Multiple retailers are now posting massive discounts for the Playstation Classic mini-console, and it’s easy to see why.
You might be confused as to why a fairly new console iteration which start at $99 has now been slashed to such a low price point, where there’s lots of reasons for this. Sony made some very weird choices when creating this retro console, leading to a lot of fans looking for a Sony-based equivalent to the NES and SNES minis were left disappointed. From the somewhat questionable choice of just 20 titles, some of which were based on inferior PAL versions, to the lackluster emulation options, the whole thing was seemingly doomed to fail.
And with the reveal of these much lower prices, it seems that the bad has finally caught up to the console and things aren’t getting any better. As retailers try to dump stock, which is probably the primary cause behind this price drop, gamers might finally be inclined to buy in, but I kind of doubt it. The nostalgia trip offered by the PS Classic is just too shallow. And with no new games coming for it, the appeal of the platform will perpetually diminish regardless of the price.
So while it was a cool experiment, Sony just didn’t put enough features and support behind the project, dooming the whole endeavor to failure.
Given all of this, I wouldn’t hold out hope for a PS2 Classic anytime soon. Because with the abject failure of this outing, Sony isn’t likely to put more money into such an effort again in this console generation. And with their increased focus on PS Now and digital ports of classic games to the PS4 and Playstation Network Store, there’s a much better chance of getting classic PS2 titles on those services anyway.
If you think $40 is finally the right price for you to purchase the PlayStation Classic though, you can currently purchase one over at Walmart. Additionally, the PlayStation Classic has also been marked down to $40 on Amazon, although stocks are pretty low according to some reports.
