European Backwards Compatibility reveals one thing...
by Nick Doerr 
{ Mar 20th 2007 at 11:00AM }
...Sony wasn't lying. Over at the official backwards compatibility site for the PS3, choosing your country is probably the hardest part. Nearly 1,800 of the 2,400 PS2 games have been deemed backwards compatible with software emulation. Not only that, every PS-One title will work also. If that's not worth a collective sigh of relief, then what is? Some people may have thought "oh, only one-thousand games?" but didn't realize that there weren't even 2,500 PS2 titles. Personally, I thought there were a lot more.In any case, it's safe to say that all of our favorite games will work via software emulation after the 1.60 firmware update on Thursday. If some of them don't for some reason, chances are they're in the line for an HD-upgrade emulation. Sucks, but hey, it might just be worth it. Seeing Shadow of the Colossus in 720p would be quite breathtaking -- not that the game wasn't before. So, reactions? Opinions?
[via Eurogamer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jo @ Mar 20th 2007 11:11AM
Not every PS1 games will work. FFVII fanboys will be very disappointed.
Hater @ Mar 20th 2007 12:04PM
For all the naysayers. Screw you jackass.
san @ Mar 20th 2007 12:40PM
It seems to me that the 1.6 update is going to shut down the emotion engine chip in my current American PS3, and it'll all be software emulation. I mean, supporting two different backwards compatibility methods doesn't make sense to me. Why have to fix everything twice?
The Machiavellian Nerd @ Mar 20th 2007 11:46AM
MGS2 is also incompatible, while some of the biggest selling PS and PS2 games have 'noticiable issues'.
I'm going to be very interested to find out what these issues are once the PS3 drops on Friday and how they compare to the bc issues with the Emotion Engine powered PS3s in America and Japan.
Kxpuc @ Mar 20th 2007 11:48AM
why would they be disappointed. i'd say more shock'd that FF7's not even on the list with it listing 1,2,4,5,6,8,9 but not 7 and only 2 and 4 not working
Otsego_Undead @ Mar 20th 2007 12:02PM
Shadow of the Collosus, sure. But im pretty sure that GOW is the best game to take the PS2 graphics as far as they go.
jeff @ Mar 20th 2007 12:07PM
i wish they would add the "use your own music" feature to some games soon. playing gears of war while listening to disturbed was awesome...i just wish i could do that with resistance thru the ps3.
James @ Mar 20th 2007 12:19PM
Kind of sad about MGS2 - I was just playing it on my US PS3 this weekend. Great game.
rfom @ Mar 20th 2007 12:23PM
Not totally perfect...the worry is that too many of those 1800 will not run well. After all M$ could get just 300 working so 1800 appears to be overambitious.
Especially MGS2. More than FF7, this is a game they must get right. Hopefully with the next patch.
But you noticed something interesting? Everytime Sony slips up on some statement you get a number of people shouting "Sony lies, buy 360 because MS are saints"
But when its the reverse these people are missing, no credit to Sony.
My guess is some of them could be xbots. But I think its down to the fact that M$ is far better at viral marketing.
Ian @ Mar 20th 2007 12:28PM
Actually, if you discount all the duplicated titles, it drops from around 1,800 PS2 "titles" to around 1,200 actual PS2 games. Note that Sony consider each SKU of the same game as an individual "title", meaning that over 8 versions of Buzz! are listed, plus countless FIFAs, SingStars and so on (normally due to localisation, but also due to repackaging and bundling).
Of these 1,200, 24% "should play on PS3 with noticeable issues", 15% "should play on PS3 with minor issues" and 61% "have no known issues to date".
Don't get me wrong, 61% is a good number, accounting for around 800 actual PS2 games out there. Alas, this doesn't include Okami, San Andreas and other games which push the hardware too much. These tend to have either "noticeable issues" (i.e. texture drops, possible save errors, etc) or are not listed at all, meaning zero compatibility at this time.
To me, any issues are a potential problem, so its probably safer to say that 800 PS2 games are currently backwards compatible.
I'm not bashing Sony here, just giving slightly more info as a concerned potential PS3 purchaser. It's still a much better attempt at BC than the 360 had, and I hope that any of these "noticeable" issues get rectified in firmware 1.7.
Ian @ Mar 20th 2007 12:33PM
(apologies for double post - horrendous server lag)
Also, it's worth noting the following from Sony:
* You avoid connecting any non-essential USB peripherals to your PS3
* You avoid the use of "60Hz" and network modes (which may experience noticeable graphical corruption not present in the main game)
* You should skip optional FMV sequences (a small number of games have graphical corruption in one or more video sequences).
* A maximum of seven players can play (non-network) multiplayer PS2 games.
Most of this isn't too annoying - I prefer to skip FMV anyway as it is tedious - but the recommendation against PAL60 modes is not good. That means dodgy PAL50 framerates are ahead...
fraeone @ Mar 20th 2007 2:31PM
It seems highly unlikely that emulating the CPU is going to get us higher resolutions, such as Shadow of the Colossus in 720P. That would require emulating the GPU, a chip which is still inside the Euro PS3s.
Jesse @ Mar 20th 2007 1:26PM
Did you guys even look at the list? Seriously, that list is terrible -- a majority of the games on that list play with known problems or are barely usable.
None of your favorite games will have any problems?
What about GT4 or GTA: San Andreas?
This really sucks for PS3 owners. Why are you heralding a money-saving move from Sony that hurts backwards compatibility as a win for fanboys?
bootsielon @ Mar 20th 2007 5:50PM
san:
You can't shut it down.
I'm very happy with my PS3. Unfortunately, I could be happier, and the only thing Sony needs is time. Even less fortunate is that neither we, nor Sony has the time. Sony... the clock is ticking. Move it with the features and the games, please.
mb3 @ Mar 20th 2007 6:40PM
@12
This sucks only 1200-1800 titles work!!!
The Xbox360 has like 309!!
Sony sucks!!
JK
fraeone @ Mar 20th 2007 10:03PM
Numbers don't mean anything. I can't believe none of the Ratchet games are on the list! Metal Gear Solid 2?! Final Fantasy VII?! SSX? SSX Tricky? Katamari Damacy? Castlevania: SOTN? Jak & Daxter? Noticeable issues with GTA: San Andreas? Wow. Seems safe to say that none of _my_ favorite games are backwards compatible.
Well! At least Barbie Horse Adventures is on the list! hehehe
Good thing I have a launch PS3, the rest of you are screwed.
Dale Massey @ Mar 21st 2007 4:08AM
I wa splaying some game son my PAL PS3, Capcom Vs SNK 2 and Capcom Fight Jam (Only ones that worked without an update) and they run in 540p.
Which is still high definition right?
If it can put a 2d fighter in 540p theres no reason it wouldnt be able to do the same for shadow of the collossus (Although I have played that in 720p on my PS2 before. Which would be even nicer through HDMI!)
Ian @ Mar 21st 2007 5:03AM
540p isn't anywhere near HD... PAL Standard Def television runs at 576i. 720p is the bare minimum for HD, but the thing is that Sony have not announced any plans for any upscaling of old titles as yet, so why Nick keeps on blathering on about SotC in 720p is beyond me. The only scaling of games being done right now is via the internal scaler of your TV which is far from the PS3 hardware actually rendering polymeshes at a higher res. Especially considering DVD upscaling hasn't made it into firmware 1.6...