After Nintendo’s success with its own line of classic consoles, it’s time for PlayStation fans to get their fill of nostalgia. But while the actual announcement of the console was somewhat of an inevitability, we’ve all been on the edges of our seats waiting for the games line-up to finally drop.
Well, we’ve now been put out of our misery: Sony released the full list of all 20 pre-loaded games yesterday. The reception has been mixed. On the one hand, there are several of the heavy-hitters you’d have expected to see, and its impressive Sony has managed to secure licenses for third-party titles like Metal Gear Solid.
Yet there are some painful ommissions that many of us would have desperately wanted to see (Gran Turismo, Castlevania Symphony of the Night, anyone?).
Perhaps that’s why the pre-order demand for the console hasn’t been creating the same sort of fever-pitch buzz as Nintendo’s NES and SNES Classic? Or maybe we’re just all tiring of how corporate this nostalgia product-line fad is starting to feel?
Of course, it’s not yet clear what sort of commercial performance Sony’s console is likely to generate, but it certainly doesn’t feel as though it’s causing the same sort of stir.
One big factor could be the perceived value of the PlayStation Classic, which clocks in at a higher cost than the Nintendo equivalents.
At $100, it’s starting to move out of that affordable, Xmas stocking-filler sort of price-point that the NES and SNES fell within. Particularly in combination with the games line-up and much-lamented absence of DualShock controllers, it definitely isn’t as appealing on paper.
So just as we did for Nintendo’s SNES Classic console, let’s take a look at the actual value of the PlayStation Classic compared to purchasing original copies of the games and second-hand PS One.
The following breakdown lists the current value of each game on the second-hand market. The prices are based on the averages of “loose” authentic CDs, which are the cheapest official versions found online.
- Battle Arena Toshinden – $5.67
- Cool Boarders 2 – $3.08
- Destruction Derby – $5.63
- Final Fantasy VII – $11.55
- Grand Theft Auto – $5.54
- Intelligent Qube – $29.98
- Jumping Flash! – $17.78
- Metal Gear Solid – $10.83
- Mr. Driller – $9.38
- Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee – $7.99
- Rayman – $7.91
- Resident Evil Director’s Cut – $9.49
- Revelations: Persona – $72.49
- Ridge Racer Type 4 – $4.82
- Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo – $16.82
- Syphon Filter – $4.75
- Tekken 3 – $7.64
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six – $3.17
- Twisted Metal – $8.52
- Wild Arms – $14.64
Total value: $257.68
Average cost of second-hand PS One: $60 (good to great condition via eBay)
So there you have it, at $100 for the PlayStation Classic, you’re still making a pretty decent saving even if it does clock in at more than Nintendo’s classic line. Although for comparison’s sake, we valued SNES Classic at $714.73, not including the console cost.
It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that for many consumers, there’s value in the novelty of a re-released mini-console version. The PlayStation Classic obviously has appeal beyond pragmatically looking at how much money you’re saving or by purchasing this over a second-hand console.
You can’t help but feel that if Sony was to have added CD-reading functionality or some way to play other games on the system then that would have taken all the debate over value out the equation.
It probably all comes down to a cost of manufacture issue, but it does feel as though there was more they could have done both in respect to its design and game line-up to make this mini console stand apart as something truly valuable, something that justified its existence beyond just copying a product line that has worked for a rival company.
