At Paris Games Week, Sony’s Jim Ryan, the President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, pooh-poohed the idea of backward compatibility on the PlayStation 4. The exact quote he gave to Eurogamer was, “The next generation comes along, and people just jump at it. It gets talked about, and it’s always high on the list of what people want, but it’s not a feature that gets used that much. Our focus is on the new games.” It made it seem as though Sony wasn’t working on resurrecting the past games we’ve loved so much. The funny thing is, a lot of contradictory material has come up that suggests backwards compatibility isn’t such a pipe dream for the PlayStation 4.
Instead, we keep seeing steps that allow people to enjoy games from the past on their new system. Granted, it seems like most of these options involve reinvesting. It’s still a positive sign that Sony is working to keep the past alive for people who are focusing on the PlayStation 4. You just have to keep your eyes open.
PlayStation Now is a fantastic source. It isn’t the most affordable rental or subscription service, but it does give people who are willing to pay access to an assortment of PlayStation 3 games that can be played on a PlayStation 4 or Vita. What people don’t realize is how large this library is. Over 400 games are immediately available, with 105 recently added from Capcom and other publishers. Not all fall under the subscription program, which is $19.99 for one month or $44.99 for three, but that’s not the issue here. The point is that people can play PlayStation 3 games in a round-about way.
Most exciting, however, is the recent reveal of PlayStation 2 emulation. People who purchased the Star Wars Battlefront PlayStation 4 bundle received bonus downloads of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter , and Star Wars: Racer Revenge . We only just learned that these are the PlayStation 2 versions of the games running on the PlayStation 4 via emulation, paving the way for more games. Sony even went ahead and confirmed that it is working on more emulated titles. PEGI, the Pan European Game Information, even recently rated the PlayStation 2 classics Ape Escape , Dark Cloud , and Twisted Metal: Black again. It’s a sign of good things to come.
The only thing left out seems to be original PlayStation games, but there’s even a sign that could come as well. It’s old, but it’s there. In 2014, a source told Eurogamer that Sony was working on PlayStation and PlayStation 2 emulation for the PlayStation 4. Well, part of that is already coming true, so who’s to say the other half won’t? The PlayStation 3, Vita, and PlayStation Portable already have a robust library of PSOne Classics to choose from. Allowing people to tap into that on the latest console only makes sense.
We’re definitely in a wait and see situation. Sony’s already confirmed one form of emulation for the PlayStation 4, and more could very easily and up following. The important thing to note is that the Xbox One isn’t unique in allowing people to experience a blast from the past. The PlayStation 4’s backwards compatibility isn’t as easy or fully formed yet, but wheels are in motion and we have some things to work with.