Sony PS2 Games Re-Released on PS4: Why So Expensive?

Although it's great to be able to play old PS2 games on your PS4, it's a reasonable question to ask why Sony has to charge so much.

[Digital_Anomaly]

This question has been asked for a while now. I'm all for being able to play classics at a reasonable cost but the price points here are way out of line.

[ShinMaster]

It's cheaper than buying the actual PS2 copy of the game
http://videogames.pricechar...
And it isn't even in HD like the PS4 versions.

Honestly though, if you already have the game, don't buy it on PS4. You're not forced to.
Just use your PS2 with component cables or original PS3.

[ScaReCrow90]

Yea. No excuse.
Steam doesn't rob you like this and even if it takes work to do they shouldn't charge as much as they do for games this old.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Games look like shit on my PS2 even with a component cable and the PCSX2 emulator doesn't run games good enough on my Core i3. So releasing these games in HD with trophies is awesome to me. The only downside I see is that it will never have even half of all the PS2 games let alone the games I actually want to play again.

@ScaReCrow90

Last time I checked a old PC game is still just that a PC game. I can't believe you are complaining about $10. You must be really, really poor, if you can't afford that than you shouldn't be using your money on games to begin with. Personally I think they should all be the same price but I guess Rockstar is forcing the price up for their games.

[BitbyDeath]

Cheaper than 360 BC so it isn't all bad.

[nitus10]

The backwards compatible PS3 supports HDMI 1.3 which has been standard since the it's release.

Baring that use a PS2 emulator which you can get for the PC (runs under a Microsoft or even a Linux OS). Unfortunately you do need a PC with a bit of grunt and that means an i5 or better cpu.

[ShadowWolf712]

@ScaReCrow90

Dude, Steam charges at least $8-$15 for remakes or PC ports of old games. Often up to $20.

Don't even try to play the "Steam wouldn't do this" card. lol

[ShinMaster]

@ ScaReCrow90

And how much are the PS1 Final Fantasy games on Steam?

That's what I thought.

[Crimzon]

Yeah, they're taking advantage of their domination of the console market and it's disappointing to see the humble Sony of the PS3 era fade away while arrogance and greed make a return.

Having said that however, if they went to the trouble of bringing a 1080p version of Killer 7 to the service I'd likely buy it.

[Genuine-User]

You sure you had a PS3?

PS2 classics were sold on the PS3 online store for roughly the same price we pay for classics on the PS4.

Although, I'm not sure how much the classics cost now.

[Crimzon]

Yeah. I could pop my PS2 discs in and play them without any hassle, it was great.

[Genuine-User]

I'm not talking about the original fat PS3; neither are you. But even than your statement is slightly off because the original PS3 had the PS2's emotion chip for compatibility. The thing cost $600 back in 2006.

[Azzanation]

Humble PS3 era? What era are you talking about? PS3 ripped us $599 for a console that was producing inferior ports to its competition. One of the worst blunders was the PS3 taking advantage of its PS2 user base.

[NarooN]

I don't get all the complaints. It takes actual engineering work to port all these games natively to be able to run on x86, get the trophy support hooked into the games, and all the upscaling. It's not as if it's something that can be done in a few minutes or days. I think the prices are okay. If you want the game bad enough then buy it. If somehow $10 or $15 is too much, don't buy it. People are okay spending $60 on a game like SW Battlefront which has much less content than its predecessor which came out a decade ago but have a problem with this? It's absurd, really.

[NarooN]

I didn't say anything about Shareplay, remoteplay or livestreaming. I have no idea why you even mentioned those because those are all baked directly into the PS4's OS and thus they can work with any game software that can be launched from the PS4. The emulator handles the upscaling but that doesn't mean the emulator can auto-magically implement trophies. The devs still have to go back and not only implement the trophies by hand by coding them in, but also have to playtest the game to make sure nothing else gets broken, both for the sake of running on the PS4 and for the additional trophies.

You guys act like everything should be super-easy or free in terms of implementation. I forgot that N4G is populated by so many armchair engineers and armchair game devs lol.

[Petebloodyonion]

Ha! the famous "it's cost money to add Trophy support" argument to justify Sony's greed

A simple question:

How most of my games I bought on Steam prior to 2007 on windows XP now runs on windows 10 at 1080P (and more) at 120 frames second and wait for it...... Support steam achievments?

