PS3 Firmware 3.50 releases next week, adds 3D Blu-ray support

Hope 3.60 has the PS2 Backwards already. I’m getting tired of waiting.

Well you might as well settle in as you’ll be waiting a lot longer. It’s not like they can simply flip the backwards compatibility switch, and frankly Sony have very little reason to invest all the money and manpower it would require to come up with any kind of workable solution.

Anyway, going off the wording it doesn’t sound like there will be any other major additions in 3.50.

@2 “It’s not like they can simply flip the backwards compatibility switch.”

As the recent PS3Jailbreak proved, that’s *exactly* what they can do.

Okay, I should rephrase: it’s not like they can flip the backwards compatibility switch and have it actually work.

@4 But it does work. I’ve bumped into less than a dozen titles in my 200+ PS2 games collection that don’t work at all.

Having hundreds of working games on your new console from the previous console generation beats having none at all. There’s over 15 years of games history under the PlayStation’s belt.

Almost no man-hours would have to be put into this. They simple have to flick a variable in the coding to turn a feature that’s already *in* the machine back on.

But they took the BC hardware out of the PS3. You can’t switch it back on if the bit that you’re attempting to turn on is no longer there.

I’ve been keeping up with the PS3jailbreak scene and no there is no switch to flip. The best they can come up with is to port the PCSX2 emulator.

@6 A while back, Sony patented “PS2 Software Emulation”. This was quite a while after the release of the PS3. I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually release a USB device (to make up for the lack of PS2 graphics synthesizers), or a possible paid download from the store) that will “magically” allow you to play PS2 games on your PS3 once again.

Which thankfully isn’t an issue for me, since I had enough sense to buy a backwards compatible PS3 on the cheap when they decided to phase the feature out. Gotta love how the machines loses more and more features as time goes bad.

It only does everything… except for PS2 emulation and OS install support. So almost everything.

@7 “The best they can come up with is to port the PCSX2 emulator.”

The fact that it can do it at all proves that the PS3 hardware is capable of doing it without any of the original hardware parts.

That’s not right, Michael.

The original US and Japanese models featured two chips which allowed PS2 BC – a EE processor and a GPU. The original European models ditched the processor and did it in software, but they kept the GPU.

When the new models appeared without BC, they took away the GPU. That’s why PS2 emulation went away – they didn’t just turn it off because they wanted to, they turned it off because including the GPU was expensive and there was no software-emulation equivalent.

While it’s feasible that they could come up with a fully software-enabled solution, it’s not so simple as just ‘turning it back on again’. Most PS3s out there now just aren’t capable of PS2 emulation unless they come up with a new software-only emulator.

@9 As I pointed out in my last post, a USB device could easily house the entire PS2 hardware in it at this stage. And as Kaufer said, its capable of it, even on an externally developed PS2 emulator.

And Sony are pretty decent programmers, they could easily replicate the PS2′s GPU software only. If a hack in his bedroom can do it, Sony certainly again.

So, okay, it might not require *no* man-power, but it would certainly require *very little*. You can guarantee its going to reappear in some form or another by Sony as soon as the PS2 hardware becomes defunct, which I’m estimating will happen sometime around 2012 – 2013.

@8
“The fact that it can do it at all proves that the PS3 hardware is capable of doing it without any of the original hardware parts.”

Don’t get me wrong. I never said the homebrew emulator already exist. I was just implying its an idea at this stage and so far nothing beyond that.

Sony actually sucks at emulation as evidence by the emotion engine emulator. Thats why there is a huge difference in PS2 compatibilty between 80GB and 60GB models. They bought the PS1 emulator from connectix, i believe, so you can’t credit them for that.

I’m sure it could be done, yes (although I seem to recall there was some technical hitch that made emulating a PS2 GPU quite difficult for the PS3′s GPU). Whether it will be done or not is another thing altogether.

At this stage I would be very surprised to see a return to a ‘your PS3 will play any PS2 game, pop your disc in’ way of doing things.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have selected PS2 games return as digital downloads, though. If full software emulation is on the cards over there, then I think that’s the way it will happen.

@11 They bought out someone else’s emulation of their own console? I don’t know that. That’s hilarious. *laughs*

“At this stage I would be very surprised to see a return to a ‘your PS3 will play any PS2 game, pop your disc in’ way of doing things.”

Thankfully not a problem for me.

Once the PS2 is finally put to sleep, it would be kinda hilarious if they started touting “PS2 emulation” as a feature on newer consoles. I imagine they’d probably allow both options (digital download and disc play) like they do with the PS1.

Roll on PS4, eh?

I’ve just kept my old PS2. It plays everything!

@13 “They bought out someone else’s emulation of their own console? I don’t know that. That’s hilarious.”

Yes. Presumably to block anyone else from buying it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectix_Virtual_Game_Station

There is a recent patent of a PS2-PS3 addon. PS2 BC is not dead yet. They might even re-introduce an SKU with PS2 BC, i think.
http://www.siliconera.com/2010/09/14/sony-japan-files-patent-for-new-generation-console-to-previous-generation-console-adapter/

@14 That’s the simplest and most reliable option. Besides, aren’t PS2s cheaper than Jailbreak USB these days?

@15/13 Yes. Why is it hilarious? Someone already did all the work you were going to do. Why duplicate cost and effort when you can buy a ready made solution? This practice occurs every single day in business – probably because it makes a lot of sense.

Hasn’t the news of a patent for a PS2 USB box already been mentioned on VG247?

SEGA also acquired a Saturn emulator that was further developed and used to sell games on PC.

I’m not convinced USB would be fast enough for a hardware-based emulation solution. Anybody more techy than me care to pitch in?

@18 The Ethernet port would do the job. But then what if its already in use?

@18
No need Blerk. Everything about it is extrapolated here.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ps2-adaptor-patent-blog-entry

Wow, I somehow managed to completely miss that. How interesting.

Sounds like they have the same concerns that I had, though – would such a setup ever be fast enough to actually work properly?

It’ll be interesting to find out.

@1
Ain’t gonna happen. The required chip doesn’t exist in the newer models. The only way you can play PS2 games on your PS3 is using that external device which was on the news a couple of days ago.

time to move on from playing ps2 games dnt u think??

Well all I know is they better not hope for strong PS4 sales in the first years of its life if theres no BC with PS3 games. I’m only an early adapter because I can still play my last gen games on the newly next gen system.

When there was only RFOM and some other (handful) ok launch titles for PS3 I was still heavily playing FFXII. Maybe 3.50 will add cross game chat (LMAO dreaming is good for the heart)