Report: PlayStation 4 will soon emulate PS2, PSone titles

PlayStation 4 could be emulating PS2 and PSone titles soon, and potentially executing games in upgraded HD resolutions.


Digital Foundry (via Gamespot) reports that a source close to PlayStation Now reveals that Sony's new streaming service will focus exclusively on PlayStation 3 games. That means games for PS2 and PSone would be played directly on the PS4 using emulation technology. Here's how:

Sony's internal emulator is already used on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, but the incarnation in the works for PlayStation 4 is said to be aiming for the ability to run the games in native HD resolutions. This would offer a distinct visual advantage over the current PS1/PS2 upscaling, and open up visual options seen in emulators like PCSX2. Running classic PlayStation games locally on your PS4 would also mean that any of the potential downsides of streaming--such as input lag--would be non-existent.

GS also has a photo of Silent Hill 3 running in a native 1080p format through the emulator PCSX2. If all of this holds true, it could breathe new life into all of those classic PlayStation 2 games. It may not have the professional look of a truly remastered game (like so many Sony classics have been through), but it will be night and day better than simple upscaling techniques.

Now it all depends on how many games will be available and when for PS2 and PSone. If a great selection is available before next holiday season, the PS4 could start dominating the console market.

Image credit: Flickr

MonkeyPaw Games to release six PSone classics including Double Dragon, Tomba! 2

Enjoy this week's PSone release of Double Dragon? MonkeyPaw Games has five more coming and each one will be released every Tuesday.


From the studio's PR manager Ryan Olsen on the PlayStation Blog (via Polygon):

For the next six weeks, the publisher will release one game a week digitally for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PSP.
"We are going to highlight games from all kinds of genres, and it will all lead up to a game that PSone Classic fans have been anticipating for a long time," Olsen wrote.

MPG labels the six-week event as "Retro Rush." Here's the full list of games released sequentially each Tuesday (which began this week):

• Double Dragon
• Lucifer Ring
• The Firemen 2: Pete and Danny
• Hyper Crazy Climber
• Wolf Fang
• Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Returns

The only game I've played off of this list is DD, and it's not even worth the money to try it out. However, there could be some hidden gems and according to the company's response in the Polygon comment section, none of the games will be over $10 (with Tomba! 2 being at exactly $10).

Image credit: Flickr

'PlayStation Home' is giving away free PSone games

Haven't used PlayStation Home is a while, or don't even have it installed? Might want to reconsider never using it again thanks to Sony giving away three PSone games.

Polygon reports that users that load up PS Home can go into the PlayStation 4 Experience and search for voucher codes for Twisted Metal, Warhawk, and Destruction Derby.

How can those codes be obtained? From the Polygon article:

The scavenger hunt is simple, requiring about 10 minutes or so of hunting, light puzzle-solving and Coming to America references. Trailers and images for PS4 games like Knack, DriveClub and Killzone: Shadow Fall are available, but not required viewing to progress in the quest.
Three vouchers for Twisted Metal, Warhawk and Destruction Derby scattered about provide download codes for PS3 and PS Vita.

All three games are definitely worth it for those that haven't checked any of them out, and all of them are compatible on PS3 and PS Vita.

[Image credit: Flickr]