MediEvil Remake Has a Built-In PS1 Emulator For the PS4, Gets Unofficially Released

Hackers have managed to extract files from the 2019 remake of MediEvil, giving them access to a new PS1 emulator for hacked PS4 consoles.

[BillyG0AT]

That's cool

[starchild]

Yeah, it is. I love to return to some of my favorite PS1 games occasionally. If Sony somehow could make the PS5 backwards compatible with every generation of PlayStation console it would be amazing.

The spotty backwards compatibility on consoles is part of what has me doing a lot of my gaming on PC. If Sony can't achieve backwards compatibility for PS3, PS2 and PS1 games but can promise that games from PS4 onwards will play on each new PlayStation console (PS5, PS6, etc) and will see improvements to performance and resolution I can see myself switching over to doing most of my gaming on PlayStation consoles. I just hate buying multiplats on consoles knowing that they are second rate versions that will never improve. I don't have to have the best performance now as long as I know that the version I've bought will eventually run and look better with future hardware.

The fact that the PS5 is going to play PS4 games is already a huge step in the right direction.

[neutralgamer1992]

All PS3 sku's can play ps1 disk even when Sony removed BC ps1 disks still can be played on ps3

Would love to see PS3 BC that would be huge but from what I understand due to cell processor it's not straightforward

[Kavorklestein]

Hey Sony,
Now that we know this, please Take note that we know you could and SHOULD have allowed Backwards compatibility with at LEAST the PS1, if not other potential systems.
For a company with the high levels of talent, and the many skilled developers and engineers, and in a world where making this a reality would likely be Simple and cheap (If you are able AND willing to make it functional and work for ONE measly title, MediEvil, then it clearly wasn't a huge cost detriment to you) and bottom line, it's the right thing to do.
People don't really just wanna pay for "HD digital releases" or just have everything behind a PSNow paywall with games they may already have on disc for PS1, and 2 etc... and I also understand you are looking at the potential $$$ involved. I say, Keep PSNow for people to have more options, and for those who don't have collections, but You should take a note from your own playbook, and Microsoft's playbook. Many people still cherish and hold on to their fat PS3's to be able to play PS2 and PS1 games (Myself Included) and you need to get real with yourself.
And yes, BC isn't the reason people want a New console, of course they want NEW games.
But you WILL not make anyone mad, and you actually do your loyal fans a disservice by
pulling a Nintendo and not just making things as Open as Possible.

I realize there may be revenue you could charge per title, and Many people don't want to use old discs or keep stacks and stacks of old stuff, so there are still options for you AND your customers to come out happy and for you to make some extra money.

This would be a win-win for everyone involved. Add this to the PS5 maybe with a Software update, and you will make your console even more appealing than it already is.

You don't HAVE to make BC work, but you really Should.

[Godmars290]

Think the issue's become the bog of licensing. Between that and the insistence for graphical upgrades, paying an IP holder, no issue BC had become impossible.

[Kavorklestein]

Yeah MS faces lots of Licensing issues with their BC as well since they want the games to be available digitally as well as doing a digital download when entering the disc into the disc tray. MS opted for this to implement some kind of DRM, If I remember correctly.
If Sony went for games running straight off the disc tho, I believe that would eliminate the issue wouldn't it?
As far as I remember tho, most of that only applies to selling the games on new hardware on the online storefronts, like on a Digital Marketplace.
If I'm not mistaken, if they made it so the games run off the Discs people already own, that license is already paid for.
Even if they only did a few titles and added more over time, that would at least be a step in the right direction.

That's why PS Now works right?
I mean how could it work in One place, and not another? To be Frank tho, they need to just make it happen one way or another.

[Lexreborn2]

People forget that the Xbox one has BC but they themselves have said they need the publishers approval to put the games on the system. And even though PS3 and PSP had the rights to PS1 games the Vita also had restrictions to the PS one games.

Heck in the beginning of Vita Crash Bandicoot could be played on it and Spyro as well. Now they are unplayable, which makes since because they released the collections.

Emulation is not the same as Having a hardware component that is the system. Digital vs Physical is why this is a problem.

It’s just not a simple, emulate and work. That’s why the BC of PS5 and Series X are going to be because the systems have the physical capability to run on them. That’s their loophole they figured out for Next Gen which will be great.

Granted they continue to say a lot is still in the game publishers hands to improve

[Godmars290]

"If Sony went for games running straight off the disc tho, I believe that would eliminate the issue wouldn't it?"

No, because the licensing agreement for PS2 games only applies to the PS2 system for example. Back in the day consoles where a form of DRM only, however Sony managed it at the time, PS1 playback on the PS2 was a thing. Lead game resales, Gamestop, and publishers/IP holders complaining they weren't getting a cut - just like the book and music industries.

I mean, by all rights of common sense, game makers should be as SOL as book companies and the music industry are concerned in regards to albums, should just let resales be and offer upgraded remakes, but instead lawyers are a thing and common sense is dead.

[DarXyde]

This is easy to avoid if they don't go digital. If it's the discs, you can have BC without these limitations.

This development is clear evidence that Sony has found a way to run PSOne and, obviously from the PS2 catalogue on PS4 running natively, PS2 games natively. It really just comes down to them including the diodes to read the discs.

