Hallmark adds original PlayStation to its Keepsake ornament line
The $28.99 miniature console includes light and sound effects, including the full PlayStation startup chime.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
Hallmark has released a Keepsake ornament modeled after Sony’s original PlayStation, adding another game console replica to its holiday lineup. The $28.99 ornament is aimed at buyers with nostalgia for the first PlayStation and its familiar startup sound, according to The Verge’s Cameron Faulkner.
The ornament plays the full PlayStation boot chime when its power button is pressed, Faulkner reported. A green LED also lights up, mimicking the console’s power indicator.
Faulkner noted that the startup audio is more than one sound: the first portion plays while “Sony Computer Entertainment” appears on the original console’s white boot screen, while the second portion arrives with the PlayStation logo after the hardware reads a disc. On Hallmark’s version, he said, both parts play without the uncertainty that came with aging hardware.
A replica of the pre-DualShock PlayStation
The ornament is based on the earlier version of the PlayStation, before Sony’s DualShock controller became the default. Faulkner said the miniature includes several small hardware details, including the ridged sides, the rear power connection and the A/V port design Sony continued using through the PlayStation 3 era.
The controller is attached to the top of the miniature console, with its cable partly fixed along the side, according to The Verge. The ornament runs on three 1.5-volt coin batteries, which are included in the box.
Faulkner said his review unit had minor cosmetic flaws, including a slightly misaligned font on the power button, but he reported that those issues were difficult to see from a short distance. He described the ornament as understated compared with more overt gaming collectibles.
Part of a broader console series
The PlayStation model follows other Hallmark Keepsake console replicas. The Verge cited last year’s Xbox 360 ornament as the previous entry in the series.
Faulkner framed the PlayStation ornament around the original console’s place in gaming history and his own experience with fragile hardware. He wrote that his childhood PlayStation developed a broken disc spindle, forcing repeated repairs that made the wait for the second part of the boot sequence uncertain.
The full chime on the Hallmark ornament, he said, made the replica more affecting because it recreates the best-known moment of using the console without the mechanical problems that could come with an aging unit.
The ornament is listed at $28.99, with The Verge linking to listings at Amazon and Hallmark. Faulkner said the price may feel high or reasonable depending on how much affection buyers have for that era of gaming.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.