With rumours and news surrounding the PS5 coming thick and fast onto our screens and devices, it seems like a great time to revisit some of the best PS1 accessories of all time.
Sometimes, it pays to go back to where it all began. It helps you to figure out how something came to be so successful, and us retro collectors wouldn’t have much of a hobby if we didn’t love being so nostalgic.
The PS1 was the first in a great line of Sony consoles that continues to go from strength to strength. I remember back in the day when my friends were deliberating between the best N64 games and the best PlayStation games, and the tame arguments that ensued about which console was better.
I might have been a Mario man, but my Spyro-loving friends gave me a chance to check out some of the best PS1 accessories of the time, paving my way to this very article all those years later.
Table of Contents
Which Items Made The Cut?How Does This List Of The Best PS1 Accessories work?
Are All These Accessories Second Hand?
Can I Buy The Products I’m Looking At?
What’s The ‘Honourable Mentions’ Bit All About?
1. Playstation Classic Console
2. PS1 Mini Wireless Controller
3. PS1 Multitap
4. Classic Wireless Controller
5. Namco GunCon Light GunHow Do Light Guns Work?
6. True Blue Overdose Pack
7. Mad Catz Racing Wheel
8. Memory Card
9. Dance Pad Mat
10. LCD Screen
Honourable Mentions
More Content From The Retro Dodo Team!
Which Items Made The Cut?
How Does This List Of The Best PS1 Accessories work?
I’ve used my own brain and the combined might of the internet to group together 10 of the best PS1 accessories ever made. Best might not necessarily mean expensive, flashy, or weirdest – just the most useful and essential pieces of kit.
Are All These Accessories Second Hand?
Some are, but it might surprised you to know that quite a few of them are new products.
Some of the gadgets below have been made by retro gaming companies and enthusiasts who are always looking to improve on their favourite consoles, giving us a way to play that we would have never thought possible.
Can I Buy The Products I’m Looking At?
It would be pretty stupid of us if we showed you the best PS1 accessories and then didn’t give you the details on how to buy them…and we’re definitely not stupid!
You’ll find a link under each picture that will take you through to the best place to buy the gadget in question. In some cases, you’ll also be able to read other people’s reviews!
What’s The ‘Honourable Mentions’ Bit All About?
These are accessories that are either too expensive to constitute as ‘the best accessories’ for anyone to own, or items that are so rare they’re impossible to find. I like to give these a special mention to boost your knowledge (and my word count).
1. Playstation Classic Console
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First up on our list of the best PS1 accessories is the ultimate modern day version of the PS Classic.
The ‘Classic Mini’ series has taken the gaming world by storm, with consoles such as the Sega Mega Drive Mini and the highly-anticipated GameCube Mini giving retro gaming fans a chance to play their favourite titles up on their modern TVs.
The Playstation Classic console is a scaled-down version of the original PS1 that, apart from the size, is identical in every other way. The only difference is that you don’t need to install discs – all your favourite games are already pre-installed!
Take it out of the box, plug in the HDMI, and start playing your favourite games. Right from the off, you can choose from Cool Boarders 2, Grand Theft Auto, Jumping Flash!, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken 3, and 15 other incredible titles!
2. PS1 Mini Wireless Controller
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The PS1 Mini comes with two wired controllers in the box, but who wants to be tethered when you can ditch the wire and game freely!
This PS1 wireless remote from Joy Retro is the perfect companion to your new retro gaming powerhouse. With wireless capabilities that can work up to 10m away from your PS1 Mini, you can play from the kitchen while making a sandwich or on the toilet (so long as you can see the screen!).
This Joy Tech remote mirrors the original ergonomic design of the original PS1 controller and fits smoothly in the hand. It’s sleek, it has the same button set up, and is simple to use.
What’s more, it’s also priced very nicely, and you’ll get your money back if you’re not impressed!
3. PS1 Multitap
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The original PS1 wasn’t exactly multiplayer friendly straight out of the box. It only had space for two controllers to be plugged in, much like the NES, SNES, and other consoles that had come before it.
With a multitap, you could turn one controller port into a space for four controllers and four memory cards, allowing for a total of eight players to go into battle together. Now that’s more like it!
I never really new how many games could be used with this thing. Short answer; loads!
There are tonnes of four-player multiplayer titles, with around 10-15 games being able to accommodate 1-5 players and 1-8 players. If you have seven mates that can’t get enough of NFL or speed racing, then the multitap will the most important gadget on our list of the best PS1 accessories
4. Classic Wireless Controller
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Don’t think for a second that the PS1 Mini is the only console to get the wireless touch. This wireless controller from YoK might look a little bit futuristic compared to the original, but it works like a charm.
Part of the reason why I love this job is checking out all of the modern tech that gives our old consoles a new lease of life. The PS1 would never have had a wireless remote; it’s like changing history, just like with the Hyperkin Wireless N64 Remote.
