Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 powers custom Sony PlayStation One

You’re not alone if you’re nostalgic for the PlayStation One days. Maker and developer MrNiceThings over at Reddit has been yearning for the 32-bit system of yore and recently shared a fantastic Raspberry Pi-powered upgrade to the classic console. Inside the genuine shell of an old PSOne Slim, MrNiceThings has removed the original hardware and made a CM4 the show’s star.

It isn’t the first Raspberry Pi-based PlayStation One project we’ve covered. In the past, we encountered a Pico-powered USB mouse PS1 adapter (which would be cool to see upgraded to the new Pico 2). This project, however, is designed to fit inside a PlayStation One Slim. These are much smaller than the original model, so MrNiceThings has opted to create a custom PCB, the RSPX v1.0, that will optimize the space using a CM4 instead of a full-sized Pi.

The PCB does a great job of integrating the new hardware while retaining as much of the functionality in the original system as possible. With it, you can enjoy the thrill of emulating anything you’d like that can be handled by a CM4 while indulging in the familiar look and feel of authentic controllers from that era.

To make this project, MrNiceThings is using a genuine PSOne Slim. If you want to recreate it at home, you don’t have to sacrifice a working console. A broken one should suffice if enough components are available. In this case, MrNiceThings could use both the original gamepad connectors and the disc drive.

In the thread, MrNiceThings shows off the project with a demo video. In it, we get a good look at the setup, which appears to be running Raspberry Pi OS. It gives you much flexibility regarding applications, but a project like this would be better suited with a gaming-oriented OS image like RetroPie.

If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the original thread on Reddit for more details and a video of it in action. Be sure to follow MrNiceThings for future updates, as this appears to be a work in progress.