Short answers, pulled from the story.
The PlayStation Classic was unveiled on the 3rd of September 2018 at the Tokyo Game Show. This announcement promised to bring the golden age of 1994 back to life in a package that was 80% smaller than the original machine.
The PlayStation Classic uses a MediaTek MT8167a Quad A35 system on a chip running at 1.5 GHz paired with a Power VR GE8300 graphics processing unit and 1 GB of DDR3 memory. This hardware runs an open source emulator known as PCSX ReARMed to execute the preloaded games.
The PlayStation Classic shipped with 20 preloaded games including Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, and Tekken 3. The full roster was revealed in two stages with five titles announced on the 18th of September 2018 and the remaining games unveiled on the 29th of October 2018.
The PlayStation Classic controllers were exact replicas of the original model that lacked analog sticks and vibration feedback found in later revisions. This design choice forced players to navigate games originally designed with analog movement using only digital buttons.
The PlayStation Classic was released on the 3rd of December 2018 which marked the 24th anniversary of the original PlayStation. The device sold 120,000 units during its first week in Japan before facing weak performance in the United States.
The PlayStation Classic sold 120,000 units during its first week in Japan but experienced weak sales in the United States with many retailers offering discounts as low as $50 within the first four weeks. By June 2019 the console was discounted to $50 in the United States and £40 in the United Kingdom as part of PlayStation Days of Play sale events.