Thanks to the magic of a 2.4GHz wireless receiver, the YoK controller lets you play your original PS1 discs from the chair furthest away from the TV. It runs off AA batteries and comes with a 1 year warranty.
Just don’t smash it when you lose all of your lives of Crash Bandicoot – you won’t be covered for that!
5. Namco GunCon Light Gun
Image © Wikiwand
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Of all of the light guns for the various consoles, the Namco GunCon was the gnarliest. It felt like playing Time Crisis in the arcade, but in your living room. If only Sony had boxed this gun with the smell of teenage angst, then the whole thing would have been complete.
How Do Light Guns Work?
This is getting its own sub heading, so you know it’s serious.
Light guns don’t work on modern TVs, so you’ll need to get yourself an old CRT television (Cathode Ray Tube).
Light guns such as the GunCon and the SuperScope (on our best SNES accessories list) use electron beams and measure changes in light to determine whether the place that you are targeting on the screen is correct or ‘off the mark’. It’s all incredibly clever, and it all happens so quickly that you wouldn’t even notice.
The GunCon has A and B buttons on the handle for use when selecting modes or in the absence of the arcade-foot-pedal used to hide and reload in Time Crisis. It’s a great bit of kit and a worthy inclusion on our best PS1 accessories list.
6. True Blue Overdose Pack
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While you can’t use your old PS1 discs in the PS Mini Classic Console, you can use this next device to play other games in your collection in super-sleek HD.
Apart from having a poorly chosen name that would make most parents cringe, the Overdose Pack is a great way of playing your favourite games on your PS Mini and having everything in one place.
This little USB stick adds 203 games to your Classic Mini’s repertoire and is capable of holding game save data too. A lot of fans have plumped for the Overdose Pack due to the ‘lack of classics’ on the PS Mini, so if your favourite title isn’t there, this could be a good one to add to your wish list.
7. Mad Catz Racing Wheel
Image © Amazon
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Have you even lived if you haven’t used a Mad Catz racing wheel?
Racing games are all well and good using a normal controller, but don’t you want to feel like you’re actually behind the wheel of a souped-up motor?
Mad Catz have always been the go-to-guys when it comes to racing wheels, and I remember using this one when hammering my favourite racing titles.
This wheel set-up was officially licensed by Sony and endorsed by racing legend Mario Andretti. It has eight action buttons and comes with a set of pedals; brake and accelerate. You can either use the gear stick for manual or just go fully automatic!
8. Memory Card
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The next item on our list of the best PS1 accessories might seem a little dull, but it could well be the most important.
If you wanted to save anything on the PS1, then you needed a memory card. The gaming bigwigs over at Hyperkin have made this affordable ‘Tomee’ memory card with 1MB space for your game files.
1MB seems like such a measly amount now that we have USB’s that can hold 1TB, and you’ll probably need to get a couple if you have a lot of games. Still, they’re inexpensive and great quality; what else would you expect from Hyperkin!
Simply stick this memory card into the slot above your controller port, and away you go!
9. Dance Pad Mat
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I never had one of these Konami Dance Mats, but I knew plenty of people who did. Gamers went wild for them; now you could make a fool out of yourself in your own home without all the kids at the arcade seeing your shameful moves!
The dance pad plugged into the controller port on the PS1. All buttons, directional and selection, were used by tapping them (or stomping) with your foot.
The pad was used with games like Dance Dance Revolution and still is one of the best PS1 accessories for when your mates arrive at your door with a pack of beers. It’s a good laugh and a great icebreaker, especially if you’ve been waiting to show your new partner your amazing ‘disco skillz’.
10. LCD Screen
Image © eStarland
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Last, but by no means least, is the LCD screen designed to work with the streamlined ‘PSOne’ console. This official, 5″ LCD screen came with an adapter that could be plugged into a wall socket or a car, letting you play when the TV was in use or on long journeys.
Unlike some gaming screens, this Sony flip-up monitor came with speakers built in, a headphone jack for plugging and playing at night, and an AV mini jack for connecting up other media that you wanted to see on your mini screen.
I like gadgets like this because while they’re not exactly ‘portable’ they still meant that you could play in a different room to the main TV or while eating your breakfast in the kitchen. Relive your rebel-youth and grab one of these screens today!
Honourable Mentions
It’s that time, folks. Here are some of the gadgets that didn’t make the official cut, but ones that we love all the same.
- PlayStation Mouse – A mouse that could be used on compatible games, Mario Paint style.
- Glasstron – A head-mounted, VR type display that made the wearer look a little like a VR Trooper.
- PlayStation Analog Joystick – Sometimes referred to as the ‘Fight Stick’, this double-joystick arcade pad is a beast and perfect for button mashers.
- SNES-CD Remote – The ultra-rare controller for the prototype system designed by Nintendo and Sony.
- The Memory Drive – A floppy disk drive for the PS1.
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- Check out the 15 best PSP games of all time.