More Evidence Points to PS2 Games on PS4 Thanks to Firmware Update 3.00 Beta

While the original poster took the image down and claimed it as a fake, PSLS was contacted by a tipster who wished to remain anonymous, and pointed towards the PS4 3.00 firmware beta, where PS2 game War of the Monsters is shown being played on PS4. Also, as we included in the below gallery, Siren also appears on other people’s PS4’s:

[GamingWithMack]

Glad to see more proof of this! Looks like it's going to happen.

[Septic]

Maybe an announcement in Paris!

Imagine if the demo disc which shipped with the PS2 was backwards compatible. The one with SSX on it. Aaah good times.

[Spyroo]

Paris Game Show? For this unlikely, more likely to be announced at Playstation Experience

[Forn]

SSX... God how I miss thee...

[Godmars290]

Doubt its going to be disc supported BC. More likely it'll be a library addition for PS Now.

[email protected]:
Something the new firmware allows?

[Minimox16]

@ Godmars290

You cannot Live stream in PS Now

[Eiyuuou]

"I didn't know backs could bend that way!"

The commentary was hilarious in that game! Good times!

[WalterWJR]

Picked up ssx3 in a charity shop today for 50p

[Why o why]

Ssx....thats all you had to say bro

[quaneylfc]

Is this a good thing or a bad thing, i want to play my ps2 games again definitely:

State of Emergency
SSX 3
Max Payne 1 and 2

But wouldn't that mean abandoning Playstation Now and taking Microsoft's formula for emulation?

[Ipunchbabiesforfun]

Oh man! I LOVED SSX!! I haven't thought of that game in a very long time.

[Davi123]

@quaneylfc

PS Now is a rent service.
SharePlay is a service to share your games or to play games of others.
PS VITA could be used to play PS4 where you want.
PS Shop is for you buy digital games.
Got it?

[bryank75]

Was just remembering back to SSX and 1080 snowboarding... they were great games. Hope they make some this gen.

[Ron_Danger]

I posted this in the other article, but if this is true, it could be related to their 2013 patent to add trophy support to PS1 and PS2 games:

http://m.ign.com/articles/2...

[SmokingMonkey]

I would love Retro-BC-Trophy support!

[Eidolon]

That the only way I'd buy PS2/PS1 titles from the store.

[SniperControl]

Ahh man, i can finally retire my launch PS2, it must be sick of me playing SSX Tricky all the time.

The old fella groans and moans at me everytime i open the dvd tray.

[gangsta_red]

Right! It's all about convenience and not having to take up more real estate. Who wouldn't want their new console to support games from past consoles?

I think this is great news (if true), especially since I still have a TON of old PS2 games I haven't finished yet.

[johndoe11211]

Personally, i'll never retire my ps2. If the ps4 get's a form of BC then that's all well and fine but my ps2 will never be gotten rid of.

[UltraNova]

@john

I second that. I still have my N64, PS2 and PS3 and my 2nd RRoD xbox360 haha... never getting rid of them.

[Atomicjuicer]

Remote play as well as disc support better work

[whoyouwit04]

Dude do you really think you are going to stick a PS2 disc in the ps4 and play it? You will be paying to play a game you already own just like you are already doing with PS Now.

[Davi123]

@whoyouwit04

yeah, it could be just that. PS2 games on the PS store. But i don't understand why you are so sceptical in PS4 have BC, like it was impossible.

[TWB]

I would really love it if they could get the PS2 emulation working, Im still sceptical when you compare the PS4 CPU power to what is needed on the PC emulator but... I have hope. They have had enough years to work on the emulation and trying to work out all the kinks out, coupled with an excellent emulator to take notes from on the PC.

Even better if the games worked straightforwardly from the discs and didnt require any downloads.

So gonna play and record some of my games if this is going to happen and have a decent support.

[AndrewLB]

I agree with you on the processor power. PCSX2 requires an i3/i5/i7 @ 3.0ghz+ to run games at full speed. In order for any PS2 emulator to use more than two processor cores, they'd have to do major re-coding of every game... something that will not happen.

