The PlayStation 4 console will soon have backwards compatibility to play PS2 games, according to Sony.
For gamers this means that they’ll be able to use their current-gen Sony console to play older classics such as God of War, Final Fantasy X, and Metal Gear Solid 2.
“We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation,” a Sony representative told WIRED via email. “We have nothing further to comment at this point in time.”
The games aren’t going to be ports as they’ll run on proprietary emulation software.
The software will emulate the computing environment of the PlayStation 2 console. When a game starts up the user will be greeted by the PlayStation 2 logo. Gamers will use the PlayStation 4 touchpad instead of the PS2’s Start and Select buttons.
The PlayStation 4 is the only console that Sony released without some form of backwards compatibility.
The news follows a similar move by Microsoft. On November 12 the Xbox One was made compatible with 104 Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games – more games are planned to be available down the line.
According to Digital Foundry, the new emulation technology runs original PS2 software faster and more smoothly on PS4. The video below looks at just how much faster the emulation software is.
The move by Sony is partly to ensure that the PS4 offers consumers a range of features to match the Xbox One. It is also a move that will broaden the company’s reach and retain its consumer base.