And I would suggest a look around the store to see theses games at 1 to 5$

[Cha0tik]

WTF is DoctorFruad talking about? These things don't just work. They had to code each of the games to work on the new Playstation hardware. It has nothing to do with Livestreaming, SharePlay, or Remote Play. Emulation is something completely different and I advise you to stop being so ignorant and cheap. Educate yourself so that you don't sound like most of the idiots complaining on N4G. This was actually the dumbest comment I've ever seen on the subject. If you have an issue with the prices then don't buy them. Nobody is forcing you.

I'm glad NarooN actually has an idea of what he is talking about.

@PeteBloodyOnion It does cost money to add any feature to a game that wasn't originally in a game. Sorry to say... this isn't your almighty PC bro. The game itself doesn't have the achievements which is why it's different from the Playstation. The achievements are being implemented into the games coding where when you use steam the application (Steam) is what sees when you complete a task within the game and gives you the achievement also... not all games work on your Windows 10 pc... I can give you a list of games that you cant run on your Windows 10 PC or in steam due to the same reasons you can't run old PS2 games on a PC... NOT COMPATIBLE HARDWARE. Shit. I've even seen some games that you need to mod in order to run in anything beyond 480p and MODS REQUIRE WORK... maybe some people are willing to do work for free but people in the industry aren't doing shit for free... they want to be paid for their work. THINK!

[NarooN]

That is a very poor argument and I hope you're aware of that.

First off what does a game that released in 2007 on Steam have to do with this? Did that game randomly get remastered? No. That never happens. Did that game have to get ported to another architecture, like say, ARM to x86? No. It was already a native Windows title. Steam achievements? Yes it's easy to add achievements retroactively depending on how the original game was coded and whether or not they feel like playtesting the shit out of it to see if anything got broken.

What you and the rest fail to understand is the fact that adding trophies isn't something that's trivial. It's not some two-day job. Whether they implement it via some system where the OS or whatever scans all or some of the available memory rapidly searching for a few bits or something to reach a certain value where it decides "you've met the requirement to unlock this trophy" or they just go in and natively bake it into the pre-existing code, it's still something that takes a good deal of work to implement. That's why you didn't see a lot of retroactive trophy patches last gen. Devs felt it was better to focus on newer titles than go back and spend the man-hours on something like that.

Not sure why you even threw framerate in there. And if a game only costs $1-5 on Steam when there's not a sale going on, chances are it's nothing special anyway. Your comparison was just facepalmingly bad. Comparing an older revision of basically the same OS at a different time period to a newer revision with better hardware and saying "durr u cen git 120fps nao!" is in no way the same thing as taking a game that was coded for an entirely different FIXED-SPEC ASIC or SYSTEM and porting it to run on an emulator that runs on a completely different architecture with all-new hardware.

So that's why I can't see why everybody has been crying about this the past few months. Somehow the prices are prohibitive. I mean if you want to play the games so badly, take the disc you presumably still have and play it on the original system. No one is forcing any of you to buy these games on the storefront. They're there for convenience and nothing else.

EDIT: My comment was directed at Pete. Lol @ all the agrees for some of these guys who have no clue about how these things actually work.

[rainslacker]

I've been explaining that these releases aren't just free and magically work because they're wrapped in an emulator since this whole thing started up.

I've explained in great detail how trophy implementation works, extrapolated from the patent to explain how it works with the PS2 games, explained many things that cost actual money to release these games, explained that emulation isn't simply a throw it in a wrapper, explained the costs of testing to make sure it works, and gone into the costs of having to get a new ESRB rating as well as paying for compliance testing.

Despite all that the same people still won't accept that it's even possible that the whole concept of PS2 classics is just not free. They look at the X1 emulator, and assume it's the same thing, and in some ways it is, but Sony's emulator has a few distinct difference which makes these releases into actual new products, and not just a way to play the old product....although the emulator could possibly simply emulate the old product as well if it were allowed. But obviously, you aren't buying that old product, but rather the new one.

I'm all for Sony releasing this emulator, and with publisher approval, allowing my PS2 games to run on my PS4 because I have a ton of PS2 games. Ironically enough, the same people that think this is all free, also don't understand that Sony can't legally just allow PS2 physical games to play on the PS4 due to copyright infringement, and as of now, there isn't much in the way of digital PS2 offerings to offer something similar to what MS is doing.

It's not worth trying to argue. Just state what you feel is pertinent, then leave it at that. The people who want to be pissed off about it for the wrong reasons won't change their mind, but at least you may help others who don't understand what the details are find some of those details, and maybe they'll be more willing to think critically on the situation instead of giving in to their impulse reaction for weeks or months on end.

BTW, DrFraud in particular I've told specifically, and in great detail why they aren't free, and why Sony may not be offering something he wants. He hasn't changed his argument since the beginning, and seems to lack the capacity for learning. Plus he's a troll and I don't believe for one second he actually cares either way, or believes one word of what he says.