It's going to be interesting to see how Sony is able to run this emulation on only two 1.6ghz cores.

[NarooN]

@AndrewLB

PCSX2 has those requirements because it's an emulator that has been steadily updated since around '01 or '02. gsdx plugin needs a complete rewrite which could give a huge speedup, but no one is familiar with the guy who wrote it's coding style so no one touches it except him when he makes his rare appearances every now and then. PCSX2 supports two threads normally under Hardware Rendering, three if you use the MTVU hack (which can break games, hence being labeled a hack) and >3 threads if using the Software Renderer.

Seeing as how Sony got PS2 BC working purely via software on the PS3 with their PS2 Classics line, I'd say it's plausible they could get it working on PS4 with their own proprietary emulator. Two of the guys who used to work on PCSX2 back in the day were hired by Sony a few years back, so it's not far-fetched to assume they had a hand with the PS3's SW emulator.

[kneon]

After the original PS3 dropped the hardware emulation for PS2 games they had software emulation for one or two models, I have one. So there is no doubt the PS4 can handle it.

It's a lot easier for Sony to do than it is for the PC guys as they know both systems inside and out and have all the source code. They don't have to reverse engineer anything.

[rainslacker]

Comparing a PC hacked emulator to an officially licensed emulator is not really a 1:1 comparison.

For one, the "hacked" emulators tend to interpret the bios code, translate that to new machine and OS code, process the code, then reinterpret it again on output.

Sony would have much more information on API interpretation than any modder would, although, those modders are pretty clever. Many things within a non-sanctioned emulator are just workarounds, and not always efficient.

On top of that, unlike a unsanctioned emulator, Sony could also adjust it's back end API's on the hardware itself, allowing for much lower level access to routines which would be hidden from the common PC hacker without any way to do a workaround to to the abstraction that an OS causes.

In addition, a sanctioned emulator on the console would not have the overhead of the operating system, or the added code from having to abide by the OS's rules for data transmission. On the consoles, the data could run it's own management, whereas that is not possible on a PC.

Realistically, if MS could make a 360 emulator for the X1, there is absolutely no reason Sony couldn't make a PS1 or PS2 emulator for the PS4. The PS4 is many times more powerful than those machines, and clock speed isn't the only determining factor, as the newer lower clocked CPU's can process more data in the same time than those from a generation past. How much data a CPU can process is really the biggest determining factor on it's speed...not the clock.

[TWB]

@NarooN

Dude, that last piece of information is pretty sweet. Have never heard about that.

Yeah, its going to be pretty interesting to see how Sony can work this thing out. Back when PS4 released, it was reported that its CPU could turboboost one core to 2.7Ghz (which would disable one or two if I remember correctly) which is not great but could help.

Didnt also one/some of the PCSX2 devs recently say that multithreading PS2 emulation across more cores is much more possible than was previously thought but it would require complete rewrite?

@rainslacker
I wouldnt call them exactly hackers or modders but I do agree that Sony does have sort of "homefield advantage" when they are trying to create a emulator in their own closed environment.

I do know about the CPU performance, the emulator and the community all favor Intel CPUs that have considerably higher performance per core with lower clocks than AMDs processors. PS4 having a AMD CPU can be slightly more problematic.

[C-H-E-F]

I forgot I got this beta weeks ago. SMH I hate the real world, Job, more Job... Wife... sleep Job Job... I miss Gaming...gaming more gaming... save my money i make for more gaming. hmph

Just downloaded it :D, thanks author of this post for reminding me of my slackness. You're the best.

[jerethdagryphon]

Its certinly technically possible and sony did do that patent for adding trophies to old games so maybe they will do it

[nitus10]

If a firmware update or software was made available for the PS4 to be able to read, install and play PS2 and possibly PS1 games then that would be extra icing on the cake.

Even on my BC PS3 PS2 games still look quite graphically acceptable on my HDTV. PS1 games (all PS3's will play PS1 game disks) while playable appear very grainy although they are more acceptable on a smaller screen.

