as good not being 2D like the original. It just doesn't "feel" the same.

Chocoburger1770d ago

@Shiken, you're right, everyone else is wrong. High quality early 3D games are still fun to play today, this concept that 'they haven't aged well' is just wrong. I say this as a person who's been playing a lot of PS1 / Saturn / N64 games recently.

PS Classic flopped not because of graphics, but because it was a rushed out turd released to make a quick buck during the holiday period. Sony put no thought, no intelligence and no effort into the product. They did a better job creating that awesome commercial for it than they did for the product itself!

- No analog controllers (anyone who thinks that's okay for the sake of nostalgia is flat out wrong).
- Unpolished emulation that's far worse than any PC emulation people have had for a decade now.
- Poor game selection (seriously, Rainbow freakin' Six?)
- Many 50hz games (wut?).

If you release a product that is worse than something people have had for a decade, charge a premium for it, and but no effort into it, then your product is destined to fail. So why in the hell is Engadget asking a question with such an obvious answer?

Shiken1770d ago

@S2Killinit

Take a minute to process what I said. I never said there were not good games on the PS1, I said they chose sub par games for the PS1 library when they had so many better options to go for. Sony dropped the ball. What I said was on the money, your comprehension of what you were reading is wrong.

And as someone who plays both modern and retro games, "not aging well" is an excuse. A good game is a good game, period. Someone who focuses on the limitations of the PS1 are setting themselves up for disappointment, as they would be focusing too mich on nit picking and not about enjoying a great game.

AspiringProGenji1770d ago (Edited 1770d ago )

Ape Escape has aged well. I can play it today and have the same amount of fun. Still looks as good as Banjo Kazooie

Now if we are talking a out GTA, Metal Gear, Syphon filter, and those games that tried a more realistic approach, then I agree. They might look weird today but those are still great games

PS1 has lots of great games that weren’t included and that’s why PS classic flopped

NarooN1770d ago

Early 3D games not aging well is only a small part of it. Objectively speaking the performance of many of the games is lackluster, in that they don't even perform as smoothly as the original games did on the PS1 hardware, which is a big fail right off the bat. They have frame rate issues, framepacing issues which leads to an inconsistent feel and more dropped inputs, and a weird decision to use the PAL versions of some games so that they run at 50hz rather than 60hz, which causes these games to feel like you're playing in mud because of the ~18% speed drop. This is horrible for some of the games, like Tekken 3 which needs the full 60fps to feel as good as its meant to.

On top of that, almost all of the titles have visual glitches, artifacts, and some effects are either broken or don't work at all.

Then there's the fact there's only 20 games and the overall selection of titles is poor because of really questionable games being thrown in, and you have an incredibly lackluster package overall.

I understand a lot of the best games couldn't be included due to licensing issues, but that doesn't change the fact that the Classic was badly handled.

Absonite1770d ago

@EasyC it was man. It was absolutely mesmerizing. I didn't believe graphics could get better at the time. I'd make my mom take me to Toys R Us everyday after school when the got Japanese demo systems in advance in US stores.

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Muzikguy1770d ago

This really should be an easy question to answer. There are so many reasons why it is unpopular. Price was a big factor at first. The selection of games is terrible. There definitely should be more RPGs on there. There's no analog sticks on the controller so the other games are kind of "meh" because of it. Selection suffered for that mistake (omitting the analogs). It seemed like Sony just rushed to cash in on a craze and it backfired.

1771d ago Replies(3)
Tross1771d ago

I have one and it’s alright, but it could have been so much better, especially after Nintendo released not one, but two better products.

william_cade1771d ago

Because they filled it with crap games. Once I saw the line up I knew it was going to bomb. Intelligent Cube and Street Fighter Puzzle? There's maybe three good games on there and that's it.

Chocoburger1770d ago

Super Puzzle Fighter II is a very good game, and I say this as a person who normally doesn't like those types of block puzzle games.
If you've never played it before, don't skip it just because you think it looks like crap. Play it, give it a fair chance, you may be surprised.

