Shortly after the PS5 Pro announcement, Sony announced the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection, which will be released on November 21st, raising its pre-holiday reserves once again. Performance isn’t the most exciting proposition.
Readers of a certain age get misty-eyed when they think of the old PS1. It was probably the first console to consciously move beyond the children’s market and fully embrace adult players. And a culture-inspired advertising campaign, not to mention a list of stone-cold classic titles and clubbing, helped it sell 100 million copies in its lifetime.
To celebrate 30 years since the game console that changed everything (think Grey), Sony is bringing back the ’90s groove. There’s a lot of gray. And it’s so good!
gray scale
The resulting makeover injected some pre-millennium charm into perhaps Sony’s least-loved design in recent years. Yes, this writer is biased, but when I look at the PS1-ized Slim and Pro models, which have a cool and subdued feel to them, I can’t help but feel that they don’t have any of the cheap feeling that only comes from glossy black plastic. I can’t. This is a color scheme that Sony should have adopted first.
Are both models still huge? Oh yeah. However, their fresh flint-like fur is pleasing to the eye. And does a drab outfit even look more “creepy”? Sony clearly takes pride in its work, and offers a matching vertical stand (usually (Sold separately only) (although purists like me will choose flat, of course).
But this isn’t the console’s biggest design victory. That’s reserved for something more modest: a special edition charging cord for the controller. The DualSense and DualSense Edge join the pre-2000 party by emulating the colors of the original SCPH-1010, but in a stunning display of skeuomorphism, one end of the USB-C charging cable connects to the PS1 controller It is embedded in a replica. – Connector plugs make you feel like you’re in the good old days when you were tethered to your TV a few feet away. (Unfortunately, you also can’t upgrade storage the old-fashioned way by plugging memory modules into the front; you’ll still have to pry this beast open with a screwdriver.)
cable guy
The decision to include this little Easter egg shows that someone at Sony has a long memory. The previous commemorative console, the PS4, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2014, also embraced gray, but didn’t commit to nostalgia as thoroughly. (However, the iconic PS1 startup sound was included, a feature that has yet to be confirmed for this new iteration.)
Fake connectors will not work. It reminds me of less convenient times. Most of today’s wireless native gamers would find this completely baffling. But for Gen Xers, it’s beautiful and shows a rare level of detail and care. Sony understands us. Sonny was there.
As someone who spends most of my time on my PS5 playing a much older title, Tomb Raider Remastered! Resident Evil: Director’s Cut! Assassin’s Creed! (OK, it’s PS3, but you get the vibe)—The Anniversary Edition Collection is a dream that spreads ’90s goodness to most of today’s PlayStation offerings.
Heck, now that the mysterious PlayStation Portal has a nice gray grip, I’m starting to think I might have some use for it. For others, the Retro Pro is a clear improvement in both hardware and aesthetics, extending the lifespan of a fairly expensive gaming platform at least a little bit, and forgetting its potential resale value years later. must not be
For those looking for more recent nostalgia, this limited edition of 12,300 numbered Pro consoles (a reference to the original release date of December 30, 1994) almost certainly represents the original PS5 from just four years ago. You can relive the unsightly mess of the release of . . Let’s hope Sony goes full ’90s here and encourages all-night in-person lines outside Radio Shack on November 21st. And note that Sony has not yet revealed the bundle price.
(P.S. Can someone please remaster Tenchu Stealth Assassin in time for this release?)
