• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Sony confirms PS2 emulation coming to PS4

Okay, this means:

ssx-tricky-75378.406833.jpg


250px-Oni2box.jpg


Dragon_Quest_VIII_Journey_of_the_Cursed_King.jpeg


58275_front.jpg


Thank you, Sony!
 
GrotesqueBeauty said:
Regardless of the details this is a good thing, I'll be curious to see how far Sony takes it. The ideal would be disc based and digital, with the digital releases enjoying the benefit of reduced load times and/or trophy support for those who care about it. This would offer the incentive of making digital purchases while showing a high level of respect to customers already sitting on substantial physical collections (which I think would be brilliant PR, but only time will tell).
Click to expand...

I'd like to see it turn out this way, too.

If they have to restrict trophies to downloadable PS2 games, then that's fine with me. If disc-based games won't allow you to earn trophies, then I can live with that limitation. At least the games would still be playable on the system.

Heartfyre said:
The difference between XO's BC allowing discs and PS4's BC most-likely not supporting discs certainly come down to how those discs were formatted. On 360 as well as PS3, the console would recognise what 360 or PS3 game was placed into it before it was launched. On PS3, placing a PS1 or PS2 disc in there would only come up as "PlayStation 1/2 Format Disc", which indicates there's nothing on the disc that the OS recognises as an identifying characteristic. So while the XO can use 360 discs as copy protection for a download version, there's no indication that PS4 would be able to do the same for PS2 discs.
Click to expand...

That's a good point you brought up about how the systems identify game discs. I believe there might still be a way for the PS4 system to recognize a PS2 game disc, even though the PS3 doesn't currently do so.

Consider the method by which many computer software programs (or even the PS3) can recognize a music CD, by comparing to an online database such as CDDB. There's a possibility that the PS4 could look for data from within a certain file or specific disc sectors, then compare with an internal database (maintained by Sony) to identify which game was inserted into the system.
 
Odin Sphere
Twisted Metal: Black
Dark Cloud 2
SSX Tricky
Robot Alchemic Drive
Zone of the Enders 2
Soul Calibur 2
Viewtiful Joe
Katamari Damacy
Virtua Fighter 4
Rez
Bully
GTA: Vice City
Gran Turismo 4
Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Kingdom Hearts 2
Devil May Cry 3
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Okami
Persona 4
Resident Evil 4
MGS3
FFXII
Jak and Daxter series
Silent Hill 2
Hot Shots Fore!
Mark of Kri
Kill All Humans

Just a small list to start out. Get those on my big screen with enhanced visuals with my DS4 in hand and you'd make me an incredibly happy man.
 
Still baffled why they would confirm it in such a sad manner. Sets all kinds of warning flags to me with how well this service will be handled. Why they didn't say it was coming on the PS2 15th anniversary is just so odd. Who thought "we'll wait until people play the games from the PS4 bundle and figure it out to lightly announce it" was a good idea?
 
Jawmuncher said:
Still baffled why they would confirm it in such a sad manner. Sets all kinds of warning flags to me with how well this service will be handled. Why they didn't say it was coming on the PS2 15th anniversary is just so odd. Who thought "we'll wait until people play the games from the PS4 bundle and figure it out to lightly announce it" was a good idea?
Click to expand...

Because it seems likely that they were going to make an official announcement at PlayStation Experience, which is on the 5th December, however with the Digital Foundry article analysing the Star Wars release, Sony were compelled to offer some response and the representative offered the bare minimum for confirmation. We fully expect to hear everything at PlayStation Experience, including hopefully whether they plan to offer local emulation.
 
Agent X said:
I'd like to see it turn out this way, too.

If they have to restrict trophies to downloadable PS2 games, then that's fine with me. If disc-based games won't allow you to earn trophies, then I can live with that limitation. At least the games would still be playable on the system.



That's a good point you brought up about how the systems identify game discs. I believe there might still be a way for the PS4 system to recognize a PS2 game disc, even though the PS3 doesn't currently do so.

