LEGO's Original PlayStation Replica Reaches General Availability Today

LEGO's 1,911-piece recreation of the original 1994 Sony PlayStation console arrives in general retail on October 4, complete with working controls and hidden dioramas.

Sony's original PlayStation is officially back in shops today, although attempting to insert a copy of Ridge Racer into this particular version will achieve very little. The LEGO recreation of the 1994 console reaches broad LEGO retail availability on October 4 following its earlier October 1 rollout through PlayStation Direct in selected markets.

The 1,911-piece display model recreates the familiar grey [PlayStation](/platforms/playstation) shell, controller and mechanical details including working Power and Open controls and an opening disc lid. Hidden inside are removable miniature scenes referencing two major PlayStation properties: Gran Turismo and Ape Escape. The latter includes a monkey figure with interchangeable helmet-light details, while the Gran Turismo display uses tiny cars and track scenery.

The model joins LEGO's growing catalogue of videogame-hardware recreations, which has previously included the NES, Atari 2600, Game Boy and Sega hardware. These sets occupy an interesting corner of retro culture because they preserve industrial design rather than software. The original PlayStation's shape, controller and enormous circular disc lid are now instantly recognisable pieces of 1990s design history, even to people who have not heard a real CD-ROM drive spin up for years.

This version has no loading times, no memory-card management and absolutely no chance of reading your scratched copy of Tekken 3. Progress, technically.