Sony's Hirai: We Won't Promote PS2 Games - End of the road for PS2 support?

Spong writes: Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), has raised some interesting questions regarding his company's strategy regarding PS3 backward compatibility and the future of PS2 gaming.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Hirai said, "We want to promote games only available for PlayStation 3. The introduction of the 40-gigabyte model is in line with that strategy".

Before the crashing tedium of fanboy ranting begins elsewhere, let's analyse the statement:

Hirai did not say, "We only want to promote games available for PlayStation 3".

So, don't read this as "We won't promote non-exclusives". It would be insane for Sony not to co-promote non-exclusives such as Assassin's Creed or Smackdown vs Raw, which would help sell hardware.

What this re-statement of intent is more likely to mean is that days of the PlayStation 2 are well and truly numbered.

At this point, spong likes to remind you of Kaz's assertion that, "The introduction of the 40-gigabyte model is in line with that strategy.''

One of the most notable missing features of the 40GB PS3 is its lack of backwards compatibility. Doesn't it appear counter-intuitive to drop backwards compatibility and also pull support from PS2 itself?
Not if Sony plans to shift its focus with regard to PS2 games towards making them available over the PlayStation Network as legacy titles, or 'PlayStation Originals'?

That is, of course, a bit of a stretch - but it remains a possibility nonetheless. A possibility that could be supported by a recently spotted job vacancy for someone to work on PS3 backwards compatibility, in spite of the fact that Sony's most prevalent PS3 model has none.

[The Killer]

everybody knows it has games now they are cheap and in 1000's and its a DVD player!
i think people(casual people in specific) need to know more about ps3 and its capabilities! here in where i live middle of europe didnt even heard of the notion BLUE RAY PLAYERS or HD-DVD, and certainly they dont know about ps3 can run OS or brows internet or wireless etc!
they should focus now on ps3 and psp!

[marinelife9]

2009 will be the last year for PS2's 10 year run. It's a mixed bag for Sony because they make a profit on each PS2 sold let alone on the games themselves. But for long term profitability they have to let it go because the PS2's existence hurts PS3 sales.

[Cyrus365]

1.1 I think that's what they want to do. As for every PS2 sold right now, that likely means there not getting a PS3 for awhile.

[killer_trap]

oh well.........thank you for the good times PS2, you'll surely be missed.

[ravinash]

One thing I'm concerned about (not for my self as I have a 60GB model) is if they only sell the non BC model and stop selling PS2, there will be no way for people who already own PS2 games on disk to play them. This would force them to buy the game again through PSN.
I know that at the moment their only talking about the marketing, but one day they will stop making PS2s. Hopefully by that stage PS3 model will be released with BC again.
Or the PS4 had just come out with BC.

[killer_trap]

i don't think he said anything about stopping the ps2 production. they'll keep making ps2s for 2 more years at least.

and no true gamer would get rid of his game console. i do have the 60GB ps3 and my ps2 is where it belongs now(in the retiered console drawer next to NES,SNES,NEO-GEO....exctra)

give a console away you say..............i'd rather give away money, it's a lot more helpful.

[ravinash]

I understand what your getting at....but machines break down over time. So as long as there is an option to use your original game cd it should be fine. thats the only point I was trying to make.

[coolfool]

Although they haven't said it I think it is only a matter of time before they stop manufacturing and selling the PS2. I think this will coincidently (or not conincidently as the case may be) be timed with the announcement that backwards compatibility will make a return.

BC is an important feature for me and unfortunately I didn't get a 60Gb model so I think I will wait for the BC PS3 when it returns......*fingers crossed*

[BrianC6234]

Sony isn't stopping their support of the PS2. What Hirai most likely meant was Sony won't be spending marketing money advertising PS2 games. The marketing people will be pushing the PS3. And why not? The PS2 is the past. The PS3 is the future. But it doesn't mean you kill the old console off like Microsoft did with the Xbox. You keep selling the PS2 and games as long as people want it.

By the way, the PS2 is really cheap now. If you're worried about your PS2 dying and having no way to play old PS2 games maybe you should buy a new PS2 and pack it away. Then you can use it if your PS2 dies. I'm not worried about it myself. I have a 60GB PS3 that can play PS2 games.

[pornflakes]

Although iam an xbox360 fanboy i have to say that Sony does it right. Time to promote ps3 games only. the PS2 has done its job very good with a very long lifetime. But also SOny boys have to say "good bye" to the good old ps2.

[BrianC6234]

It's way too soon to say goodbye to the PS2. It has lots of great games that are still worth playing. Too bad the Xbox was killed so young. It could have kept going another couple years at least. But Microsoft has figured out they need to do things the way Sony does. Keep supporting the old console.

