PS2 discs compatibility on PS4 (via emulation) announced

[FinalBaton]

Statement from Sony is at the end :
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/201 ... atible-ps2

Looks like this could be a great way to play PS2 games on HDTVs.

The particular game shown is being given a boost in frame rate (runs at 60 fps on PS4, while it runs at 30 fps on PS2) and resolution. Looks pretty damn good.

Remains to be seen how many PS2 titles will Sony make backwards compatible on the PS4.

https://youtu.be/vA6TdEstNUg


EDIT : How can I get a youtube vid embed on here? I can do it on other forums but not here

[BazookaBen]

Thanks for the link. It would be really cool if Sony extended this compatibility to discs. This is pretty high quality emulation compared to what you see on Xbox 360 and XBox One

[Thomago]

I have a pretty big collection of EU and US games, so I hope this a) works for discs and b) is region free. Everything else would be pointless for me.

[D]

I cannot imagine Sony doing this for a lot of ps2 games. If they do, I'd get a ps4 in a heartbeat.

[ZellSF]

That's a misleading title.

While PS2 compatibility has been announced, PS2 disc compatibility has not been announced.

[Xyga]

Might give some interesting hacking possibilities.

By the way maybe a bit OT but weren't they speaking about a slightly more powerful revision of the PS4 itself ?

Could be related...or not.

[Guspaz]

Everybody is reporting this like Sony is adding general PS2 compatibility. They're not. They simply ported a few games to the PS4 using emulation. It's possible that it will never be any more than that, and this is certainly not the first time that an old game has been ported to a modern console (even the PS4) using emulation rather than actually porting it.

[ZellSF]

Everybody is reporting this like Sony is adding general PS2 compatibility. They're not. They simply ported a few games to the PS4 using emulation. It's possible that it will never be any more than that, and this is certainly not the first time that an old game has been ported to a modern console (even the PS4) using emulation rather than actually porting it.

They haven't written a PS2 emulator for like 3 Star Wars titles. More games are definitely coming, I'd expect most of the PS2 games available on PSN now.

[FinalBaton]

Everybody is reporting this like Sony is adding general PS2 compatibility. They're not. They simply ported a few games to the PS4 using emulation. It's possible that it will never be any more than that, and this is certainly not the first time that an old game has been ported to a modern console (even the PS4) using emulation rather than actually porting it.

I said in my original post that "it remains to be seen how many PS2 games they will make backwards compatible", wich definitly shows cautious optimism on my part and in no way, shape or form have I announced that compatibility for all PS2 discs will get done -_-

[FinalBaton]

They haven't written a PS2 emulator for like 3 Star Wars titles. More games are definitely coming, I'd expect most of the PS2 games available on PSN now.

This is my feeling also. I also feel like more PS2 disc will be made compatible over time, but we'll see.

[ZellSF]

They haven't written a PS2 emulator for like 3 Star Wars titles. More games are definitely coming, I'd expect most of the PS2 games available on PSN now.

This is my feeling also. I also feel like more PS2 disc will be made compatible over time, but we'll see.

Stop confusing the words "discs" and "games".

No discs are compatible now, no discs have been announced to be compatible and no discs will ever be compatible.

[jugu]

Yeah, I think Sony would rather sell you an emulated PS2 game than let you play your old disc games.

Sony gotta eat

[Guspaz]

Everybody is reporting this like Sony is adding general PS2 compatibility. They're not. They simply ported a few games to the PS4 using emulation. It's possible that it will never be any more than that, and this is certainly not the first time that an old game has been ported to a modern console (even the PS4) using emulation rather than actually porting it.

They haven't written a PS2 emulator for like 3 Star Wars titles. More games are definitely coming, I'd expect most of the PS2 games available on PSN now.

What makes you think that they wrote this thing from scratch? They wrote a PS2 emulator for the PS3 (once they removed hardware support) and they may have simply ported that. Besides that, they may release a few more, but there are licensing issues, and they'd need to get publisher permission for each game. I doubt they'll ever add a general-purpose disc approach.

[bobrocks95]

What makes you think that they wrote this thing from scratch? They wrote a PS2 emulator for the PS3 (once they removed hardware support) and they may have simply ported that. Besides that, they may release a few more, but there are licensing issues, and they'd need to get publisher permission for each game. I doubt they'll ever add a general-purpose disc approach.

Porting a PS2 emulator built for the Cell processor to the PS4 would probably be harder than developing one from scratch...

And disc licensing issues weren't a problem for the Wii U or the PS2 or the 360 or the PS3 originally, so I don't see why that would be a reason.

[Ed Oscuro]

When developing for Sony's systems, or even for developing for Microsoft Windows, developers typically agree to licensing terms. Developers don't have any ownership of the basic hardware or any libraries Sony provides. Even if a developer created something without using a license (as happens every day with third party tools for Windows development), there's no way I could see a developer claiming that Sony (or Microsoft) can't test programs to ensure its own systems function as intended. Indeed, Sony always was keen on making backwards compatibility a permanent feature of the PlayStation "format."

Whether games will actually be available digitally is something a publisher would have a say in, because that'd be new distribution. As far as disc compatibility goes, Sony probably would hear from publishers, but I don't see any reason why they must block specific games from being supported if asked. It's their hardware, and Sony has no more obligation to selectively break its own format than would Microsoft with a new version of Windows.