PS2 Emulation Already Up And Running?
Interesting information arises on the PS3 patent...Published 30/06/2009 at 12:30 by nofi
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Is your PlayStation 3 running firmware greater than 2.10? Chances are it is, but did you know that apparently it’s then already capable of running PS2 games then? “PS3 is capable of running PS2 games with 100 % software emulation but the performance and compatibility is really poor,” suggests a poster on GAF*, who alleges that the emulator is present in every PS3 on the market but is currently deactivated. The thread then goes on to suggest that the current PS3 firmware has some “interesting” files on it, which are presumably linked to his statement above.
This follows our news this morning that Sony have applied for a patent for a purely software-based solution to the PS2 emulation issue and ties in nicely with the job advert from last January for a software engineer at Sony Japan to work on exactly this. TheSixthAxis has also learnt this lunchtime that the bottleneck isn’t the Emotion Engine, which is already up and running, it’s the Graphics Synthesizer that’s causing the headaches. If Sony can crack this, then surely that would open the gates to downloadable PS2 games over the Store, as we suggested this morning.
* Quote amended for grammar.
Please note that this is rumoured information only and does not constitute official Sony information.
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
3shirts | 30/06/2009 12:35
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All the games I’ve ever tried on my 60Gb have worked pretty much flawlessley. Admittedly I have only tried a few, quite major, titles but still.
Kevling | 30/06/2009 12:39
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I thought the 60gb launch PS3’s had the Emotion Engine but NOT the Graphics Synthesiser, So surely that story can’t be right..
Unless it’s to do with the way the emulated emotion engine works with the emulated graphics synthesiser…
Watchful | 30/06/2009 12:57
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US and Japan launch 60GBers had both PS2 chips. The PAL 60GBers had no Emotion Engine, but retained the Graphics Synthesizer.
DarthSharkey | 30/06/2009 12:35
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Fantastic, that is good to hear. Roll on the day I can download ICO or SotC etc etc…
Averna | 30/06/2009 15:09
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Yes! I passed on both back in the day and now I really want to play both of them but they are impossible to find.
That being said, I’m also hanging out for FFVIII and FFIX to come out on the store. Its a bit sad that I’m looking forward to the classic games moreso than the new PSN games. Although Trash Panic and Trine have caught me eye, I just cant seem to settle into any of the PSN games.. I play them for a week and rarely go back to them, even if I like them… “Savage Moon”
Watchful | 30/06/2009 15:49
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They’re not hard to find, just very difficult to find for a reasonable cost. I picked up a near mint SotC last week off Amazon for £25 last week. I lent my original out and never saw it again.
citizeninsane45 | 30/06/2009 12:36
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Great news. The only downside may be the pricing, especially after seeing the pricing on the recent ‘premium’ PSOne titles.
ANTS101 | 30/06/2009 17:06
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That is a really good point but at least the original PS2 games on DVD ROM will be cheap
w3r3w0lf | 30/06/2009 12:36
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It would be nice for the non-60Gb owners to have this. Personally, I think I’ve played one PS2 game on my PS3 and that’s it. It’s good though to at least have the option.
I assume that this would be more welcome if this came as a download from the store (a la Vidzone) as opposed to being included in a firmware update (as not everybody wants it)??
Jas-n | 30/06/2009 12:49
Folding With TSA Co-ordinator.
1229 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
What?! are you serious? This is the one thing that most PS3 owners want, and the last thing that should be a download-as-you want. This will be a firmware update, possibly 3.0 as it’s a huge step forward(lol).
Home, and that image gallery should be download as you want.
w3r3w0lf | 30/06/2009 12:57
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My apologies then, it’s just that everytime a firmware update comes out, I only see the majority of people complaining about the lack of Cross-game-chat and party invites.
Downey92 | 30/06/2009 14:04
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Home and ‘that image gallery’ are download as you want. You can delete them.
Aitrus | 30/06/2009 12:49
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This follows very nicely from what someone else (forgot who, sorry) said in the comments to the other story: The US and Japanese original PS3’s had both the Emotion Engine and the Graphics Synthesizer installed.
