PS1/PS2 Games Playable in 1080p on the PS4?

Lleyn

Lleyn

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Before going further, let us point out that this is a brief rumor relayed by Ahsan Rasheed. Even if the man is known for the reliability of the information he provides, take the rumor with the utmost caution and do not be too quick to give in to enthusiasm.

This rumor (and best news of the week if it turns out to be true) that comes directly from a tweet of Rasheed, states that the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games may soon be playable on the PlayStation 4, and that some of these titles could even run in 1080p. Remains to be seen whether the games will be distributed via the PS Store or the PlayStation Now that was announced last January.

This therefore echoes the persistent rumors that abound in the direction of backward compatibility, and the prospect of 1080p looks like a cherry on the cake. However, according to Rasheed, the emulation is not yet fully functional. Let's hope that this rumor is realized in the coming weeks.
 
PS1/2 backwards compatibility probably won't be through Playstation Now at first (since currently PS Now is only for PS3 games). 
And if/when they do add PS1/2 backwards compatibility it'll largely be for non-game devices. (So like a smart phone or smart TV or something like that.)

Instead they'll probably have the backwards compatibility as an emulator running inside the system. Mostly because having an internal emulator would be quicker, produce less lag and could be upscaled or have other visual enhancements added more effectively. (Plus it 's also very consumer friendly and people have been clamouring for it so I'd hope that Sony would listen... They've been pretty good about giving people what they want for a while now. )

I'm not 100% on whether they'll allow users to play with their own discs or not. (I would hope they would allow it. I mean they did on PS3... For PS1 games on all models. And early PS3s could play PS2 game discs too.)
 
I don't get this really, wouldn't this go aginst the PS now service?
 
Not if the PS Now only handled PS3 games (for PS4). While the system itself handled PS1 and PS2 games. (Either purchased digitally or using already existing discs.)

And for the Vita maybe the PS Now could start with PS3 games but then later handle PS2 or PS1 games also. (Since the Vita does have an internal PS1 and PSP emulator.)

And for things like smart phones or smart TVs they could have PS1-3 streaming. 


Then after a while Sony might go: "You can either download the game and play it locally for or you can stream it for . The choice is yours how you want to do it."
Maybe have a download of the game cost like $8-10 where streaming it costs $4-5 (for non-PS+ subscribers*) ? This way streaming is cheaper for users but at the cost they own even less than with digital distribution.

* If someone subscribes to PS+ they should either get streaming completely for free as part of PS+ or have a set amount of games that they can stream. (So maybe they can stream 3-4 games per month for free as part of PS+ and if they want more than that they can pay like an extra $5 per month or something to have more games.)
 
Well can't PS4 play pervious PSN stuff already? Making it so you can download PS1/2 games from PSN?

If it can play PS1/2 discs, what changed that the PS4 can but the PS3 couldn't? Did the tech get dirt cheap?
 
The PS4 can play PSN items... provided they've been recoded to work on PS4. But, if memory serves, they are only showing items on PS4's store that will work on PS4. 
(So say you buy Final Fantasy 7 on PS3's store because FF7 isn't showing on PS4's store. You can't then go into the PS4's store and download it onto PS4 and play there.)

Right now playing PS1 or PS2 games on PS4 currently won't work because PS4 has no emulators to play those games.


The PS3 could always play PS1 discs. (Every model of PS3 could and that's never changed.) The PS3 included a software based emulator for PS1 games. However that emulator has had to be rebuilt to work on PS4 (which is why currently PS4s can't play PS1 games).

But playing PS2 games via disc was only possible on first and second generation PS3s. (The fat models.) And that was because they had the PS2's chips inside to enable them to play PS2 games. After the newer PS3 systems had the PS2's chips removed, Sony (or other companies making re-releases) remade some of their PS2 games to work on PS3 by editing the code of those games. 

And while the PS3 was fairly powerful, it was still not powerful enough to fully emulate the PS2 via software emulation. However the PS4 is more than powerful enough to handle full software based emulation of the PS2. (But still not powerful enough to handle emulation of PS3 games.)
The PS5 might be able to handle backwards compatibility with PS3 games natively. But that's 2020 or so before that happens.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
Wait, I thought PS3 lost all playback abilities on all PS1 and PS2 discs after the 80GB model was discontinued?
Click to expand...
Only the PS2 backward compatibility was lost. The 160GB PS3 could still play PS1 games. As VirusZero said, the PS1 emulation was software based, so they had no reason to remove it. The PS2 however had a hardware based emulation, and apparently, the chip itself and the cost of implementing it on the console took a fair amount from their profit.
 
I hope that ps3 will also get an update along with ps4 that allows all ps3 models to play ps2 games. Sony lied about newer ps3's having hardware limitations that do not allow playing ps2 games
 
I think some PS1 games like Final Fantasy 7-8 are already available for PC, and game emulators on PC and Google Android, so I'm not sure if many people will buy games for the PS1 when they can buy the same game on PC, Google Android, or play them for free on emulators for Android with ROMs/Discs which they already own.

Plus, there is always a chance that the PS1-2 game which you bought on PSN won't work on the PS5, and you need to re-buy the game for it to work on the PS5.
 
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