Thoughts on the PlayStation Mini Game List: A Gamer's Lounge Community Conversation
It feels like it’s been a year since PlayStation officially dropped the list of twenty games that are coming to their mini console. In that time, we’ve had the come-and-go rumblings of an alleged N64 mini that was supposed to be introduced during the last Smash Direct (it didn’t), and the talk of the PlayStation Mini has waned. Is there a lack of interest in it? Is this something that only Nintendo has the “magic” for? On October 29th we posed this question to our Facebook community. Here are some of the answers:
Ryan (me!): For me it's a solid list of good games but it makes me remember how many amazing ones the PS1 had. CastleVania: SOTN needs to be on there. I'd put Twisted Metal 2 in over 1. A Tomb Raider.
The one thing I can hope is they're using this for either series that are still popular today or ones they could debate resurrecting, to get a feel for what people want. I need a new Ridge Racer and Twisted Metal.
John (site founder): Some interesting choices especially for the $100 price tag. Persona was a surprise to me. Rainbow Six is the odd one out imo. When I think PS1 that isnt one of the first 20 games that comes to mind.
Johnathan: You're right it IS weird that there isn't a Tomb Raider on there. Re: Twisted Metal, the "I'd have picked the sequel" problem is one that PLAGUES these mini-consoles -- folks at the company pick the one they think is more iconic, not the one that's actually more fun. (Or they want to head off the opposite complaint from the less-in-the-know majority, "BUT WHERE'S PART 1?!" Betcha that's a MAJOR factor.) Betting SotN isn't on there because Sony just released Requiem w/ that and Rondo of Blood on PS4. Oh, and Persona? I just looked that up on eBay -- that game alone goes for twice the MSRP of this thing on the aftermarket these days (almost that much just for the disc!). Perils of a series that verrrrry slowly picked up steam in the West over the past 20 years, so from that standpoint a very smart inclusion. Hell, that might move some minis on its own. All that said, I know for a fact if I buy one I'm going to start a game of FF VII, play that for maybe a week, and then spend the entire next month playing Puzzle Fighter every night to the detriment of everything else I should be doing ...
Derick: I became less excited. Where is Parappa the Rapper? Where is Tony Hawk?
Heather: I’ve never played the playstation i dont think. Other then we used the ps2 for a dvd player for a short time.
Brian: I never had a PS1, so I don’t really know what most of them are either.
Erik (staff writer): I don't think I'll be getting one
Dexter: Ehh. This is a really mixed list.
Overall, the hype for this machine isn’t there like I feel Sony expects. It’s a solid machine with a few tough decisions. Lack of dual analog sticks helped the price but killed some interaction possibilities. It could have been a game changer by being a fancy shell around a PSTV shell allowing you to download more classic games, but that would have added to the price as well. The big issue is licensing. Nintendo owns a good chunk of their “stable” of amazing games outright, so rereleasing is a walk in the park. Buy a couple Final Fantasy or Earthbound licenses and you’re good to go. Sony’s big push was a lot of third party support. Many of those are rereleasing as HD updates and don’t want to cut into that sale (Spyro, Crash Bandicoot) or would be too expensive to relicense music (Tony Hawk). The original PlayStation was also an RPG beast, and a lot of wish lists contained 90% games that were 80 plus hours long. That might not appeal to the masses. Many popular games are also available digitally, even if it’s back on PS3 or PSTV.
Hopefully Sony does well enough to release a PS2 classic, because I could throw together a wonderful list of games for it. But for now, I’m just hoping that they remembered to pack long enough cords for the controllers! Want to get in on the next Community Question? Keep an eye on our Facebook page: one usually goes up on Monday or Tuesday of the week. Follow us there and keep up with the community and all the cool games we are reviewing over there!