I understand the appeal of all these new officially supported retro/throwback/classic console devices.... but IMO none of them even come close to a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ for <$50 inside a nice <$20...
This argument always comes up when one of these classic systems is announced. Getting a RPi3+ setup and running RetroPie isn't exactly an average consumer level project. Plus, most people aren't...
This argument always comes up when one of these classic systems is announced. Getting a RPi3+ setup and running RetroPie isn't exactly an average consumer level project. Plus, most people aren't going to actually backup and emulate copies of the physical games they own and only those.
It's completely fine to pay money for convenience and legality.
Yeah, that's why I said I understand the appeal... especially if you are morally opposed to pirating old games. However IMO anyone with even a basic level of computer experience should be able to...
Yeah, that's why I said I understand the appeal... especially if you are morally opposed to pirating old games. However IMO anyone with even a basic level of computer experience should be able to easily put a RetroPie console together. Can you download some files from the internet, copy some files to a micro-SD card and follow some basic instructions to install a program via a command line interface? If so, you should be more than capable. It's really not hard at all.
I get what you are saying, and overall it's not that hard. But I would argue that anything involving a Linux command line is too much to expect out of your average person.
I get what you are saying, and overall it's not that hard. But I would argue that anything involving a Linux command line is too much to expect out of your average person.
I get what you're saying too, but I still disagree... it's not like people really need to understand exactly what they're typing in to the CLI, they just need to type a few lines in the proper...
I get what you're saying too, but I still disagree... it's not like people really need to understand exactly what they're typing in to the CLI, they just need to type a few lines in the proper order from an installation guide. And once RetroPie is actually installed the rest is trivial since it's GUI based and from there they just need to copy the ROMs onto the mSD card and run them through the GUI (which is intuitively designed). My sister isn't tech savvy or a computer person at all (let alone Linux), but she does know how to read instructions, type and download/copy files in Windows. She has no problem operating/maintaining the Kodi media box I built her a few years ago, so I have no doubt she is more than capable of setting up and running a RetroPie console as well.
Based on the release date and form factor, I'd say this and other mini consoles are intended for holiday gifting. It's true that emulation/piracy exists, for people knowledgeable/resourceful...
Based on the release date and form factor, I'd say this and other mini consoles are intended for holiday gifting.
It's true that emulation/piracy exists, for people knowledgeable/resourceful enough to set that up. And the actual original console can be bought used along with the game discs, for those who care to store and maintain them, and deal with the inevitable CD reading errors that will show up in a 25 year old console (god knows I dealt with plenty when the console was less than a few years old). Not sure I'd want to dump those kinds of baggage onto a gift recipient.
"I know you wanted a PSX Classic, but I got you this other thing that was slightly cheaper. Oh, BTW I hope you like Linux and all the games on it are illegal"
"I know you wanted a PSX Classic, but I got you this other thing that was slightly cheaper. Oh, BTW I hope you like Linux and all the games on it are illegal"
That's uncool on Sony's part. I guess there's just little enough overlap of titles to double-dip on those, while giving the appearance of enough value for some gamers to buy both. Or they assume...
That's uncool on Sony's part. I guess there's just little enough overlap of titles to double-dip on those, while giving the appearance of enough value for some gamers to buy both. Or they assume hardcore gamers buy whatever's on PS4 and don't care about the Classic, while casual gamers and gift recipients get the Classic.
I was kinda excited until I saw that the actual device would probably be too small to handle actual PlayStation media. I've still got my copies of Valkyrie Profile, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics...
I was kinda excited until I saw that the actual device would probably be too small to handle actual PlayStation media. I've still got my copies of Valkyrie Profile, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Vandal Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Bushido Blade, Xenogears, Alundra, and Vagrant Story, and it would have been nice to be able to play them without having to dick around with emulation.
Though I'll pass on playing my original copy of Persona. The PSP version is vastly improved despite replacing the original metal boss theme ("Deadline") with J-pop ("Bloody Destiny").
Not really. The Buyback games by me sells most older games like Playstation, Xbox (OG), Sega and others for well under $5 a game. Most of those older systems go for about $40 with controllers if...
Not really. The Buyback games by me sells most older games like Playstation, Xbox (OG), Sega and others for well under $5 a game. Most of those older systems go for about $40 with controllers if not less.
That math still doesn't check out, but the point is that not everyone would have access to something like that, and then you would be dealing with the fact that its a 20 year old console that...
That math still doesn't check out, but the point is that not everyone would have access to something like that, and then you would be dealing with the fact that its a 20 year old console that didn't have the most reliable optical drive to begin with. The convenience of something brand new, solid state, and available at Best Buy is pretty nice.
And not every TV has composite-in. I've seen TVs with HDMI and component, but no composite. Converter boxes in Walmart, Best Buy, etc can be total crap, and there are plenty of knockoffs online,...
And not every TV has composite-in. I've seen TVs with HDMI and component, but no composite. Converter boxes in Walmart, Best Buy, etc can be total crap, and there are plenty of knockoffs online, so for some people, it would make more sense to just get a PS Classic if it comes with enough of the games they want. (Plus, no worries about scratched disks or broken parts, and it comes with a warranty.)
Sure, but for that price it should have a much bigger library. That was the point I was making, those games are worth $1-5 dollars used now (or free if you get their Roms) for it to be something...
