PS3 to be Backwards Compatible Again Thanks to Gaikai?

OK, this makes sense. The latest rumor surrounding Sony and a possible acquisition of a major cloud gaming service claims that the company will announce a deal with Gaikai during the E3 2012 conference on Monday.

According to the rumor, the partnership will allow gamers to stream PlayStation 2 games to the current console. Customers already have an option of purchasing and playing local digital copies of "PS2 Classics" from the PlayStation Store like Max Payne, Need for Speed: Most Wanted and SSX On Tour. They can even purchase and play PS1 classics.

But this deal would eliminate the need for "emulation" and open up the entire PlayStation 2 library. Even more, it's quite possible that PlayStation 3 owners will even be able to purchase and play games currently not available on the console like Magicka and Spore.

The PlayStation 3 originally made its debut with hardware-based backwards compatibility intact, but Sony removed the chip and went with partial software emulation in the next wave in order to reduce the overall cost. Sony then killed off software support in the third wave, and decided to instead work with the games on an individual basis so that they will run natively in the PlayStation 3 environment.

Just days ago, reports appeared claiming that Sony was actually considering the purchase of Gaikai or OnLive. An unnamed source close to the situation claimed that a partnership deal is close to being signed. It was assumed that OnLive would be the likely choice, but this latest report regarding Gaikai makes a lot more sense.

OnLive is a closed network. Gamers can either rent or purchase individual titles, or they can subscribe to an all-you-can-play monthly service. Gaikai on the other hand isn't really a network, but acts as the middleman between publisher and customer that streams the actual games. Even more, Gaikai has a network of servers scattered throughout the U.S., so whatever the end-user is playing, it's being streamed from the server closest to his physical address.

OnLive was originally thought to be the acquisition of choice due to its OnLive Desktop service and its rumored upcoming video streaming service. OnLive even previously stated that it was in talks with Sony and Microsoft to bring the service to the current consoles.

As always, take everything as mere rumor. We'll finally put the assumptions to rest on Monday when Sony officially spills the beans at E3 2012.

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Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more.

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25 Comments Comment from the forums

kawininjazx

Sony should let you register your old PS1 and PS2 games, then download them off the store for a small transaction fee, like $.50-$.99.

However, I still have my PS2, so I won't complain about it.
Reply
captaincharisma

they don;t have every PS1 and PS2 game for download so what happens if you want to play a game other then a final fantasy or resident evil game?
Reply
cybrcatter

Epsxe and pcsx2.

Hi res. Filters.

All I need.
Reply
gamerk316

PCSX2 works for like 80% of the PS2 library now, though some games don't work well yet.

And BTW, PCSX Reloaded is better then Epsxe these days.
Reply
kinggraves

captaincharismathey don;t have every PS1 and PS2 game for download so what happens if you want to play a game other then a final fantasy or resident evil game?
Get an emulator like everyone else does I guess. This is the first point where PSN/Suite and Nintendo's VC fail. People don't just want to play a few classics, they want the entire library, they want to decide their own classics. When you can't provide a large amount of the titles, people turn to emulation, and when they're already emulating it they might as well emulate the ones you ARE selling.

This really isn't good news to me. Like OnLive/Gaikai's service or not, they're providing a unique service. An independent provider getting swallowed up by large corporate Sony is not going to provide innovation for the customer.

Don't get your hopes up for a full library of PS2 titles. Realistically they already don't offer a full library of PS1 titles, and those are easily emulated. They just want another feature they can pretend to support. "Now ps3 can stream games to you through PSN....current titles inclucde Crash Bandicoot and....well just Crash Bandicoot."
Reply
CaedenV

Alright Sony, lets take it one step further than just game streaming:
Every game, movie and song that you guys have in your vast collection of IP should go on this service. Charge us $20/mo for this service, and give us 1/2 off for a year or two if we purchase and register a Sony device. Many of us would jump all over that in a heartbeat! And it would give a huge value for purchasing Sony brand hardware.
Reply
CaedenV

kinggravesDon't get your hopes up for a full library of PS2 titles. Realistically they already don't offer a full library of PS1 titles, and those are easily emulatedKeep in mind that Sony does not own the rights to all of the games that they are distributors for. Many times a game does not show up on these types of services because the people who do own the IP are either out of business, or the IP is split among a large group of people who cannot make a decision, or they are simply greedy and do not want the deal that Sony is willing to give them to resurrect their work. Others simply do not want to be bothered supporting an old game, no matter how 'easy' it would be to do. But then again, you are right that sometimes Sony thinks that a game would sell poorly, and it simply gets buried forever unless the developer wants to pay for it.
Reply
eddieroolz

I for one wouldn't like to buy a digital copy of the game I already own on disc.
Reply
christarp

Well, I have the original fat 20gb (with a 160gb hdd in it) that plays ps2 games natively... Why sony removed it, I don't know.
Reply
kawininjazx

christarpWell, I have the original fat 20gb (with a 160gb hdd in it) that plays ps2 games natively... Why sony removed it, I don't know.
They removed it because the PS3 was really expensive and they had to cut costs. Honestly, probably about 80% of the people buying a PS3 didn't care about the backwards compatibility, so it was a better idea to cut it to trim cost off the system so they could lower the price.
Reply

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