LEGO and Sony have rebuilt the original PlayStation in bricks, and the adult-focused set is now available on LEGO’s own store and PlayStation Direct. Press the Open button, and you won’t find a disc tray. Tiny buildable scenes from early Sony hits are waiting in there instead.
Set 72306 packs 1,911 pieces for $179.99 in the US (€159.99 in Europe and £139.99 in the UK). LEGO Insiders got early access on October 1, the same day PlayStation Direct opened orders in the US, the UK, and nine European countries, while everyone else could buy at LEGO.com and LEGO Stores from October 4.
A beat-up PS1 is cheaper, sure, but that misses the point. Nobody’s buying the LEGO x PlayStation set just to play Tekken 3—you’re paying for three nights of relaxed building with a podcast on, and something cool to throw on a bookshelf afterward. Compared to the rest of LEGO’s display line, $180 hurts, but it’s pretty standard price-gouging for them.
Despite a clunky controller build, the main 26 cm console body gets almost everything right. Pressing the functional Open and Power buttons pops open the lid to reveal micro-dioramas of Gran Turismo and Ape Escape (featuring a color-swapping monkey helmet). While both dioramas can be pulled out to sit on a desk, the hidden cartridge mechanism is the set’s standout feature.
The controller is where things get a little weird, though. LEGO modeled the launch-era pad with no analog sticks, yet Ape Escape was built around twin sticks. The set’s own controller couldn’t play the game it’s celebrating.
LEGO.com bundled a free Astro Bot (40899) with orders over $150 from October 1 to October 7, while stocks last. Going by the frustrated buyers I’ve been reading, that stock dried up days ago. PlayStation Direct sold the little guy on his own for $25, and that page shows out of stock as well. Please don’t pay resale markups for a gift-with-purchase.
Crash Bandicoot was my first guess for a PS1 tribute. Sony never owned Crash. Going with two series it controls in-house keeps the licensing simple, and I’d bet that’s why the most famous mascot of the era is missing from a set meant to sum up the console’s early years for everyone who grew up with that grey box under the TV.
One last gripe. A 1,994-piece count, matching the console’s launch year, would’ve been the easiest Easter egg LEGO ever missed.