Consider the method by which many computer software programs (or even the PS3) can recognize a music CD, by comparing to an online database such as CDDB. There's a possibility that the PS4 could look for data from within a certain file or specific disc sectors, then compare with an internal database (maintained by Sony) to identify which game was inserted into the system.
Click to expand...
Iirc all PS2 game discs have a title ID in a text file and a low resolution cover art icon in a jpg file. I think Sony wanted PS3 games to appear more special on the XMB so they made older games look as generic as possible.
 
PsihoPerihelion said:
You're right! Didn't some composer/conductor leaked that to an audience?
Click to expand...

Yeah, Arnie Roth leaked it at a concert in Pittsburgh this year. I was there! :)

Still, it seems more likely that it'd get a full HD remake, rather than a PS2 Classic emulation, to sell for full or near full price.
 
Kenzodielocke said:
The Star Wars games can't. Something about 'not in the same region' despite being in the same region.

Screenshots, streaming and remote play works thought. Not sure about supsend & resume.
Click to expand...

IIRC, when Bluray expanded its market, it set up new Regions. Region A for Bluray is different from Region 1 for DVD.

No idea if that means anything for games, but just my two cents.
 
so does this mean ps now could expand to include some of those titles? a chunky ps2 back catalog is the only reason I'd ever consider ps now
 
X1 BC compatibility use same X360 res and framerates (well fps may end up worse or little better)

Sony solution seems more impressive since it increase the resolution 4 times and increase the fps while also applying AA solutions.

If Sony ends up bringing whole PS2 library I would be truly impressed. finger crossed for disc-based emulation so I can use my old PS2 games for free.
 
if PS1/PS2 B/C comes, I just hope they get more games on the store. Compare to disc titles, PSN is kinda pathetic. Sony just curated a lot of the big sellers to PS2 classics, so many good titles not available for download though.
 
Holy shit, the tech on display with the Star Wars games are impressive. It reminds me of PCSX2 emulation when you increase the rendering resolution of PS2 games to 4x or so. It makes the game look very clean in comparison to native PS2.

I've always championed the inclusion of BC in consoles, I look forward to how this develops.
 
Considering Sony barely made a fuss about the launch of PS2 Classics on PS3, (they mentioned it in a weekly Drop post and nothing more) it doesn't surprise me they're giving this little fanfare. I, for one, am super stoked for this. The potential to have SharePlay with these games is so exciting. Now we just need PS1 games!
 
Paracelsus said:
That sounds pretty up in the air, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

I would read the Eurogamer article linked by Wired, as they're the ones who have done the actual investigation into the emulation.

Original PlayStation 2 titles ran at a range of pixel counts, but 512x448 and 640x448 were commonplace (God of War 2 even let you choose between the two). It's still early days in our analysis, but first impressions suggest that the emulator resolves a native resolution of 1292x896. Two black lines are added top and bottom to the image, before receiving a final upscale up to full 1080p. In effect, we're looking at around 4x the pixel count - possibly higher, depending on the title. Texture filtering also looks improved, but on close inspection we think that the increased quality is probably down to the extra resolution alone.
Click to expand...
 
So.. if it's disc, it's awesome.

if it's digital.. well, how good was ps3's ps2 digital library?

they won't have INSERT NICHE GAME so i'll be disappointed.. unless it's disc of course (It won't be lol)
 
Aceofspades said:
X1 BC compatibility use same X360 res and framerates (well fps may end up worse or little better)

Sony solution seems more impressive since it increase the resolution 4 times and increase the fps while also applying AA solutions.
Click to expand...

Not really, emulating PS2 is much less demanding than emulating 360 so it should be expected they have extra resources to put into improvements.
 
Great to see it confirmed. I just hope it's done right. Drip feeding this stuff onto yet another platform isn't acceptable. I hope to god the time it's taken them to work on this emulation means they can bring the entire PS1 and PS2 selection now available on PS3 to the PS4 in a single swoop. If they do something fragmented like how Nintendo handled the Wii and Wii U VC .... fuck that.