One reason I believe this is a good idea though is younger kids are usually a generation behind. Kids can't be trusted with a $300+ console and $60 games. The PS2 is now really cheap and the games are dirt cheap. Now their parents can buy them a PS2 and they can play a lot of great old games. Would you trust a seven year old with 360 games? And I mean taking care of them.

[Xeikon]

Time for the PS2 to join the big system dump in the sky...

No one can complain, no system has ever had the level of support given to the PS2.

[mistertwoturbo]

Goodbye PS2. You were great, gave me to great franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and Gran Turismo. You will be sorely missed.

[Equinoxe_7]

Bye Playstation 2 the greatest of all consoles, but I think Playstation 3 will follow.

[SRuN4]

sooner or later this had to happen. you cant continue to support a last gen console and expect people to make that move to newer hardware. ps2 had a good run and im sure small time start up devs will still look to it to launch their studios, but now even that is being replaced by XBLA and PSN title development.

[ReBurn]

All good things must end. I can understand. As long as the PS2 is supported people don't really have an incentive to buy PS3. Unless they have an HDTV, that is.

[OgTheClever]

Well, ps2 support has to end eventually. Arguably it is the ps2 currently holding back ps3 as it's the only last generation console still selling. I think there could still be another 2-3 years of reasonable ps2 sales, which the profit will hopefully be beneficial to ps3. I personally am going to make the step up to ps3 in the next month or two.

Goodbye ps2, you've given me some of my happiest memories, and hopefully ps3 will go beyond that.

[Rocko]

Don't have any any PS2 games. They need to drop the goddamn thing to $99.99 already.

[HarryEtTubMan]

LOL why??? It just outsold the 360 worldwide in Decmber... the biggest moof the year along with PS3 and PSP.

[Genki]

Say what you want about the guy, but he really was the cornerstone of the Playstation brand.

Yeah, we all know business is driven by the dollar, but thankfully there usually are a few folks out there who actually give a damn about their craft and strive to perfect it. Molyneux, Kutaragi, Carmack, and Kojima are just a few examples of individuals who can strike that balance between marketability and really achieving something special in their respective fields.

When people like that quit, move on, or whatever the case may be, things are bound to change, because like most people say...it's all about the buck.

Not saying Hirai is wrong for his strategy, plan, philosophy, or whatever you'd like to call it, but this is just my take on the matter.

[Matsuiichi]

I always thought that it would have been smarter to keep backwards compatibility in the PlayStation 3, while still supporting the PS2. As less and less games came out that were good for it, people would want to step up and go to a new console, and they would be able to play everything on their PS3 without a hitch when they made the switch.

However, I think that the scheme they have now is still working well. This would have happened no matter what course of action they chose---you want to begin the phasing out by making it disappear from the visible market.

PS2, you will be missed, but you will always have a special place in the pantheon of gaming consoles.

[Jamegohanssj5]

I'll give PS2 about 3 more years, then we can give our farewells.

[gnothe1]

3 more years are you serious!! why would a developer continue to pump out games on a system when the system is now NOT the main focus of the system maker!! MS announced there now moving on to its next console an what happen after that, most ALL developers shifted the games to next gen. that was the reason alot of 360 first year games looked liked HD PS2 games because actually they were!!

[shine1396]

But I think they had too. Microsoft stopped Xbox right in its tracks. It was never naturally wound down. It was totally stopped. I reckon Sony is gonna do it the playstation way (with the exceptance of BC). Ps1 to Ps2=ps2 to ps3.

Last time it was Sega Dreamcast, SOny PS one, PS2 and N64...and then Xbox. Now its X360, Wii, Ps2 and Ps3.
In my opinion though it may be controversial, Nintendo didn't have enough capital to keep up with the PS3 and 360. (They work in the same industry they knew roughly what the others were doing) Sony and Microsoft have enough money to lose on hardware and make it back on software in the long term.(they work in the same industry they knew what the others were doing). They had to make money off every single wii. They couldn't sell on product specs so they have to sell on re-innovation.

[N4GayFanturds]

"Before the crashing tedium of fanboy ranting begins elsewhere, let's analyse the statement:

Hirai did not say, "We only want to promote games available for PlayStation 3"."

It's insanely funny how game reporters and journalists have to go out their way in an article to avoid fanboy attacks.

The force is strong with you Sony fanboys. The industry is well aware of Losers like you.

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

"The force is strong with you Sony fanboys"

that is NOT a bad thing.

your time is DONE.
our time is NOW.

get used to it.

"The industry is well aware of Losers like you."

and we are well aware of HATERS like, you.

go cry in a corner somewhere and watch a HD-DVD.

[Genki]

There's two sides to that coin, buddy.

Believe it or not, I COMPLETELY agree with you. It is absolutely ridiculous that fanboys and extremists have gotten so bad that journalists have to acknowledge them now. Let's not forget though that 90% of the flame wars are ignited by gaming journalism...the fanboys just perpetuate it, but I digress.