Sure, but for that price it should have a much bigger library. That was the point I was making, those games are worth $1-5 dollars used now (or free if you get their Roms) for it to be something worth the price it should come with more titles. It's not like it is costing Sony anything to make the games, they made their money off of them years ago so you are just paying for the system.
That assumes you have the know-how to get all of that set up, and legally purchased copies of the games you want to emulate. For some people, the convenience is worth the money.
That assumes you have the know-how to get all of that set up, and legally purchased copies of the games you want to emulate. For some people, the convenience is worth the money.
I understand the appeal of all these new officially supported retro/throwback/classic console devices.... but IMO none of them even come close to a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ for <$50 inside a nice <$20 case (many of which even look exactly like retro consoles) with RetroPie installed on it... which can play pretty much any game from all these systems.
This argument always comes up when one of these classic systems is announced. Getting a RPi3+ setup and running RetroPie isn't exactly an average consumer level project. Plus, most people aren't going to actually backup and emulate copies of the physical games they own and only those.
It's completely fine to pay money for convenience and legality.
Yeah, that's why I said I understand the appeal... especially if you are morally opposed to pirating old games. However IMO anyone with even a basic level of computer experience should be able to easily put a RetroPie console together. Can you download some files from the internet, copy some files to a micro-SD card and follow some basic instructions to install a program via a command line interface? If so, you should be more than capable. It's really not hard at all.
I get what you are saying, and overall it's not that hard. But I would argue that anything involving a Linux command line is too much to expect out of your average person.
I get what you're saying too, but I still disagree... it's not like people really need to understand exactly what they're typing in to the CLI, they just need to type a few lines in the proper order from an installation guide. And once RetroPie is actually installed the rest is trivial since it's GUI based and from there they just need to copy the ROMs onto the mSD card and run them through the GUI (which is intuitively designed). My sister isn't tech savvy or a computer person at all (let alone Linux), but she does know how to read instructions, type and download/copy files in Windows. She has no problem operating/maintaining the Kodi media box I built her a few years ago, so I have no doubt she is more than capable of setting up and running a RetroPie console as well.
Based on the release date and form factor, I'd say this and other mini consoles are intended for holiday gifting.
It's true that emulation/piracy exists, for people knowledgeable/resourceful enough to set that up. And the actual original console can be bought used along with the game discs, for those who care to store and maintain them, and deal with the inevitable CD reading errors that will show up in a 25 year old console (god knows I dealt with plenty when the console was less than a few years old). Not sure I'd want to dump those kinds of baggage onto a gift recipient.
"I know you wanted a PSX Classic, but I got you this other thing that was slightly cheaper. Oh, BTW I hope you like Linux and all the games on it are illegal"
With all these "classic" systems coming out I really hope Microsoft jumps on the bandwagon. I really miss the original Xbox's UI sometimes.
Oh man, bad timing anyone? This comes out just as Crash trilogy came out and Spyro is about to.
That's uncool on Sony's part. I guess there's just little enough overlap of titles to double-dip on those, while giving the appearance of enough value for some gamers to buy both. Or they assume hardcore gamers buy whatever's on PS4 and don't care about the Classic, while casual gamers and gift recipients get the Classic.
Seriously, they couldn't add this in?
Agreed, the only reason I can see someone getting it is for the nostalgic feelings. For so little content, you may as well just use an emulator.
I was kinda excited until I saw that the actual device would probably be too small to handle actual PlayStation media. I've still got my copies of Valkyrie Profile, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Vandal Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Bushido Blade, Xenogears, Alundra, and Vagrant Story, and it would have been nice to be able to play them without having to dick around with emulation.
Though I'll pass on playing my original copy of Persona. The PSP version is vastly improved despite replacing the original metal boss theme ("Deadline") with J-pop ("Bloody Destiny").
Or you could go to a used gaming store and buy an original Playstation and 50 games for less than $100.
Thats a bit of an exaggeration.
Not really. The Buyback games by me sells most older games like Playstation, Xbox (OG), Sega and others for well under $5 a game. Most of those older systems go for about $40 with controllers if not less.
That math still doesn't check out, but the point is that not everyone would have access to something like that, and then you would be dealing with the fact that its a 20 year old console that didn't have the most reliable optical drive to begin with. The convenience of something brand new, solid state, and available at Best Buy is pretty nice.
And not every TV has composite-in. I've seen TVs with HDMI and component, but no composite. Converter boxes in Walmart, Best Buy, etc can be total crap, and there are plenty of knockoffs online, so for some people, it would make more sense to just get a PS Classic if it comes with enough of the games they want. (Plus, no worries about scratched disks or broken parts, and it comes with a warranty.)
Sure, but for that price it should have a much bigger library. That was the point I was making, those games are worth $1-5 dollars used now (or free if you get their Roms) for it to be something worth the price it should come with more titles. It's not like it is costing Sony anything to make the games, they made their money off of them years ago so you are just paying for the system.
Square Enix still charges $16 for Final Fantasy VII alone on phones. Doubt they'd give Sony that much of a deep discount.
I doubt they have the choice, I would assume Sony retains distribution rights under the playstation umbrella.
That assumes you have the know-how to get all of that set up, and legally purchased copies of the games you want to emulate. For some people, the convenience is worth the money.