Sony PlayStation Puga PS1 Controller Console Revealed

A newly revealed PlayStation Puga prototype shows Sony's canceled plan for a low-cost, battery-powered PS1 console built into a controller.

Brian Watson recently detailed the PlayStation Puga on The Retro Collective YouTube channel, showcasing a prototype that integrated an entire PlayStation 1 console into a single controller. Designed specifically for the Brazilian market, the device featured an Arm-based 650 MHz processor and 4GB of memory intended to store 10 games. The unit was powered by four AA batteries, providing approximately 20 hours of life, and connected to televisions via a cable. Despite an expected profit of only 10 cents per unit, the project was ultimately canceled because Sony could not reach royalty agreements with third parties like Rockstar or even between separate internal Sony units. While the current prototype only boots into a debug stub, the emulator developed for the Puga was eventually used in the Sony Xperia Play.