Backwards Compatibility: Coming to a PS3 Near You?

Written by Vespasian Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:06

Not having backwards compatibility on their newer model PlayStation 3 systems has been something of a sore spot for some PS3 owners. And for those lucky enough to have a 60GB model, the loss of such a feature, should their system ever crash, must always be in the back of their minds. But by the reckoning of the good folks over at Ars Technica, emulation may bring a form of salvation. According to Ars, who report on an encouraging story from Siliconera:

[A] patent was filed in December of 2008, and shows a method where the Cell could fully emulate the Emotion Engine. "Figure 2 from the patent is a schematic drawing of how the system works. Figure 3A is a drawing of the PlayStation 2's chipset. Figure 3B is the emotion engine. Figure 4 is where the whole story gets interesting!" Spencer Yip writes. "It's 'an example of a host system based on a cell processor that may be configured to emulate the target system.' The target is figure 3B, the Emotion Engine."
So what does this mean? It could mean a few things, including PS2 games sold directly to consumers through the PlayStation Network. Siliconera raises an even juicier idea though: it's possible that when the PS3 Slim launches later this year, it will arrive with full, software-based backwards compatibility.

A longshot? Certainly, but the continued success of the PS2 shows there is an audience for these games, and the ability to play PS2 games on the PS3 is—in our opinion—a selling point that adds value to the system. Add that to the PS3 Slim, launch at a good price point, and you have quite the news story.
We can dream, can't we?

Vespasian: Indeed, we can. And I’m dreaming of a patch that would allow my PS3 to play PS2 games more reliably. I’m happy with my system, so backward compatibility would be more of a bonus than anything. But it would be nice to finally be able to mothball the PS2 I still have occupying space in my entertainment center.

Oh, and in case you didn't infer it dear readers, those references to figures in the quoted text above are from the original source article by Siliconera. Be sure to check it out.

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