PS2 Compatibility Returning to the PS3? New Patent Provides Hope
At launch, the original 20GB PS3 (which I still use daily) and the 60GB PS3 both had an emotion engine chip (the brains behind the PS2) built in. So you could thrown in a PS2 disc and your PS3 would play it happily.
To save money Sony created a software emulator for the PS2, so the consoles from a while back would play PS2 and PS3 games, but not every PS2 game. Fans complained.
Instead of updating the emulator, Sony implemented the "PS3 First" strategy. All PS3's since that point offer NO backwards compatibility. Fans cried. Heck, I cried.
That's where we are today, if you want a PS3 that plays PS2 games, you have to go hunting for an older used one. But there's hope!
Recently Sony patented new PS2 software emulation. While it's all speculation at this point, we could be seeing PS2 comparability come back to the PlayStation 3. The big question, will it be free? Or will it be a premium firmware upgrade? Or will it only be available on special "new" PS3's? Only time will tell.
[Source: PC World]
Comments
I’m not too worried about this happening, but it would be nice. I’m having a hard time keeping up with my new games as it is. I hope it will work for all systems, though.