The 18th October issue of Weekly Famitsu includes an interview with Sony Interactive Entertainment senior vice president and Japanese business operations department chief Oda Hiroyuki regarding the Playstation Classic.
東京ゲームショウ2018、SIEブースではSIE織田博之氏が登壇。昨日発表されたプレイステーション クラシックの実機を公開。TGSのSIEブースで展示するとのこと。
本日11時から、PS plus加入者限定で抽選先行予約の申し込みスタート！#TGS2018 #PSクラシック pic.twitter.com/OFH0O2SUAr
— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) September 20, 2018
The intervew commences with Oda being asked what led to the conception of the PS Classic. He says that it is due to 3rd December 2018 being the 25th anniversary of the original Playstation, and how with 80 million PS4 consoles having been sold it would also be an optimal time to release such an item.
Oda says that the main target for the PS Classic would be former Playstation 1 users, but they would like people who never had the chance to do so to play the games as well.
The games being included in the PS Classic were chosen based on popularity, and there will small differences in the lineup between the Japanese and non-Japanese releases.
The interviewer brings up the demand for the PS Classic and how it is going to be a limited release, and how fans are thus worried that they might not be able to purchase one; To this, Oda says that they had thought they had prepared enough, but the response after the announcement greatly surpassed their expectations, and the result is purchasers being determined by drawing lots. The interviewer mentions about how fans are also worried about resellers and asks whether they are doing anything to handle this, but Oda simply says that PS Plus members will be able to draw lots to pre-order the PS Classic in advance. When asked if they will produce more to meet fan demand, Oda says that its nature as a fan item means that they will keep it as a limited run.
The PS Classic is an entirely new design, and as such PS1 memory cards and controllers will not work with it.
The interview concludes with Oda saying that he hopes that the people who used the original Playstation will continue to use Playstation platforms, and that he hopes that they will play not just the nostalgic games on the Playstation Classic, but the latest ones as well.
The Playstation Classic will be released on 3rd December 2018.