[Petebloodyonion]

@all above.

Yeah I know it cost money to iron the bugs out, to test if the emulation is ok, etc. and I'm not against Sony selling you a game or the price they want to charge you.

My beef is with asking to repay again if you own a digital copy from PSN.

Now you can all says But But But it's not the same hardware, it's cost money or whatever: the thing is when I buy digitally I give my right to have a physical copy, I can't trade it for another good, I need a internet connection (or my original console) to validate it and I need to buy storage media for it. In return I expect to have access to my game on whatever product/console the title is available on If I have the proper account (steam, PSN, Ios, etc.)

Do you repay you songs on Itune or Androids because you want to listen to you songs from your pc, tablets or other devices?
Do you repay your digital Bluray because you play it on a different hardware?
Do you repay a game on Steam when you switch to Linux, Mac os, Windows or Steam box?

[NarooN]

Sony never said or guaranteed when the PS2 Classics first hit PS3 that you'd be entitled to a new enhanced release of the titles when/if they'd come to a newer platform. There was nothing in their clause that said users would be entitled to it. Even then it's not like they simply copy-pasted the internal PS2 emulator from PS3 over to PS4 because even the PS4 emulator is noticeably much different code-wise than the one on PS3 for obvious reasons.

Furthermore the examples you listed once again fall flat because in those examples, you bought products which either already were guaranteed to work on other hardware from the jump and/or were never later modified to do so. A blu-ray movie will work in any blu-ray player, but that is not analogous to an emulated title for one system suddenly being guaranteed to work for free on an emulator that's coded for an entirely different architecture and hardware set with the games themselves having HARD-CODED NEW FEATURES IN THEM. I mean you're not only paying for the re-licensing fees (this is important) but also the copious Q&A for each game that was done to ensure everything works properly. That's why the prices are set the way they are and why it's not as simple as "I owned this before, I should have it again for free." It's not exactly the same release of the game.

I totally understand the sentiment and I agree that people who bought the same games digitally should AT LEAST be given a discount if they wanted to get them on PS4, but alas they didn't go that route. It reminds me of the PSP Go fiasco where people wanted some type of reimbursement for already having bought so many physical UMD copies of games and needing/desiring a way to acquire them legally in digital form to play on the digital-only PSP Go. I don't remember it too well but I think they did come up with some type of "transfer" service, but it was only initially available in Japan or something? Don't remember too well lol.

Anyway I do think Sony could've handled this better, but all in all when it comes down to the pricing, I see no issue at all with that and I'm not sure why so many people "disagreed" on here, but then again it IS N4G where people will frequently disagree with hard objective facts, so I guess it's as irrelevant as it always was lol.

[thisgamer503]

@NarooN - No code is getting ported on these games. Read up on how emulation works before you keep firing off comments about porting from different architectures, especially when trying to call OTHER people armchair developers. Good lord

[NarooN]

The code of the actual games doesn't get changed since they're basically the same old images they were on the original discs. However what I was referring to was the copious Q&A the devs/testers have to do to ensure the games run properly on the emulator, which itself was indeed either ported or modified thusly to run on x86-64 rather than the Cell. I know how emulators work since I am friends with several of the developers who work on PCSX2 to this day, an emulator that Sony themselves ripped some code from for their PS3 PS2 emulator. Protip: Two of the former PCSX2 devs went on to join Sony a while back. It's not a coincidence that they got a working PS2 emulator purely via software not much longer.

[SegaGamer]

@scaRecro90, how are they robbing you ? Are they forcing you to sell your PS2 and it's games and re-purchase them on the PS4 ? no, they aren't.

Paying for something with updated resolution and trophy support is not unreasonable. They should be rewarded for their work. There was an article a couple of weeks back saying how long it takes them to add these extra features, you can't expect them to do that work for nothing. If you do expect that then you aren't being realistic or know what you are talking about.

[rainslacker]

Maybe people should just start thinking of them as a simple form of a remastered game as opposed to them having to repurchase their old games again...which always seemed like a silly argument every time it comes up from any number of topics.

I'd love a general emulator, regardless of major upscaling features, for my PS2 discs, and I'd even accept that publishers would have to approve their use on the system. But there are things I'm not sure of that may not make it possible, and for all I know, Sony has some plans for the emulator which go beyond it's current implementation, and people are just too impatient to wait, or unwilling to accept that there may be more plans altogether.

