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TL;DR: A console hacker has built the world’s smallest original PlayStation motherboard using genuine hardware. The pint-size PCB measures just a quarter the size of the board found in the PS One, the shrunken down version of the original PlayStation that Sony released in 2000.

As Tom’s Hardware highlights, the motherboard in the first-gen PlayStation measures roughly 10 inches by seven inches. Sony managed to shrink that down to around 7.5 x 5.5 inches with the PS One, but thedrew’s PS One redesign checks in at just three inches by 2.5 inches. Had he used an FPGA or emulation, it could have been even more compact but the modder wanted to stick with original hardware.

The project got started in 2024, and there’s a full work log you can follow along with over on BitBuilt. It’s somewhat fitting that the working prototype is being shown off now, so close to the original console’s 31st anniversary.

The original PlayStation launched on December 3, 1994, in Japan, followed by a North American debut roughly nine months later. Sony later released a redesigned version of the system called the PS One in July 2000, before eventually discontinuing the console in 2006.

Sony never intended to enter the console market with its own branded system; instead, it was a decision by Nintendo that led to the eventuality.

As the story goes, Nintendo reached out to Sony in the late 80s to help them build a CD-ROM add-on for the as-yet-released Super Nintendo. Cartridge games were still the de facto standard at the time, but everyone – including Nintendo – knew that their days were numbered and compact discs were the future.

Nintendo aimed to launch the SNES as a cartridge-based platform and sell a CD add-on at a later date (the console shipped with an expansion port on the bottom in preparation). A handful of prototype Nintendo Play Station machines were developed but before the add-on could ship, Nintendo pulled the plug on the partnership and decided to join forces with Philips instead.

Sony continued to develop its CD-based console (likely out of spite) which ultimately became the PlayStation it released on December 3, 1994. Nintendo’s CD add-on for the SNES never materialized, and the company eventually moved on to the Nintendo 64.