[BrandanT]

Why would this gen enjoy this when everyone here complains about graphics? /s

[Tobsesan]

If it aint 1080p ps fanboys will hate it anyway

[peshkavusCA]

No one will complain since it's PS products. Only non PS stuff will be decimated.

[AizenSosuke]

Hell yeah this prove that Siren for PS2 is coming.

[excaliburps]

You mean PS4? :) I want a NEW Siren on PS4! I mean, we're getting a ton of horror games...Sony, please?!

[ocelot07]

Am hoping Sony get Kokima on board and bring his vision he had for Silent Hills and help develop a new Siren game.

[KwietStorm]

Kokima? Who the hell is Kokima? lol

[zeuanimals]

The team that made Siren is currently working on Gravity Rush which is getting a lot more buzz. I dunno if they're gonna go back to Siren if Gravity Rush 2 is a hit since each of the Siren games together sold worse than the already badly selling Gravity Rush (even though these were all great game).

They could have another team make it but without Toyama (director of the first Silent Hill, the entire Siren franchise, and both Gravity Rush 1 & 2), I don't think it'll be the same.

[Ron_Danger]

@kwietstorm

You don't know who Helio Kokima is?!

The creator of the stealth game Carbon Chain Liquid...

And co-creator of the canceled horror game T.P. where you investigate a public bathroom stall haunted by ghostly toilet paper.

[x_RadicalAura_x]

I agree. Kokima san is a living legend. The ladies are all over him like white on ricey.

[morganfell]

"Kokima? Who the hell is Kokima? lol"

Kokima is one of two cloned brothers, the other being Kojima. Products of genetic manipulation, one of the brothers received the best genetic material for a game developer and the other did not.

[MasterCornholio]

@Ron

"And co-creator of the canceled horror game T.P. where you investigate a public bathroom stall haunted by ghostly toilet paper."

Did you say TP? TP for my bunghole?

Helio Kokima must give me TP or suffer the wrath of my all mighty bunghole.

[Tobsesan]

Ton of horror games?? Call me 5 this year, go!!

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Maybe it Backwards Compatibility with PS1 and PS2 games? That's be great to have them all digital like PS Vita has PS1 and PSP games. If PS4 is unable to emulate PS3 games because of the cell architecture, Fine! But, emulating PS1 and PS2 games wouldn't be that bad on a much advance hardware.

[DarkOcelet]

If it can be done on modded PS3 and X360 consoles, then they have no excuse of getting PS1 and PS2 games to work on PS4.

[AndrewLB]

PS3 and X360 had much higher frequency processor cores. Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't 2 PS3 cores or 2 360 cores substantially more powerful than 2 jaguar cores?
And any emulation of PS2 is going to be stuck to only two processor cores because that's how all the games are designed to run. They'd have to rewrite every game to use 3 or more cores.

[kneon]

The PS2 CPU is just a 300mhz MIPS core, nothing special.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

The bad thing about only being digital is that they are never going to have even half the library of games that are out there for the PS1, PS2, and PSP available digitally. The great thing about the PSP is since it has custom firmware I was able to rip my Tony Hawk PS1 games and play them on PSP and they worked perfectly but I doubt you will ever see them on the store.

[zeuanimals]

Good luck finding physical copies and good luck finding them in a good enough shape to play. Every PS2 game I find has taken a serious beating.

The PS4 doesn't have PS1, PS2, or PSP hardware inside it allowing you to play them easily. So even if they did allow for discs to be used, the discs would be pointless unless they've updated the emulator to emulate that specific game. I'd like if they allowed for disc usage since that's just more options for the user, but I wouldn't ever use it since there's potentially a lot of hassle from it.

[TWB]

@zeuanimals

Lol, dude...

I bought alone during the past week 7 PS2 games around 2-3€ each, all had manuals, 4 had good condition cases and had very good discs (some didnt even have any scratches).

