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Right about now everyone is up to date with the latest Sony news. Speculation has been a bit on the heavy side from fans as to whether or not Sony is going to release a Playstation Mini. Nintendo has been on fire with their SNES Classic Mini, a re-release of the NES Classic Mini coming back out in June, and apparently a new patent from Nintendo for an N64 Mini (more on this later). Sega announced they’re working on their own Sega Megadrive Mini, which no one knows anymore if this is being made in-house or if ATGames is making it. With all of the success and hype of these classic systems being released, you’d think Sony is sure to follow-up right behind them with their own…right?
MAYBE! According to an interview on a Japanese website called Mantan Web and translated by the most lovely Google, Sony Interactive Entertainment(SIE) President Takeshi Kodera decided to speak on it, but at the same time not speak on it. The direct quote is below:
“There is nothing we can talk about at the moment. We are constantly digging up past assets and I think there are various ways of doing. There are various ways of talking about what kind of way (inside the company) It is made to have inclusion “.
A lot of people are taking this as Sony already has this in the works. It’s a nice thought, but do you think this would work? Don’t get me wrong, I love Sony but this would just be pointless. Let’s say Nintendo does launch their N64 Mini, and Sony releases their Playstation Mini within the same year, the competition is going to be rough. I personally feel like that market has already been cornered by Nintendo and Sega.
The Neo Geo Mini is being released by SNK but I don’t see that selling anywhere near as much as it’s competitors. Sony already has the backwards compatibility with their PS3 and PS4 digitally. If they were to implement that into their next system and just keep expanding their library it would be another selling point for us gamers that want those old games without having to plug up our old systems or even try buying another one for whatever reason. As of right now, the only games that can be played on the PS4 are the old PS2 games that are on the Playstation Network(PSN). If they can make all of the PS1 & PS2 games playable on their next system, then we’re set. I mean…they can even release an update for those of us that have the PS4 and let us enjoy the last 3 years of its life.
What do you guys think? Would you buy a PS Mini if Sony released one? What games would you want on there? Let me know!
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Considering how hit-or-miss companies are when it comes to releasing old games, having a PlayStation Mini would be a great idea. Alternatively, they could make a PS1 console with several games already programmed into it while also being capable of reading PS1 discs like that Genesis throwback console.
So sorry for the late reply! The thing about releasing a ps1 mini with certain games on there is that some of the games people really like are already on the psn. Secondly, not many games are exclusive titles like Nintendo, so there could be some licensing issues there, which may limit them to what they can put on there. To your point about releasing one with readable disc’s, Sony did that with the ps1 maybe a few years after and releasing a smaller version of their consoles has always been part of their formula. If they revisit this, they would need to include a huge selling point to actually make it worth the money for customers and to make sense financially for the company. Otherwise we can all go on the hunt for a ps1 again and buy it for roughly the same price.
Be that as it may, I think one of the understated benefits of these compilations is that they expose people to games they wouldn’t normally have played. While you bring up a valid point that Nintendo has a greater number of exclusive games that make buying miniaturized versions of the respective consoles a good idea, I think a mini PS1 has the potential to be a good idea as well. They would have to put a bit of thought into what to include, though.
I can agree with you on what Sony would have to put on there
Nintendo released the NES mini when it was very capable to buy those games on the Wii or Wii U, but they still did it. You could also theoretically went and found an original nes so that logic about ps mini having that issue is shown to not be a big deal.
True, but again the issue of licenses, trademarks, etc can be an issue. Even if they get that figured out – the point metal made about including a physical disc reader can be another issue. Suppose they release it at $100, why buy a mini when you can buy the first ps1(smaller version) for roughly the same price? The nostalgia factor you pointed out can play into it, but even with that – to me it wouldn’t be worth buying.
Why would they release the mini disc version and not just a similar smaller product to the Nintendo. 30 games which they already have licensed. No one would see this and think oh why don’t I just go get a 25 year old system that would look terrible on modern TVs. They would release one that would look better with hdmi I would assume. Part of the appeal of the mini is that they are simple to plug and play.. not the hassle of setting up another console to your tv.
Using the hdmi cable with the mini systems does make it simple but it doesn’t update the graphics or make it look better, so there’s no difference between a 25 yo system and the mini. I have the snes and there’s really no difference between that and the original except for slight color changes. Nothing MAJOR lol. Shifting gears for a minute, let’s say Sony does release a ps mini. What games do you think they’d put on there to make it a big seller? And what games would YOU want to see on there? That question is open to whoever wants to answer it.
Actually it does make it look better. Try playing a PlayStation game on a tv now and you’ll see the image is stretched and looks terrible. Nintendo did the exact thing and put a bunch of old games that were already easily accessible and it sold a lot. So people won’t want to play metal gear solid, final fantasy 7 8 or 9, crash 1-2-3 ( the originals play much better than the remake let’s be honest ) Spyros, twisted metals, castlevania symphony of the night. The idea that this wouldn’t sell cause someone could easily find another way to play it, doesn’t explain why Nintendo was successful at it. Like I said.. I would understand that logic if it were a less popular system.. but you are talking about one of the most popular systems of all time. A lot of people buy the nes classic or snes and don’t even play half the games seriously. I’m sure you haven’t gone through earthbound or ff6 a lot of the games on both collections aren’t that classic or great but it’s the idea that’s the selling point.
I don’t understand your logic of it being pointless to release a Playstation mini. The original Playstation sold over 100 million systems making it one of the best selling systems of all time. An N64 mini would be competition but N64 wasn’t nearly as successful (only 32 million sold) as Playstation. The mini systems are selling basically on the concept of novelty and nostalgia. Also, the overwhelming popularity of the Playstation right now actually makes it seem like a no-brainer. The one thing Xbox got right this generation was backwards compatibility with Microsoft adding the games all the time to play whether digitally or on disc. Also, they enhance the games with better frame rates and upscale them as well. Sony pretty much stated that Playstation Now is the best we will get for backwards compatibility other than digital re-releases.
The reason why I feel it’s pointless is because Nintendo has already sort of cornered the market on mini systems. On top of that sega(if made in-house) is coming our way as well. Between those two it’ll be fierce competition for Sony to release one. In my opinion it would wise to just include the backwards compatibility in an update for the PS4 or include it in the ps5 if the demand is high enough.
Cornered the market ? You think if Sony puts one of these out people aren’t going to buy it ? Part of the appeal is they are cheap. You are seriously underestimating the nostalgia factor of one of the most popular systems ever made. I could understand the argument against the Neo Geo mini cause that system was definitely not well known. Sony already has so many loyal fans plus there’s no easy way to play these games, the answer would be that mini system