To me, it does kind of defy logic that Sony, the front runner in BC for almost 20 years, would suddenly not think of a way to make it happen, or want some BC solution, since it's been such a staple of the PS line for the longest time.

[magiciandude]

Another issue is that the PS2 classics purchased on the PS3 won't even carry over. Sony is triple dipping their old games.

[XanderZane]

I want to use my PS2 and PS3 disc on the PS4. I don't want to have to repurchase anything I already own to play. That's the problem with PSNow and this PS2 Emulation stratagy. As long as I still own my 60GB PS3, I'll never use PSNow or the PS2 emulator.

Also, I keep hearing that "Sony had to implement Trophies and recode the games, etc..."

They didn't have to do any of that really. All they had to do it put the emulator on the PS4 and allow PS2 games to be installed onto the PS4 and run off the emulator. That's all I wanted. Sony decided to do all this extra work so they could make more profit (again) off of last gen's games.

[WelkinCole]

Yes, it they are a tad bit expensive and Sony should reduce the price a bit.

[Morgue]

The odd thing is that while the addition of trophies is nice I guess, it's not worth the price for me to play through all those games again just to get them. I still have my launch 60 gig and if I remember right that up-converted games? I mean in the end it just seems like cash grabs for those who were too young and never owned a PS2/PS3 or got rid of their PS2 or their fat PS3 YOLD'd.

Man this comment is a wreck.

[GrapesOfRaf]

I agree that they should still cost something, but a couple dollars is too little. I think 5-10 is fair. Anything over 10 is just a ripoff though.

[Deathdeliverer]

Please look up Nintendo virtual console prices. This is cheap in comparison or, at worst, par for the course. And they are selling rapidly.

[nitus10]

@DoctorFraud

If you don't like the price then don't buy, after-all no one is forcing you.

I have over sixty PS2 games in excellent condition and while I am disappointed that I can't play them via the PS2 emulator for the PS4 I do have a backwards compatible PS3 and also a very powerful PC which can also play them.

Most of the time I prefer playing PS3 and now PS4 games and have the odd nostalgia itch maybe two weeks out of the year.

[Morgue]

Well if anyone who owns a Wii U and didn't snatch up that Metroid Prime Trilogy for $10 missed out.

[nucky64]

so, 4.99 more is a "rip off". I'd argue that anyone worrying about 5 dollars shouldn't be buying games in the first place.

[superterabyte]

What a ridiculous and immature statement. Anyone who has experience of balancing their books understands that if you count the pennies the pounds will count themselves. That is to say that regardless of the value of your purchase you should always be wary of being ripped of.

I can only assume that you're still under the care of your parents and it is said parents whom purchase your games.

[nucky64]

super, your comment is completely immature. also ridiculous - want to know why? we aren't talking about balancing books - we're talking about purchases - and if you have to worry about a few dollars, you shouldn't be making the purchase.
by the way - I'm 51 (gamer for around 40 years), am a professional (psychologist) and have been very successful in life to the point I'm semi-retired. I can buy whatever I please - as a matter of fact, I just bought a new truck and paid cash - 37,000....and no, I didn't count the pennies.

what an immature post, superterabyte.

[superterabyte]

I find it very difficult to believe you've been a professional psychiatrist for 40 years and haven't the ability to properly use grammar, punctuation or structure a sentence.

Presumably you've had everything presented to you on a silver platter and haven't had to sweat the small purchases. Your comments basically amount to you suggesting that people in a position whereby they are concerned about price differences with which you have no concern, should not be purchasing games.

Also $37,000 on a truck. Well I can presume with a high degree of certainty the geographic location with which you espouse such drivel. Seriously we've gone from Freud to this.

[nucky64]

superterabyte - stop! you're making a fool of yourself.
MY INITIAL COMMENT WAS NOT INTENDED TO BE INSULTING TO ANYONE - it's just my experience that anyone who worries about anything under 10 dollars (when it relates to a purchase) means they shouldn't be buying it - they don't have the money the money to waste on it.

and not a psychiatrist - a PSYCHOLOGIST. and not for 40 years - 20 years. and who cares about grammar and punctuation on a game site talking to immature, rude people such as yourself? this is my goof-off time when I can just have fun. besides, I don't have to do much typing - receptionist handles all of that. LOL

[superterabyte]

I feel like you really need a psychiatrist. Why are you lying to yourself pretending you're a big shot. There is no way someone who has been practicing psychology(you didn't specify particulars so I assumed you were a psychiatrist) for 20 years sends someone a pm asking them if they're 'jealous much' not to mention your awfully sub-par writing ability

'they don't have the money the money to waste on it.'

