The LEGO PlayStation Has Two Release Dates and Both Are Right — Here Is Which One Applies to You

If you have seen two different release dates for the LEGO PlayStation, neither is wrong. They are two different ways to buy it.

The two dates

• 1 October — LEGO Insiders early access, and PlayStation's own store at direct.playstation.com in the markets it serves.
• 4 October — general availability, via LEGO.com, LEGO Stores and select retailers.

That is the whole explanation. Insiders and PlayStation Direct customers get a three-day head start; everyone else buys from the 4th.

LEGO Insiders is free to join. If you want this set and you are not already a member, signing up before 1 October is the single most useful thing you can do — early access on a licensed set with obvious collector demand is worth more than the points.

The details

• Set number: 72306
• Pieces: 1,911
• Price: $179.99 / £139.99 / €159.99

The part that makes it

The console model hides two miniature dioramas that can either sit concealed inside it or be pulled out and displayed beside it:

• A mini racetrack from Gran Turismo (1997), with tiny cars.
• A scene from Ape Escape (1999), complete with the monkey helmet.

Those are two of the most PS1-specific references LEGO could have picked. Gran Turismo was the console's best-selling game; Ape Escape was the game built around the DualShock's analogue sticks. Neither is an obvious mass-market choice, and both are aimed squarely at people who owned the machine.

Buying advice

Licensed LEGO sets tied to a gaming anniversary tend to attract collectors as well as builders, and this one carries the added pull of a 30th-anniversary tie-in. If you want it at retail, the 1 October window is the safer one.

A note on what we are not telling you: one outlet has reported a December release. LEGO's own announcement names no December date, so we are not repeating it. The two dates above come from LEGO and PlayStation directly.