You can keep your crisp clear emulators or your PlayStation 2 backward compatibility. The best way to enjoy original PlayStation classics is with the tiny PSone and Sony’s plucky little LCD attachment.
I was cleaning one of my cable drawers the other day, pulling out the massive tangle of wires and sighing sadly before stuffing them back inside, when I uncovered this beautiful gaming hardware combo. I was so inspired by the discovery that I pulled the cables back out, untangled the PSOne power cord and original Dual Shock controller, and re-stuffed them once more with feeling.
Watch me play.
Sony’s made smaller versions of the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and there’s no doubt the current model will get similar treatment in the near future. But none of those were as beautiful as the PSone. Compared to the angular original, the 2000 redesign’s soft curves looked like they came from the future to help us play older games.
The five-inch display Sony made to compliment the PSone tied the whole console together. The rounded attachment looked as if it was born atop the console, even though in reality it was taking the PSone from behind. Its speakers were not the best in the world, but the combined package was so light and portable there was plenty of room in my backpack for headphones.
Sony’s left the display add-ons to third parties since the PSone, not counting the external display they made for the PlayStation 3 back when everything was going to be so 3D we couldn’t stand it. Probably for the best. It doesn’t get any better than this.