PS3000 test report – buy cheap from 42€ (05/2023)

When it comes to the topic of retro consoles, many people probably think directly of handhelds or maybe a Raspberry Pi PS 3000 introduce. A retro “console” in the form of a simple HDMI Android TV stick that comes directly with 2 wireless controllers. If you are now also curious, you can buy the console for a small price 42,44€ on Geekbuying.com bestellen.

Interesting concept for 2 players

As already mentioned, the actual console is just a TV stick, so there won’t be any major design surprises here. On one side is the HDMI connector and on the other side the stick has one USB-A Port for a controller dongle and a micro USB port for the power supply.

There is another one on the side Micro-SD Kartenslot on which the supplied games are located.

Die two included controllers have a very close resemblance to the old Playstation 2 controllers, but look quite cheap on the manufacturer’s pictures. Well measured by the total purchase price of just €45 or less…
The HDMI stick is also called 4K Game Stick sold, except for the name, nothing differs here.

Solid hardware for many systems

In the stick is a Cortex A7 Dual Core Prozessor installed, in combination with 256 MB RAM is responsible for the emulations. According to the manufacturer, the hardware is sufficient for the systems PS1 / CPS / SNES / NES / GB / GBA / GBC / MD and many more. As operating system comes Linux mit RetroArch for use.

The built-in SD card slot allows you to add or remove your own games on the TV stick. In addition to the TV stick, the scope of delivery includes the two controllers already mentioned, an HDMI extension, a micro-USB cable and a user manual.

Test reports / experiences / opinions

As usual, we couldn’t resist the offer ourselves and ordered the inexpensive Retro HDMI Stick Bundle. 😀 The imprint or the application as a 4K Ultra HD stick is of course complete nonsense.

Easy commissioning

Even if you’re not really tech-savvy, you’ll hit the HDMI port to connect the stick to the TV or monitor. In order for the whole thing to actually work, however, the micro-USB cable must also be plugged in and operated via a USB port, if available directly on the TV.

(Plug&Play HDMI + USB power supply)

The same goes for the well-known Amazon Fire TV Sticks. It just doesn’t work without an additional power supply. If the HDMI TV Stick does not start up directly, there is a power button above it that puts it into operation.

(A simple interface awaits us)

In the free USB port right on Retro TV Stick comes the dongle for the two controllers. They still have to 2x AA batteries are inserted, but are missing from the scope of delivery. There is one on the underside Slider to put the respective controller into operation.

The connection is recognized promptly and you can make your choice directly in the menu with a number of games. I couldn’t persuade a Microsoft Xbox controller to work via USB cable during the spontaneous test.

(A nice copy of the originals, the switch to turn it on can be seen in the middle between the analog sticks)

Moderate material quality

You can see it a little on the product images: the The Retro HDMI Stick and the two controllers tend to use cheap plastic. They should not be subjected to heavy loads. At this point you notice at the latest that it is a very cheap bundle. At least you don’t feel any corners or sharp edges. So far everything works perfectly.

(The material quality is only moderate, but sufficient)

Solid controls

You can see and feel that the controllers are only based on the original Sony. The same applies to the accuracy of the keys and the tumpsticks. Most games can be played quite well with the directional pad or analog stick. At the latest with the large number of beating games you will not be able to carry out one or more maneuvers as cleanly as usual.

Just one example: Hadoken or Shoryuken. It works, with a little practice, but doesn’t work when it’s supposed to. This may be a bit annoying, but it doesn’t really reduce the fun of the game.

What is somewhat surprising is that the key assignments on all systems seem to be set as they should be, only the Playstation emulation uses a different mapping that cannot be easily changed. For example, the square button is on the square button. For whatever reason.

Good performance of the emulations

Dank Plug & Play you are quickly ready to go on an appropriate playback device to play the numerous games that are pre-installed. The highest of feelings is an emulation of the Playstation 1. Here you can see that not much more performance would be possible.

Crash Bandicoot 3 runs well playable, but you have the feeling to perceive a short mini stuttering every now and then. Street Fighter EX+ Alpha, for example, also plays well, but like Sony’s mascot, it doesn’t always feel entirely smooth at times.

(Sony’s Playstation 1? No problem)

The rest of emulations be it GameBoy, Gameboy Colour, Game Boy Advance, SNES, Mega Drive and Arcarde machine emulation, these run wonderfully as you know them from before.

(The 8/16 bit era runs without problems)

Conveniently, one can press Start and Select one small menu call to also to create saves or retrieve, the game can also be ended here or, if supported or functional, the disc of the PSX can also be changed, but multidisk games are not on the MicroSD card before. If a system has its own storage options in the game, this worked without any problems.

(Either save & load via the system’s own menu, or save there if supported in games)

Most games are in English. Some titles also in Chinese or Japanese. Some games may have an incorrect thumbnail or none. Sometimes there is also a wrong name, but mostly it fits. At least what I’ve tried. According to the system counter, we are over 10,000 The title. 😮

Are the games legal?

As usual, it remains with a full: No! Basically, what is being sold here is a device that allows for emulation (which is not forbidden), but at the same time comes with a ton of games in the form of unlicensed pirated software. If you own the originals, you can put them on the MicroSD stick and simply delete the rest. Then you would be legal.

The whole topic of emulations is still treated as a gray area. Because many of the old consoles, machines and game manufacturers no longer have a financial interest in the games. Only Nintendo is still very far behind.

Conclusion

It works on paper PS3000 first of all interesting and solid, especially the somewhat different concept, brings back the feeling of the good old Couch Coop, which is how we usually started.

The quality of the stick and the two controllers are not on the level of a Playstation 2 controller or cheaper offshoots.
Mind you, this is still a device from ~45€. Thanks to the operating system and the built-in hardware, the game performance is smooth, certainly not always perfect, especially PSX, but everything is playable.

All in all, the PS3000 makes you curious and eager for battles in front of a big screen that will put friendships to the test.

The only pity is that I couldn’t change the incorrect key assignment of the PSX emulation.

Features

• Retrokonsole
• HDMI TV Stick
• 2 Controller
• 3500 games