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PlayStation-themed arcade cabinet costs over $1,000 and has limited appeal
A hobbyist-built arcade cabinet offers a PlayStation-themed way to play older games, but its price and design may limit its appeal. It is not an official Sony product, and the review argues that buyers seeking a good way to play PlayStation games have cheaper, more practical options.
The cabinet costs $1,030 plus $120 shipping and runs RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi 4, with a 19-inch widescreen display and arcade controls. Its single joystick and six buttons per player cannot reproduce the original controller’s full range, making many 3D games a poor fit; the widescreen may also stretch games designed for 4:3 televisions. The seller advertises thousands of games, raising potential legal and support concerns, while returns incur buyer-paid shipping and a 15 per cent restocking fee.
In short
- The fan-built cabinet costs $1,030 plus $120 shipping.
- Its arcade controls and widescreen may not suit many PS1 games.
- A Raspberry Pi, mini PC or FPGA console costs less.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
For enthusiasts, the cabinet offers a distinctive, ready-made way to bring PlayStation nostalgia into an arcade-style setup, with physical controls and a large library of older games. Its price may be reasonable to buyers who value the themed design, convenience and novelty more than faithful controls or the cheapest way to play.
The case against
At over $1,000 before shipping, the cabinet is difficult to justify as a practical way to play PlayStation games when cheaper options exist. Its limited controls and widescreen display may make many games less faithful to the originals, while the advertised library and costly return terms add legal, support and purchase risks.
Explained simply
Sony’s PlayStation is a video game console first released in the 1990s, designed to be played with a handheld controller and connected to a television. Many older games were made for square-shaped 4:3 screens, and some use controls that are difficult to reproduce with the joystick and buttons found on arcade machines.
RetroPie is software that can run older games on small computers such as the Raspberry Pi, while an arcade cabinet is a machine with built-in controls and a screen. This cabinet is a hobbyist-made product, not an official Sony console, and the games and controls it supports may vary.
The price and format matter because people looking to play old PlayStation games can also use original consoles or other lower-cost devices. The seller’s offer of thousands of games may raise questions about whether those games are authorised and what support buyers can expect.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Engadget as “You can have a PlayStation arcade machine at home, but there’s a huge caveat”.