NarooN1770d ago

Super Puzzle Fighter is actually an incredible game. One of the few good choices on the Classic, really.

william_cade1770d ago

Some people might like it and I understand that, but Super Puzzle doesn't even come close to represent what PS1 was during it's time. They should have taken the time and got the licenses to the games that represent the top of what the PS1 had to offer.

drpepperdude1771d ago

I'm a huge fan of PlayStation's early games but even I felt like I wasted money on the classic at $40.

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90°

The Epic Games Store Has Two More Freebies this Week

It's time to add two more games to your library for free from the Epic Games Store.

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terminalgamer.com
270°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv721d 4h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

solideagle14h ago

you should apply in MS PR team buddy, I think you will do a great job in my humble opinion :)

Sonic188112h ago

I thought darthv72 and Obscure_Observer already work for Microsoft 🤔

dveio11h ago

MS: "Xbox services and content without AB up 1%, with AB up 62%. Hardware down 31%. In total a loss of 350 mill."

darthv72: "Seems about right."

MS: "Excuse m ..."

darthv72: "I don't hardly play on my consoles directly."

MS:

Lightning777h ago

What he said was facts. How he plays games is no concern of you. Don't get too mad about it.

Cacabunga14h ago

I can tell people like you are an absolute minority..

If service is up means their fans and fanboys accepted this model and subscribed to it. The near future you will see a big decline because the service is saturated.

darthv7237m ago

to you it may seem like the minority... but your bubble is shrinking because more and more are following suit. convenience is a hell of a drug and its also why physical sales only amount to 30% of overall game sales. times are changing, you either get with them or you get left behind.

shinoff218313h ago

But that's been ms for years. When things aren't going their way they try to change the way things are said. For instance console sales are down, they stop telling how many sold instead telling us how many hours spent in halo or headshots. So it makes sense console sales down just say people are playing on more devices then previous. What they won't say is how many xbox players jumped ship to ps5.

Cacabunga12h ago

Hardware sales are so bad that Sony and Nintendo are blowing the sales off the water with their hardware.

If Xbox are losers, others aren’t..
Xbox already tried everything with Xbox live then subscriptions went down so much that they had to find something else. Their fans subscribed then reached saturation rather quickly.

Hardware and exclusive games is where it’s at! Keep gamers excited, announce decent software and people will support you

itsmebryan8h ago

@shin
Well keep it simple Sony 's operating income is down 26% and Microsoft's is up 32%. No MS spin there, just facts. 😉
Cheers

S2Killinit1h ago

MS is after diminishing consoles as a medium. They want to destroy this market because they couldnt win. MS’s vision is to dissolve console gaming.

romulus237h ago

Odd that a company that touts you dont need the hardware to play is already touting another console in the works.

darthv727h ago

They are not reliant on the HW but still want to maintain a presence (no matter how small) is a good thing. It shows commitment to the craft. It reminds me of SNK and how they made games for their own hardware (Neo Geo) while also making them for others because they knew there was a market to do so. They knew they would sell more to others but also sell to their own niche fan base.

TheEroica54m ago(Edited 53m ago)

Perfectly reasonable post down voted by insecure corporation friendly folk.... But not gamers. Real gamer want accessibility and ease of acquisition for all.... Company shills are the only ones still telling us that hardware locking people from games is good for us.

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purple10117h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos16h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

DOMination-6h ago

In the last two years they've started exiting the consumer market altogether. All of the newest Surface products are business models only. They can't seem to work out what they want to do with it.

XBManiac16h ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad15h ago(Edited 15h ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple10115h ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

Profchaos14h ago(Edited 14h ago)

Top brass have also wanted to start seeing returns on the 100 billion they have put into various Xbox related moves so seeing more multiplatform games is highly likely especially from abk

It's basically saying that PlayStation is the reason Xbox is afloat right now thinks to Ps5 versions of COD

Kornholic13h ago

So basically PS and PC gamers' money is keeping Xbox on life support.

MrDead6h ago

The only growth MS will get out of the console industry is if it supports it's rivals platforms. Xbox is a pointless machine now. I can see them on a big push for live next, and they won't give up on trying to buy Steam.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6h ago
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60°

EGX and MCM Comic Con combine for the UK's biggest pop culture weekend

You'll know of EGX. You'll know of MCM Comic Con. Today the two events have confirmed that they'll be coming together under one roof

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thexboxhub.com