Regardless of which place or medium you write, that is poor. How could you possibly practice in a mentally taxing field such as psychology and not possess the ability to write properly even when said ability has been called into question.

Anybody who cannot see past your internet persona I feel empathy for.

[pivotplease]

37,000 for a truck actually isn't that much at all. Attempting to brag about success is wholly irrelevant to the topic of being ripped off and does not even serve as a general justification for the masses regardless. There is nothing inherently wrong with being frugal on a small scale. If someone saved $5 on every purchase over $10 that they made, they would save tens of thousands over the course of their lifetime. There is also the matter of principle. If someone feels the product is not worth the price, that's their own business. Personally, I still have my PS2 and Dark Cloud copy, so I can easily wait for a sale.

[nucky64]

pivot, how was I "bragging". I was only making the point that if you can't afford something, DON'T BUY IT! and yes, there are full size trucks that cost much more; however, I don't like parking those behemoths nor do I need that much interior/bed space. I wanted a midsize and bought the best one I could find.
also, I agree that something being worth the price is personal opinion - but if 5 dollars decides something being worth it or not, then that person doesn't have the money to be throwing away on the purchase to begin with.

oh, and I love your concept of being "frugal on a small scale".....sounds like the mantra of the poor.

pivot, good luck on living your life saving 5 dollars on EVERY purchase. SMH

superterabyte, lets get something straight - when I'm doing my job, I do my job.and, what I do for a living has no bearing on how I handle fools like you. when I'm on something as meaningless as a gaming site, I can respond however I feel I need to. you've been nothing but insulting in your posts and I didn't feel any need to be polite.

[XanderZane]

If you already own the game, it shouldn't cost a thing.

[GryestOfBluSkies]

because there's a lot of people who are willing to pay these prices. if no one was buying, then the price would drop

[rainslacker]

And it's quite likely more games would not get released. There's a point where the games have to make a profit, and if the prices drop too low, the publishers simply won't bother unless there are a high volume of sales. Personally, I doubt these games are selling like hot cakes, but they do serve a market that exists and is probably large enough to support it. That market probably doesn't see these prices as extreme, because they really aren't. I'd buy Dark Cloud and Rogue Galaxy(2 awesome games) at $15 each if I didn't already have the PS2 disc and a full BC PS3. I still might one day if I ever have the itch to play them again, and if they go on sale through PS+ at a decent price, I'll pick them up for the inevitable time I want to get back around to playing them again.

[Eonjay]

Because money

[2cents]

^^

[XanderZane]

Because of greed. Not benefits for gamers who already shelled out $20-%50 for the games and still own them.

[Lonnie18]

It's not gonna change so move on, next topic please! More like why is that Oculus Rift so expensive!

[Summons75]

But that's been asked and isn't going to change either. Question should be will Sony learn from Oculus' terrible mistakes and make their VR a reasonable price. 150-200 would be the sweet spot, 250 if it includes an amazing VR exclusive but they haven't announced any yet :/.

[Apex13]

The title alone is stupid. You want a new experience not the same game but closer to your eyes.

[Deathdeliverer]

I guess this guy has never seen the virtual console on Nintendo systems. NES games from 4-8 dollars depending on the game. SNES games range from 8- 15 and around the same for N64 depending on the game. Not to mention Turbo Grafix and Neo geo titles prices. Those games have been selling great at those prices. Now Sony does PS1 and 2 games at similar prices and its "what if you already have the game?" and so on. Hell, when I bought my VC games on my Wii and moved it to Wii U I still had to pay more on top of what I already paid because of the new save states. Not to mention I have a box full of Games for each system. Point is shut the hell up and buy the games if you're interested. Chances are you will only buy the games you missed out on but always wanted to play. Not the games you already have. I appreciate my Xbox Ones BC, but if not for games with gold I'd honestly never use it. Same as PS3. (launch system) I used the PS2 and PS1 BC a hand full of times. Wrapping up FF 12 and still heavy into FFXI. Same for PS2 back in the day with PS1 BC. People just really make this seem like more than it is.

[Ferrethat22]

It's not really expensive considering its not a simple PS2 emulation. There's enough added to justify the price not to mention other places like steam sell these games at around the same price. Nintendo also sells their old school ganes at high prices. Just look at recent mario galaxy on WiiU . $20 with no improvements or additions.

But ignorant people will hate

[NarooN]

Exactly. People love to complain about all the wrong things. They'll accept tons of other garbage but then complain irrationally about things without having the proper perspective about it.

