I’m a nostalgic gamer who likes building LEGO sets, which makes me the exact target audience for the LEGO PlayStation set released earlier this month. I built LEGO PlayStation (and enjoyed the whole process from start to finish), but it got me thinking. Since LEGO is billing this as a “near 1:1 scale” recreation of the original hardware, what if I dug out my old PlayStation and compared the two? So that’s exactly what I did.
LEGO PlayStation
It turns out, the LEGO designers really did make a near one-to-one recreation of the original hardware, at least on the outside (check out my interview with one of the designers). The dimensions are almost identical on all sides of the machine. The LEGO version stands slightly taller than the original, but it’s not really noticeable unless you squat down to look at them from the side.
The front of the LEGO set is particularly impressive, with its memory card slots and controller ports. Just like with the real thing, you can plug the LEGO controller into the port on the LEGO console. The main difference is that the LEGO controller’s cord is shorter than the real thing – but that’s what you’d want in a non-functional display set, anyway.
Even the buttons on the console are similar. Pressing the Power button on the real PlayStation turns it on, illuminating a green light below the button. Pressing the same button on the LEGO version raises a translucent green LEGO piece into the same position where the light would be. The Open button is even more impressive. Pressing it on the original hardware opens the PlayStation’s lid so you can put in or remove a game disc. Pressing the same button on the LEGO set also opens the lid.
The main surface-level difference between the LEGO version of the PS1 and the real thing is the selection of ports on the back. The LEGO PlayStation lacks the red, white, and yellow RCA ports. I’m not sure why these were omitted – maybe there were no existing LEGO pieces that could suitably replicate them? But the LEGO set does have ports for Serial I/O, AV Multi Out, and AC In.
I no longer have the original PlayStation controller that came with my console. However, I still have a DualShock controller, which came out in 1997 and made controlling characters in 3D worlds much more intuitive than using a standard D-pad. The DualShock is roughly the same size as the original controller, but it features two analog sticks. The LEGO controller looks pretty similar, but is noticeably more blocky. Still, it’s a fine effort.
One of the biggest things that makes the LEGO PlayStation look similar to the original is that all of the logos and text that appear on the exterior of the console and controller are printed onto the LEGO pieces. They’re not stickers, which I would inevitably have put on slightly askew, making the whole thing look more amateurish. I’m glad they went that route.
As for the other differences? Opening the lid on the LEGO version doesn’t reveal a boring disc drive. It reveals miniature dioramas for 1997’s Gran Turismo and 1999’s Ape Escape. These are little self-contained worlds you can slide out of the set to display next to it, if you’d like. It’s a pretty cool little Easter egg for fans of those games.
LEGO PlayStation vs. the Original Console
Overall, I’m pretty blown away by how similar LEGO PlayStation is to the real thing. Turns out those LEGO designers really know what they’re doing.
Chris Reed is a senior commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’sLEGO coverageand maintains the upcoming release dates articles forvideo games,LEGO sets, and4K Blu-rays. You can follow him onBluesky.
