PlayStation Classic review – Sony's nostalgia trip misses the magic

It looks nice, it's easy to use and the games are fun to revisit, but the functionality is bare-bones - and all the swagger is gone

The original PlayStation represents a pivotal moment in the history of video games. It was there at the dawn of real-time 3D graphics processing, the moment we switched from the sprite-based visuals of the past to the texture-mapped polygons of the future. And, if those terms mean nothing to you and the sight of a polygonal Solid Snake or Cloud Strife doesn't give you warm fuzzies, it may be better to give the PlayStation Classic a wide berth.

This tiny console, which fits on the palm of your hand and weighs less than a modern games controller, was perhaps inevitable from the moment Nintendo made a killing with its own Mini NES and SNES delights. The PlayStation Classic fits the same business model almost entirely. The nicely accurate scale model of the console sports an HDMI connection, two USB ports for wired controllers and a USB power cable, just like Nintendo's retro machines. It also boasts 20 built-in games, a range that can't be expanded as it has no internet connection. Players are able to save their progress on virtual memory cards.