And finding used games here where I live for such a good price is not that common but theres plenty of games in very nice conditions. If I have to buy for regular price, theres a dedicated store in my town that has anything from NES to PS4. I bet any bigger city will have more options.

[zeuanimals]

@TWB:

Well, you're much luckier than I am. I can't find anything that's not scratched to hell, hence why I said I personally wouldn't use it. I still said I'd like to have it just for the option.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

@zeuanimals/@TWB

Let me tell you something that will change your life forever, it's called EBAY.

I was able to pick up my favorite PS2 games still new and sealed for around $20, except for a few more rare games. Now PS1 the price is extremely high for new sealed PS1 games but the used prices are usually reasonable for good condition games.

[jb227]

Wouldn't it more likely be ps1 & 2 games added to PsNow or the store? That would be enough for me personally because I've gotten rid of all of my older games but I'd love to have the opportunity to pick & choose some new ones to try that I never got around to

[jb227]

@doctorfraud

Really? I thought the whole idea behind PSNow was adding the full lifetime catalogue of Sony titles across all gens eventually? I could've sworn I'd read that they planned on doing that but maybe I'm mistaken. That seems really strange, that kinda kills a lot of the potential for a monthly game streaming subscription if it will only ever be limited to ps3 titles.

[S2Killinit]

Do we really need backward compatibility though? I dont think i would use it even once.

[nitus10]

You may not but there are quite a few people that would.

I am fortunate to have a backwards compatible PS3 however my PS3 (PAL region) is a mixture of hardware and software emulation and while I can read and play all my PS2 games, three of my games hang/crash at certain areas in the game. This is not due to scratches since my games are in extremely good condition.

[xxjabberxx]

That would make sense since most of us still have the PS3. Well I do. But I don't have both the ps1 or ps2 but I still have tones of games.

[_-EDMIX-_]

That would be nice, but I feel its sorta doubtful. I think it might be PS2 and PS1 games added to PSN or likely even added to PS Now.

Consider they are pushing PS Now and always adding games or it could be both, them as digital downloads for PS4 and PS Now for all devices, but full BC for PS1 and PS2 games from what I'm seeing from those images seems a bit unlikely.

Would be nice, but I'd put my money on it being a PS Now addition.

[Relientk77]

If PS4 gets PS2 and PS1 backwards compatibility that would be awesome

Edit: yeah that's what I mean. I can use all my PS1 and PS2 game discs for PS4

[Hoffmann]

But real backwards compatibility that would mean that I could use all the old ps1-2 games I still have here

[Agent_00_Revan]

It would only be PS2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember it being said during the PS4 release that it's laser doesn't read CDs. Which means it can't possibly read PS1 games.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

All modern Blu-ray Drives support CD's and only very early models didn't have this ability. Anyone who thinks the reason the PS4 can't play Music CD's or PS1 CD's is anything other than a software issue are misinformed.

[Davi123]

In case of Sony are seeing this^
Please don't do BC like MS.
Use emulators to play ALL THE GAMES!
And if you are afraid of piracy, then put the emulatores behind PS Plus!

[Rookie_Monster]

Great news if indeed this is true as PLEASE, PLEASE sony, let us use our PS2 discs as well as I still have quite a few classics on disc. Love able to play games I already owned at no additional cost. That is how BC should be done and hoping Trophies and using PS4 hardware features are also allowed as well. The Paris Game show seems like a great place to announce this if indeed true.

[nitus10]

If PS1 and PS2 software emulation is made available on the PS4 it would be nice to be able to install them as well.

As for Trophies for original PS1 and PS2 games I very much doubt that will happen unless you purchase a digitally remastered game.

[XDBladez]

We all know this was gonna happen. With the Star Wars Darth Vader Ps4 Bundle coming along, we all know from the beginning, that some Ps2 games will work for the Ps4.

[Shadow Man]

I hope is true I have a few horror survivor ps2 games I never go to finish and would like to play them in my ps4.

[SmokingMonkey]

Retro-Gen-BC huh?

How weird and awesome would that be!