The original EU PS3 only had the graphics chip and hence they had already cracked the emulation of the Emotion Engine at that time. So the hard part obviously is to emulate tha graphics chip. Good to know they are working on it.
Chimpanzee | 30/06/2009 13:10
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I have a 60gig and nearly bought ICO and SotC off Amazon today but they were both around £50! PS2 downloads are looking more and more likely so I think I’ll hold off.
TctclMvPhase | 30/06/2009 14:01
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If the PS2 downloads come about, hopefully they will use the PAL version of ICO. It had a ton of extras and would be well worth it even if it had a slightly inflated price.
PrettyVacant | 30/06/2009 13:12
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A random post on GAF is hardly a credible source for a rumour as wild as this. You might as well say Kutaragi-san told you in a dream.
And did you really learn this lunchtime that emulating the GS was the problem? I’m surprised that the BC PS3s sold in Europe with a GS but no EE didn’t tip you off sooner, nor the fact that it’s been discussed ad infinitum for the past year or more all over the net (including the font of all knowledge that is GAF).
nofi | 30/06/2009 13:22
Wants a custom tag.
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Bad morning, huh? Have an ice-cream or something.
gazzagb | 30/06/2009 13:28
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Nice job with the new comments layout nofi, but why does the trophies always say “0 0 0 0″ above your TSA points?
Snebjnr | 30/06/2009 13:29
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Hey this is even better news
Come on Sony, give us that Emulation
gazzagb | 30/06/2009 13:30
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What does this mean if you have a 60gig? I can already play PS2 games so is it nothing and is only for 40gb and 80gb?
BryOnRye | 30/06/2009 13:58
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Well you can’t copy the disc to the HDD, so that’ll be a usefull addition for 60 gig owners.
gazzagb | 30/06/2009 14:38
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Cheers
AcidCrashX | 30/06/2009 13:59
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this is pretty good news. downloadable PS2 titles would be a great addition to the PSN and woudl offer consumers a much bigger selection of titles…
still just want it to play persona 3 and 4 easily though lol
Carl | 30/06/2009 14:07
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I call bullshit on this one
TonyLeMesmer | 30/06/2009 14:18
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Erm, obviously there is some sort of PS2 emulation in the firmware. How else would the 60 GB ps3’s play PS2 games without an emotion engine. We’ve known for ages that they can do that through software
jimmy-google | 30/06/2009 14:43
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Don’t forget that all ps3’s can play their regions ps2 singstar discs (but not all can boot them)
Watchful | 30/06/2009 15:15
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That’s just reading data off of a DVD. They do not need any emulation to do that, just a bit of code in SingStar to understand the format.
Br0ken | 30/06/2009 14:27
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Thing is, I still have my PS2, so I’d rather buy a PS2 game from Ebay for next to nothing than pay for a download which I know won’t be as cheap as I would want it. Plus I’m a fan of manuals – not reading them – just the art.
crestfaller | 30/06/2009 15:03
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ICO – $149.50 USD
SotC – $30.00 USD
Dark Cloud 2 – $48.00 USD
I’d rather pay $9.99 on the PSN…
Glenndog84 | 30/06/2009 14:29
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Coming from someone who had a Ps1 and currently still owns a Ps2 that I absolutely played to death, I really can’t get excited about this, I want the development of the Ps3 to move forward not back. Sure it would have been nice to have hardware emulation so that I could use the discs I currently own, but theres not a cat in hells chance of me buying any Ps2 games from PSN. History has shown that software emulation has always been worse than pure hardware emulation.
Roarster | 30/06/2009 14:31
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Find it a bit hard to believe Sony are including big chunks of functionality like this in the firmware but deactivating it. It must already cost them a fortune in bandwidth for each of the firmware updates without padding them with unused functionality for no reason.
I don’t doubt that Sony will have full software emulation for the PS2 on PS3 running already though. Technically it wouldn’t be that difficult when you’re familiar with both architectures, though getting decent performance might be difficult/impossible.