[XanderZane]

I don't have a big problem with the price or what they are doing. My problem is there's no option for gamers who already own all the games. At least with Nintendo's game they were all B/C. The Wii played all the Gamecube games. The Wii U plays all the Wii games. I own both Mario Galaxy games and I can just play them on my Wii U without shelling out an addition $20ea for them.

[eferreira]

how is 7.99-15 expensive for the amount of content you get?

[2pacalypsenow]

Because most gamers feel entitled, I have a friend who always complains about game prices then goes and spends over $60 a week on cigarettes and alcohol

[kotaku77]

at least he sounds like a real human being

[2pacalypsenow]

Licensing, and to pay for the job

[Mrveryodd]

Greed .

[Imalwaysright]

Well said.

[jay2]

1080p, trophies, codeing to run games, some people need to shut up and either play on ps2 or play the updated ports on ps4. don't see you conpaling about ps4 hd ports.

[SegaGamer]

You're right, people are just being ignorant. They think that these games are just the same PS2 games they played back when they were released years ago, they're not though. Like you say, coding is being done to make these games better. Once they are done coding, they need to test their work, this work is going to take a lot of their free time.

If people understood all of this, they would understand that it's completely fair for them to be charging for these games.

[Petebloodyonion]

And it's funny cause my 2008 version of Dead space that I bought on Windows XP now runs at 4K (or 1980P at 120 frames Sec) on My windows 10 Steam account.
Let's all remember that 4K was the norm back in 2008 when we were fighting for true 720P.

Also the same happened to my good old Counterstrike Source bought in 2004 and Nobody asked me money when Steam achievement arrived in 2007.

Actually it seem most of my digital purchases made on my I phone, Pc still work today on newer products or OS.

[EazyC]

Eh, I don't mind it, trophies and 1080p is neato. Give us Burnout 2, 3 & Revenge, and Midnight Club 3!

[Eddoes]

Because Sony knows fanboys will damage control the price like they have been damage controlling psn for years.

[2pacalypsenow]

Damage control what exactly? Is Sony just supposed to give away games just because you bought them before? And people who think the price is fair and are spoken about it isn't damage control

[Eddoes]

Go buy the games again then. I cant tell you what to do with your money. I hope you know 2pac was an intelligent person......

[2pacalypsenow]

lol

[TimelessDbz]

Price is fine. Not like you're you getting trophies for free or anything.

[kotaku77]

Too expensive... I'll consider buying some of those, but right now is way too much

[NotanotherReboot]

CAN'T WAIT TO RE-BUY THESE AGAIN ON PS5!!!!!

[ScaReCrow90]

Yes. Sony may even decide to continue the cash in process all the way to a full digital world. Psnow enhanced.

[Imalwaysright]

And to pay for trophies, remote play and game sharing. People use these things to defend the price point for PS2 games on the PS4 so Sony should charge for these things for all PS5 games.

[ScaReCrow90]

Sony said they weren't doing backwards compatibility.
Now we know why.
They wanted to cash in with ps3 games on ps4 thru psnow.
Now they also want to cash in thru ps2 emulation on ps4

It's really that simple. Both of these are ways to maximize profits from gamers. And the worst part is they have no problem doing this since they're selling ps4s like crazy

Sony has sold over 30million ps4s in such a short amount of time that they feel they can do anything they want.
The ps fanboys won't criticize them for it in fact they'll justify it.

Right now it's just a matter of Sony seeing what they can get away with based on fan reaction. Remember psnow pricing? I wonder why it changed. I did see a ton of Xbox fans shitting on it while ps fans excused it, saying stuff like it's an added service. They don't have to offer it , etc.

[ShadowWolf712]

They literally can't do PS3 emulation on the PS4. That's not even an option right now.

And this is simply paying the teams that port the games for the work they put into coding in the new features.

[PhoenixUp]

Nintendo sold NES games on the Virtual Console for the same price Sony charges for PS1 games on PSN. Not to mention that SNES and N64 games go for the same price as PS2 games on PSN.

Sony's pricing is a lot fairer than Nintendo's.

[cash_longfellow]

Still complaining about $10-$15, but continues to spend $60+ on the same reskinned FPS every 365 days...*drops mic, slams door on way out*

[Battlestar23]

Sony don't decide the price for all the ps2 games on ps4 the grand theft auto games are priced by the publisher which is Rockstar.

Before anyone attacks me I'm just saying that Sony aren't the only ones who charge's those prices so if your going to attack Sony attack Rockstar as well.

Personally i am happy to pay the 14.99 price for ps2 games as they are next to impossible to buy from games stores here in Ireland and we also get trophies too which is a big plus for me.