They can still hold out on PS3 for now though because that's run using PS Now. However...the way the Tempest Engine is architected in the PS5 is very reminiscent of the PS3's SPEs on the CELL processor. I would think the only reason to have it done that way is if you're planning to allow for backwards compatibility with PS3.

I'm feeling about 90% certain this thing is going to have very comprehensive backwards compatibility. But I'm 100% sure it is capable of comprehensive backwards compatibility.

[DogJosha]

First, just got to get an annoyance out of the way. BC and emulation are not the same thing, and worse off, Xbox One has neither. All of their games are ports. Using a disc to authenticate ownership or owning a digital copy on Xbox 360 does not make it BC or emulation.

Now that I cleared that up, even though it will be ignored, time to discuss the main topic. Licensing is NOT an issue for BC and emulation coming directly from Sony. It only becomes a licensing issue when they are providing access to the games themselves. It is the same reason why websites will have no problem hosting emulators to download while not wanting to risk hosting roms or bios files. You might try to think "the government just doesn't bother taking them down". If that is the case, I have another example. Kodi is well known for being used a lot to stream illegal content. The government has put in a lot of effort to close down and prosecute sites that host content that is being streamed to Kodi. Kodi has even been banned outside the US. The reason it doesn't get taken down in the US is because creating software to run both legal and illegal content is not in itself illegal. Getting back to games, there is absolutely nothing holding Sony back from creating hardware or software that allows us to play PS1 and PS2 games. I would include PS3, but realistically feasibility and cost are reasons to hold back on that one.

[neomahi]

Oh knock it off! Do you build a Ferarri car frame so that you can put a 4-cylinder engine it? The Tide pod generation. They have no brain or know how to use it. Dude, take your broke ass then over and get a PS1 then if you wanna play PS1 games so bad or shoot, if you want backward compatibility then get an Xbox where they like to remain stagnant instead of moving forward. PUT YOUR MONEY WITH YOUR MOUTH IS AND QUIT GRIPING BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS WHO YOU ARE AND CANT BEAT YOU WITH A RUBBER HOSE, BECAUSE IF I EVER DO MEET YOU, I WILL FOR BEING SO STUPID.

[starchild]

Dumb argument. People love convergence and convenience. Do you carry around a flashlight, GPS and a calculator or do you just appreciate that your phone can do all of those things? The answer is obvious.

I'm not going to keep every generation of PlayStation hooked up to my TV and I'm not going to dig them out and hook them up every time I get the itch to play an old favorite. I would absolutely love if the PS5 could play PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games. It's not going to be the end of the world if it can't and the fact that it can at least play PS4 games is awesome, but it would be a very appreciated aspect of the console if they could achieve it.

[Master of Unlocking]

Absolutely. The lack of BC with at least PS1 and PS2 titles (even the ones in digital format, downloaded from the PS store the previous gen, I mean, WTF), if not with PS3 titles, along with the lack of support for audio CDs and Ultra HD Blu-Rays, was one of the most jarring and inexcusable flaw found in the PS4.
Hopefully the PS5 shows everyone what the PS4 should've been, and has millions of consumers realize just how stupid they (we, me included) were to rush out to purchase a product so lacking in features on so many fronts.

[Profchaos]

Pretty exciting that it has the ability to upscale to 1080 and 4k if played on pro. That will make the games look a lot cleaner like PS2 games currently run on ps4

[gold_drake]

ok so for those who dont wanna click the article ha.

turns out, the remake had the original ps1 game as an unlockable, which ran on an internal Ps1-emulator.

thats pretty neat, but chances are pretty low that well ever get to see it realised by sony for the ps5

[shauzy]

fucking sony, why wont they give us ps1 titles

[Tapani]

I'm good, I have two phat PS3's, one 20GB and one 60GB, I fixed them both, and they are relatively quiet (fans go to stage 1 or 2, but not the loudest ever.) And I got 40 classics on PS1/PS2 that won't ever get released due to licensing issues. Stuff like whole Suikoden series, and Shadow Hearts/Koudelka series, pretty much all Shin Megami Tensei games on PS1/PS2 which are good, Japan only classics such as Front Mission 5 and Dragon Quest V.

[Ulf]

So... PS1 emulation totally possible on PS4, and yet... Sony won't give it to us.

Fascinating.

[Ristul]

Indeed, very pro consumer...

[Insanemaniak1]

It's all good and proper but the problem is that the only way you could play any games not designed for PS4 or PS Now would be by disk, which is why even having an emulator is redundant.

Regardless of what anyone says, licensing is an issue. Sony doesn't have the right to publish any game it did not publish itself during any of the previous eras and I fairly doubt the studios back then signed an agreement for their products to ge eternally reused.

The issue is the emulator. Licensing back the tied the games to the hardware. The PS2 was a step up from the PS1 but some of the hardware was the same, which is why they were able to carry over the PS1 games as they were run on a hardware level. The PS3 made it murky which is why eventually it was removed

Now, the system needs to be emulated to run the games, meaning previous licensing agreements do not apply and Sony would need to either gain permission to give away PS1 games digitally or sign new agreements to sell them.

As said before, the Xbox does not do BC, the games have been modified by either Microsoft with the publishers permission or by the deva themselves and I do not doubt fir a second MS threw a lot of money at that as they always like to demonstrate bigger numbers than Sony, regardless of the losses it causes: such as the game pass which any business other than the likes of MS who has money to burn, would have killed that off a long time ago as it is a loss making service.