PocketPSN vs RetroAchievements
PocketPSN
pocketpsn.comRetroAchievements
retroachievements.orgSide by side
| Figure | PocketPSN | RetroAchievements |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.67/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 2 |
| Spec score · Achievement trackers | 8.4 (#4) | 9.1 (#1) |
| Spec score · Game Achievement Trackers | 8.1 (#7) | 8.6 (#2) |
| Purpose | Pocket PSN tracks PlayStation games, trophies, leaderboards, and PlayStation Stars collectibles. | RetroAchievements adds achievements to retro games and lets players build profiles, track progress, and compete with friends. |
| Security and privacy | The privacy policy says the company does not process sensitive personal information and processes information for security and fraud prevention. | The terms state that personal data is processed under applicable privacy laws, protected with reasonable safeguards, and that API usage logs are retained for an appropriate period. |
| Support | The privacy policy directs questions and concerns to the company by email. | Users can report broken achievements on the website and request manual unlocks with proof of completion. |
Plans
In their own words
PocketPSN
PocketPSN is a PlayStation dashboard for tracking games, trophies, leaderboards and PlayStation Stars collectibles. It records games played, hours played, trophies and platinums, and lets users create and share custom lists. Leaderboards can be filtered to show friends. The service has Android, iOS and web versions. Its free plan includes collectibles tracking, custom lists, timezone timestamps, friend-filtered leaderboards and forum discussions. Pocket PSN Pro costs $2.50 a month, billed monthly, and adds ad-free use, automatic profile sync every 12 hours, self-sync every minute, live Twitch videos, social media links, custom banners and colors, unlimited lists, and removal of trophy card and mosaic watermarks. Account creation verifies a PSN account by asking users to place a generated code in their PSN About section. Setup instructions ask users to make their profile and games or trophies visible to Anyone. The privacy policy says the service may collect usernames, passwords, device information and usage data, and processes information for security and fraud prevention. The maker directs questions and concerns to the company by email.
RetroAchievements
RetroAchievements adds achievement goals and progress tracking to retro games. Players can build profiles, follow completion, and compete with friends. Its game listings span systems from Atari 2600 to PlayStation 2 and include Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and other platforms. Supported emulator options include PCSX2, Dolphin, PPSSPP, Flycast, and BizHawk, with choices for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, and browser-based SkyEmu.
Hardcore mode disables save-state loading, cheats, and most speed-altering emulator features. It is required for game mastery and some leaderboards. Community events include RA Roulette and Achievement of the Week, and developers can use public API documentation. Players can report broken achievements and request manual unlocks by providing proof of completion. The service is free. Its web application source code is GPL-3, while achievement trigger logic is proprietary to the RetroAchievements community. The service does not host copyright-protected ROMs. A player must be connected to the internet when starting a session, so fully offline play is not supported. System support and new features depend on volunteers.