[cash_longfellow]

Agreed 100%..it's become beyond ridiculous that people complain about this..How is a similar, if not cheaper priced, upscaled, trophy supported, downloadable for convenience, classic for $10-$15 overpriced? "But we shouldn't have to buy it again!" So don't, it really is that simple. If you own it already play it on your ps2. My guess is, they don't own it, at least not anymore. Some gamers these days, sheesh...

[rainslacker]

Those games can be hard to come across here in the states as well. Well not hard, they're readily available on Ebay. In store though, not so much unless you live in a bigger city that has indie stores.

That being said, you'd be paying more for these games in an indie store, and the prices for the games on Ebay, or other similar outlets, are roughly the same within a dollar or two either way, but occasionally you can get a much cheaper price due to the nature of such markets. These copies obviously don't have the improvements, and of course, you need older hardware to play them.

I'd imagine in Ireland they'd cost a lot more to get them due to shipping unless your countries Ebay, or similar marketplace, has a strong game sellers presence.

[Petebloodyonion]

I don't have a problem with Sony selling you ps2 games on the ps4.

My beef is with the fact that Sony ask you to pay again for the same game you bought digitally on Vita or Ps3 instead of adding for free in your library.

As for the price well it's established on what the consumer is ready to to pay. If peoples are ok with paying 15$ then more power to them.

[UlyssesFeral]

Let's just be frank about the facts here. They aren't 'upresing' these games. They aren't even porting them. They're emulating them. It's just an in-house emulator. This comes will all the little hiccups of emulation like the graphical glitches in the PS4 version of Dark Cloud and the now highly aliased FMV's. I don't think this is much of a problem and overall I think it's worth it for the higher resolution, but a lot of commentators here seem misinformed about how these games work.

THAT BEING SAID, people need to remember the cost of licensing. This depends on varying agreements between Sony and other publishers that we just plain don't know about. For some titles, Sony may just well have to be charging $10 or more just to turn a profit.

Ultimately whether the price is reasonable or not I believe comes down to the consumer and what they are personally willing to pay.

[Hold_It]

I came here to read the defending of greed, and wasn't disappointed.

[sovkhan]

Loled at you...

If 15 bucks is too much for you to spend on a classic you cherish...find another hobby!!! /nuff

[Hold_It]

@sovkhan

If you have to defend a corporation when they make poor decisions, you have too much free time on your hands.

[ShadowWolf712]

You're right, they should simply release these for free and not pay the teams that do the coding for the new features, just pay a bare minimum to the publisher at cost to them alone. That's totally a great business decision.

Jeebus man, Steam charges the same for the same types of games, no one bats an eye. Now suddenly it's evil.

[sovkhan]

Feel free not to buy if 15 bucks is too much for you!!! /end of the story

There's no such a thing as poor decisions here, Nintendo has done it, N64 case, Apple,Ms, and thousands of other companies, now that Sony is doing it, it's a poor decision...lol!!!

[LemyAtom]

It's not rocket science. If they charged a bit less they'd sell a lot more. I'm sure a hell of a lot of people would be tempted if they were a bit cheaper!

[ShadowWolf712]

And yet, when these same types of games release on Steam, the publishers set the price at the same levels or higher (some as high as $20) with the same kind of gameplay tweaks, or sometimes even LESS, and people pay it without a second thought.

The fact of the matter is, $10-$15 is not unreasonable when PS1/SNES game ports go on Steam for $12, $15, or $20.

[Hold_It]

@ShadowWolf

Microsoft can do that with Xbox One, there's really no excuse for Playstation not to. I think it boils down to since Playstation is in the lead for console sales, they are going to become more greedy, and since Microsoft isn't in the lead they are going to offer better deals. Nintendo doesn't have to because they're making a killing on the handheld market. I'm tired of hearing the different architecture card as well, because quite frankly Sony bought Onlive when they plummeted, and we don't have native PS3 and PS2 backwards compatibility because they'd rather make us pay for it with PS NOW and individual purchases of the same games rather than not.

Steam? I didn't buy the "Turok Remaster" if that's what you're talking about. I don't use Steam to buy my games as much anymore, I use G2A because it's cheaper, and it's users selling keys at wholesale prices. You can get a new release on there for about $15 to $25 less than Steam, and a lot of their normal prices beat Steam's sales.

I like how my Xbox One will allow me to play content I already purchased before, by letting me redownload purchased 360 games, and arcade games, and letting me put in my 360 disc that I purchased and download a digital copy of the game with no additional purchase required. I don't care about upscaling, trophies, etc enticing features to other people. I just want to be able to play the games I already paid for, with no addition purchase, on the successor to the previous console so I don't have to use as many HDMI inputs and power outlets.