Disc emulation is probably too much to ask for, so I'm not really counting on that.
 
If this doesn't let you play PS2 discs (which it probably won't but hopefully I'm proven wrong), I'd love to see someone grill one of the higher ups at Sony over that in an interview.
 
iNvid02 said:
so does this mean ps now could expand to include some of those titles? a chunky ps2 back catalog is the only reason I'd ever consider ps now
Click to expand...

PSNow is a completely separate project; there really is no crossover to speak of in this situation. I mean, sure, PSNow could get ps1/ps2/etc games at some point, but it has nothing to do with PS4 emu'ing PS2s.

RadarScope1 said:
Great to see it confirmed. I just hope it's done right. Drip feeding this stuff onto yet another platform isn't acceptable. I hope to god the time it's taken them to work on this emulation means they can bring the entire PS1 and PS2 selection now available on PS3 to the PS4 in a single swoop. If they do something fragmented like how Nintendo handled the Wii and Wii U VC .... fuck that.

Disc emulation is probably too much to ask for, so I'm not really counting on that.
Click to expand...

Misread. This is possible. Depends if they want to trophy wrapper every game, I suppose, and how much work that would represent.
 
Aceofspades said:
X1 BC compatibility use same X360 res and framerates (well fps may end up worse or little better)

Sony solution seems more impressive since it increase the resolution 4 times and increase the fps while also applying AA solutions.

If Sony ends up bringing whole PS2 library I would be truly impressed. finger crossed for disc-based emulation so I can use my old PS2 games for free.
Click to expand...

Is this really a fair comparison? I mean the PS2 is a system from 2000. The Xbox 360 is 2005 and had a power pc based cpu. I think what MS did with 360 emulation is a bit more impressive. Besides MS could probably do emulation for OG xbox games easily with upscaled res since the the OG xbox used an x86.

I am happy about PS2 emulation coming to PS4 as there are so many games i want to try that i missed out on. But I wont be THIS impressed until Sony does PS3 back compat.
 
autoduelist said:
Misread. This is possible. Depends if they want to trophy wrapper every game, I suppose, and how much work that would represent.
Click to expand...

I know a lot of people want this, but if putting in trophies means they have to drip feed one release a month for ages and ages, then that's just not worth it IMO. People will bitch about the trophies - not enough, too easy, too hard, no platinum, blah blah whine whine whine. Just put them out there all at once and it goddamn better be tied to previous purchases. No re-buy, no up charges like on the Wii U VC.
 
Agent X said:
If they have to restrict trophies to downloadable PS2 games, then that's fine with me. If disc-based games won't allow you to earn trophies, then I can live with that limitation. At least the games would still be playable on the system.
Click to expand...

I think this is our best case scenario if we're going to see disc-based games at all. Yeah, there's little incentive for Sony to allow discs, but if their digital releases have bonuses like trophy support to entice new purchasers and double-dippers, then tossing in non-trophy disc compatibility is a good will effort for the fans. Sony still gets their revenue for the effort from the double-dippers, and the console sales from those who would be swayed by having a new home for their PS2 collection.

However, my fear is that these "bonuses" include not just trophies but the rez boost, AA, etc. as well. I just can't see disc emulation AND all that fun stuff.
 
If rendering PS2 games HD at a non-integer multiple of the original causes issues, hopefully they'll at least offer 4x original without the extra upscale to 1080 horizontal lines, so windowboxed.

Ideally they'd render 9x, and then downscale to 1080 lines.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Is PS5 the second coming of PS2?
2 3 4 5
215
1K
onQ123 replied
Ubisoft confirms layoffs at Toronto studio, but insists Splinter Cell’s remake is still coming
10
56
Ellis replied
Sony now wants to push PS4 players to buy a PS5
Game Dev Platform  2 3 4 5
243
1K
CentralScrutinizer replied
Bethesda confirms more updates are coming to Starfield
News 
36
812
Skifi28 replied
Sony confirms monthly PS5 players eclipses PS4 players for the first time
2
52
5K
Danny22 replied
Top Bottom