Anyway, this applies to all fanboys genius, not just in your world where the only people are Sony fanboys and gamers.

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

because the $299 ps3 is coming, SOONER the you think.

[sak500]

He cannot say that as they need something to fall back on in case if the current trend continues and ps3 fails even this year to sell software. the devs will stop making games for it and it willonly be used for blu movies.

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

the ps3 is only for bluray.

look, i have a 1080p TV, i have 10 games, NO movies.

so please STFU.

[ravinash]

We've seen today that sales of software in Europe for PS3 software is on par with 360 and is catching up in total sales....Japan is a given. So now they just need to get the sales up in the US which will happen with the sofeware coming out this year.

[Haiku4Fanboys]

PS2 is great
Only fools live in the past
Time now to move on

[QuietStorm]

IMO, I think not including the backward comp. on the 40gb was a bad move. If they would have included it, I think it would had sold more unit by now. This would have been a good transition piece for ps2 to ps3. They just need to do a xbox move and just forget about the ps2 and focus their attention all on the ps3. In 2009 or 2010, just stop producing ps2 games period.

[KDash]

sony wont give up the PS2 soon >>> PS2 Vs Wii >>> thats the plan-

[Maddens Raiders]

time to move you into the annals of gaming lore and the console Hall of Fame. You wasted many, many days of my life and I enjoyed every minute of it. We will miss you old friend. So long.

[Keyser]

Awesome pic...

Attention!

At ease PS3...

[Qbanboi]

God, please. SONY LET THE PS2 DIE. It just make the Ps3 lose. If you put all those people who are working for the Ps2 into the Ps3. We will get good games and better things. Why you thing the 360 have alot of new ideas and better online. Because they dont care about the past, they just want to make money with the 360, people who bought the Xbox just a year before it die, got f*cked, and they don't care. So just let the Ps2 die. It had a good war. And it was the best. But there is now way in competing agains the Wii.

[Ju]

To be honest, from a customer point of view, I would hope they'll keep it around for as long as it sells and drop it to $99 - and even add wire less controllers (DS3/Bluetooth) and WiFi. This is simply the cheapest way to get into gaming today (well, don't know if you want to do that to your kids, though).

Actually I just fixed my other PS2 that weekend and bought some PS2 games I'd need to catch up. $19.90 per game is an argument you can't deny. Its just so much cheaper to play games on the PS2 - well, yeah, and I am saying that despite my growing PS3 lib of currently 18 titles and my big screen.

However, I could understand, that the PS2 is in danger if the PS3 drops down to $299 anytime soon. But why giving up the low segment to Nintendo ? Burnout Dominator - which I just got - is still a great game on the PS2 (I'll be getting Paradise this week).

[BlackIceJoe]

I think this is a smart business more and one that should have happened sooner. But the one thing I don't under stand is why Sony is still making PS2 games. Like the Twisted Metal game and the Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters games that were on the PSP. Instead they (Sony) should have made them PSN games instead. Because what if some one wanted those games and does not have a PS3 that can play those games.

So if the 40 gig is the future. I just want to know why there are more PS2 games coming out if some people can't play them. That is all I want to know.

[Salvadore]

as things are looking better for the PS3 in 08, Sony might see the opportunity to end PS2s road.

[Kyur4ThePain]

Slightly off-topic maybe, but I don't understand the resistance to Sony dropping BC from the PS3.
What good does it do to include BC?

If someone wants to play PS2 games, why wouldn't they just buy a PS2 for less than half the PS3 price?
There is nothing to gain from the PS3 for those who are interested in PS2 games.
And if you say that they can play PS3 games, well, then they would buy a PS3 and play PS3 games. What's the interest in PS2 games for those people?

Ugh, I'm in a hurry...I hope that made sense.

[mr_potato]

Its sad this generation is all about graphick and counting pixels on the screen.

ps2 still has more juice in it then the 360 ps3 and wii it offers the best gamming experiance.

I know i did not have the money to buy all the games that came in the ps2 era and if i can now pick up 3 of them for a price of a next gen game then hell yes ima gonna pick them up.

[sonyfanonly]

if you bought a ps3 just for the ps2 backwards compatability then you missed the point of the ps3 games like uncharted and heavenly sword warhawk that is the point of ps3 sony knows the ps2 is near its retiring time so they are going to fully support the ps3 and the demand for that system - the ps2 has some more juice left in it before it goes like the upcoming twisted edition of twisted metal i know that will keep me busy on the ps2 here is for a good 2008 for the ps3

play beyond

[Cyrus365]

I don't think it means there not gonna support PS2, just that they won't put much of marketing push. Remember 07 had a big PS2 title come out and that was God of War 2, and they pushed it hard, lots of advertisement dollars, etc.

However you won't see any more sony owned studios working on PS2 games (other than Psp ports to Ps2 or vice versa). So you won't see much Advertisement dollars focus on it.