But I guess on this site when Xbox or Nintendo does something right it's wrong. Whenever Sony f__ks up, it's perfectly okay because you know they're all about the gamers even though their recent decisions say otherwise. I think I'll just stick to my PS3 as far as playing older PS2 games go, and emulate whatever I want with way better textures with no addition costs on PC.

It's funny cause if Xbox was charging at the same time the lot of N4G users would be bashing them and still defending Sony for doing it.

[SegaGamer]

You need to stop thinking they are both the same thing.

Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One is offering nothing new. All they have do to is make the game work with the emulator.

PS2 games on the PS4 is very different. Adding trophies means they need to go back to the coding of the game and add them and then test to see if what they are doing actually works. Do you know how long this actually takes ? Do you have a job and do you expect to get payed for doing that job ? of course you do, so why do you think these people shouldn't be payed also ?

A lot of people also say things like "why can't i just put my PS2 disc into the PS4 and play the game that way" this is simple to answer, the game you have on the disc is not the same PS2 game you are buying off the Playstation Store. The game on the disc isn't capable of doing the same things as the game you are buying from Playstation Store

[Hold_It]

@SegaGamer

"Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One is offering nothing new. All they have do to is make the game work with the emulator".

Way to discount it because it's Xbox. All they have to do is make it work with the emulator. That takes time, and they are doing it for free, but because it's not on your favorite plastic box it's nothing new.

Sony putting PS2 games on the PS4 is nothing new, because they already did it on PS3. See how stupid that sounds?

I didn't ask for upscaling, I didn't ask for trophies. All I asked for was for a system to have some sort of baked in backwards compatibility that I wouldn't have to pay extra for, because they care about their fanbase enough to go the extra mile to do that for them. People seem to forget that Xbox wasn't the only console that was going to have a bunch of anti-consumer plans in motion for their new gen system. Sony just took Xbox's mistake and capitalized on its flaws to make their equally bad plans microscopic and create a head start by mutual hatred. (Sounds like someone I know *Donald Trump*)

Unlike some people I have seen on here, I don't think graphics are everything, and have no problem going back to revisit classics regardless of whether they seem dated or not.

The thing is the PS4 is most likely able to play the PS2 game natively, and I cannot wait to see the PS4 cracked wide open to prove this point, but now that I think about it. When it does get cracked and people see the features that Sony are disabling to "sell" you as a service charge instead, I'm just going to see the same defending like the Chicago Bears when they had The Fridge on their team.

[SegaGamer]

"I didn't ask for upscaling, I didn't ask for trophies"

"Unlike some people I have seen on here, I don't think graphics are everything, and have no problem going back to revisit classics regardless of whether they seem dated or not"

So what you are saying here is that you want to play PS2 games exactly how you played them on the PS2......uh, so what's stopping you ? go hook up a PS2, pop your disc into the machine and away you go.

I and many others love the idea of trophies and i praise them for bringing new life to old games.

For us that like something new, we can get the games again on the PS4, for those of you that want the same thing, go play on the PS2. It's really very simple.

And don't treat me like some pathetic little fanboy. I'm a fan Xbox and Playstation. Your response is really childish.

[Dyldog69]

Exactly. 4.99-9.99

[Goozex]

if all the games were hd with trophies and 5.99 why not? ill relive some of the greatest game experiences i had

[Pancit_Canton]

If people find the price so expensive, there's only one solution for this problem. DON'T BUY IT ON FULL PRICE.

Buy a playstation + and wait for Flash sale, Spring Sale, Summer Sale, Autumm Sale, Winter Sale and other sale promotions that Sony has to offer. People needs to realized that Sony are also paying for the Licensing to other comapanies. Paying game studios to handle the upscaling and throphies implementation and other things.

In order for Sony to make money, they have to spend money. Just like any other BUSINESS operates.

[Silly gameAr]

I bought War of the Monsters and Dark Cloud so far and planning on getting Arc the Lad when it comes. Why? Because I CHOSE to because I see the value and want to play these games on my PS4 with trophy support. If you don't see the value, don't buy. How hard is that for some people to understand?

[Kyizen]

If 10-15 bucks is too expensive you need a job or a new hobby.

[SynestheticRoar]

Yes why so F-ing much for games, I already own?

[Father__Merrin]

dont like the price dont buy.....

imo the price should be £3.99 for standard games like ridge racer 5 etc and around £5.99 for more premium titles like final fantasy 12

if the price is too much then dont buy