This Entry Has Been Superseded By This Article: A Final Commentary On The Whole PlayStation Classic Power Supply Mess
When the PlayStation Classic was announced earlier in the week the reception was mixed, with most of the commentary following the same lines as Nintendo’s retro-console entries. There was one complaint that was rather specific to the PlayStation Classic, however, as opposed to these previous entries.
[Update 6/14/2019: I don’t understand why this is still getting hits. It’s been half a year since the PlayStation Classic was released. There is no new content and discussion to be had, and a follow up has been written, making this entry a moot point. Why it keeps getting so many views is beyond me. The follow up to this article can be found here.]
The PlayStation Classic does not come with a USB power supply, only a USB cable.
This has quite a few people upset for reasons that I just cannot grasp. Not just in an “I don’t get it” way, but in a “you seriously don’t know why they aren’t providing one” kind of way.
The PlayStation Classic requires a USB power source rated at 1 amp of power. It uses a normal USB type A cable. Absolutely nothing about it is special or proprietary. These kinds of power supplies have been provided with nearly everything for pretty much the past decade, it would seem. I’ve yet to find anyone who enjoys technology even a little bit who doesn’t have several of these power supplies lying around the house. Every new cell phone you buy comes with one. Every tablet, every random device it seems has at least a 1 amp power supply.
So, people have sources of power for this thing. I’ve heard that studies have found people are actually getting tired of USB power supplies being provided with every device – they just keep using the same ones they already have plugged in, swapping things as need be.
Of course, your experience and situation may vary. That’s how things are, but from the point of view of Sony, it’s very safe to presume that most anyone who would purchase the console has access to a power supply that can run it, and may not want or need another one.
There is one more factor here that is worth mentioning as far as powering the PlayStation Classic, and I think it’s the most hilarious element of all with regards to this whole issue.
Most HDTV’s have USB ports on them. These often provide enough power to run devices like the PlayStation Classic, negating the entire need for a separate power supply. Now sure, I can’t say for certain that any given TV will provide 1 amp, but I would imagine most relatively recently made HDTV’s would be able to, and considering this device, much like a ChromeCast or other similar media device powered by USB, is being connected to the TV set anyway, it only would make sense to use an onboard USB port for power – hell, I’ve done it with my NES Classic Edition with no issues, and who outside Sony knows for sure how much power the PlayStation Classic will actually need versus what it’s rated for? The power supply that came with my NES Classic was rated at 1 amp, so take this all for what you will.
My point is, there is really no reason to complain about the power block not being included like it’s some kind of serious issue – it really isn’t. It’s very unlikely that someone purchasing this will be in a situation where they don’t have some way to power it, and power blocks can be gotten used for dirt cheap if someone desperately has to have one, which I doubt will be the case.
Granted, Sony still could have provided one. I’m not trying to say they were somehow good in choosing not to provide one, I’m just giving reasons why it isn’t actually a big deal and the probable reason why they chose not to do such – it’s not at all the crazy idea people think it is, and indeed is better thought out than Nintendo’s New 3DS, where they treated the console as an “upgrade” and didn’t provide a power supply in it – since it was a proprietary power source, people had to spend extra on said PSU if they didn’t already have a previous 3DS.
USB power is ubiquitous. That simple. This isn’t an actual issue.
[Update: I’ve written a follow up to this article, which can be found here]
Phones and laptops these days use USB 3 Type-C, which is what Sony should have used. USB 3 hubs supply 900mA and work with NES and SNES classic but not the PS Classic. One person connected it to the Switch dock and the PS Classic blew up! I found an old adapter but it was only 500mA. The Raspberry Pi power adapter has a short non-detachable cable and is 5.1V, not 5V. I did find a solution eventually (an ancient brick that makes a loud hum when on…) but it’s indeed an annoyance.
Interesting to hear. Sony would have done well to include something more current, for sure (no pun intended there) and USB Type-C would have been a very modern and elegant way to go about things, as well as fitting specs well!
I’m surprised to hear of one “blowing up” (quote for phrasing, not for doubt) with a Switch dock — seems like something was engineered wrong somewhere. Also seems like a bit of an extreme option to try to power the thing, but it’s an idea nontheless.
I wonder what issues others are actually having — for comparison sake, my cell phone power supply, a generic little Samsung one I have about 5 more of — is rated to supply power fine. Those are the little devices I speak of in the article which was written months ago when the Classic was still a bit of a mystery, and it seems Sony has really dropped the ball on this one on all fronts — laughably so.