PS2 games hitting PSN - Rare and classic games!

[androvsky]

Holy crap.

It's official:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/...ghout-october/

Also starting tomorrow as part of Only On PSN, we’ll also be offering a selection of rare classic games in the PlayStation Store: God Hand, GrimGrimoire, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, Odin Sphere and Ring of Red.

Buried at the end of the post, like they're trying to hide the fact they're finally putting PS2 games on PSN.

From replies on the blog:
No trophies, not HD.

The PS2 games are in their original form. These aren’t remasters, and therefore won’t have Trophy support. But they retain their original gameplay, look, and charm through and through.

They won't load previous saves (which is really odd, emulated or not).

These editions do not work with any previous PS2 save data. They’ll need to utilize newly created save data once you’ve downloaded them.

Coming to Europe too
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/10/...european-ps3s/

We’ve just spoken to Sony and can confirm that European PS3 owners can also look forward to PS2 games coming to their console – exciting news for anyone doubting the validity of our earlier post this morning.

[Groo The Perverted]

One of the developers from Project Soul (the one who according to his twitter has the final say) stated that they were deciding on possibly releasing the Soul Calibur series as "DLC" on the store.

I so desperately want to get Soul Calibur III on the PSN! In fact I just want them all! That's my all time favorite fighting series.

[Hayabusa85]

Not surprised PS2 games are finally coming but am surprised by what the first wave is going to be. Surprised in a good way though. Any word on if these will be emulated or HD remasters with trophy support? An HD version of Odin Sphere was announced ages ago (Along with Muramasa) but then further news vanished which is why I am wondering that since it would restore hope of Muramasa coming to a proper console with a proper controller. Plus I like trophies If they were emulated I also don't see why Sony wouldn't release an emulator to play retail PS2 games. HD remasters would also explain the games since they are PS2 games that wouldn't fair as well as retail HD collections sadly.

[androvsky]

Originally Posted by Hayabusa85

Not surprised PS2 games are finally coming but am surprised by what the first wave is going to be. Surprised in a good way though. Any word on if these will be emulated or HD remasters with trophy support? An HD version of Odin Sphere was announced ages ago (Along with Muramasa) but then further news vanished which is why I am wondering that since it would restore hope of Muramasa coming to a proper console with a proper controller. Plus I like trophies If they were emulated I also don't see why Sony wouldn't release an emulator to play retail PS2 games. HD remasters would also explain the games since they are PS2 games that wouldn't fair as well as retail HD collections sadly.

There's pretty solid rumors that these are straight emulated games, similar to PS1 games. No trophies, not HD, but maybe some extra smoothing options.

HD Odin Sphere and Muramasa were merely rumored, sadly.

Considering the phenomenal amount of money Sony's lost on PS2 BC (probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars) and the fact they've been working on the emulator since 2006, they probably feel they should try to make some money at some point. Obviously I'd vastly prefer it if they just put the emulator out there for free, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Maximo? MAXIMO!? Thank you Sony for allowing me to play this game, once more.

[Hayabusa85]

These are not the kind of games that are going to sell a PS3 to people wanting BC and they won't sell as well if they are not HD remasters with trophy support. So if that is Sony's logic then they are braindead. Plus if they are emulated then it will just annoy people that an emulator is up and running but not letting them play their retail games. If it meant an emulator that I could upscale all my PS2 retail games again on the PS3 (R.I.P. 60GB PS3 ) then I would prefer that. But if there is not an emulator to use play retail games and they are emulated then no chance in hell I am supporting that even with the ones I don't already own on PS2.

So for me HD Remasters With Trophies = Buying games like Odin Sphere I already own again as well as those I don't already own. Emulation + Emulation For Retail Games = Buying games I don't own for PS2 already but not re-purchasing those I do. Emulation + No Emulation For Retail Games = Boycott & Rage

[BlackMamba]

solid, GrimGrimoire and Odin Sphere were two solid title that never got the attention they deserved (Ring of Red was pretty good IMO too). I hear God Hand was crazy, but I never got a chance to play it.

[Zen_Amako]

Odin Sphere looks beautiful on the PS2 but it does have a problem with slowdown. It would be nice if they could at least fix that.

I do miss my old 60GB PS3 with BC (yellow light of death a little over a year ago). I regularly played my PS2 games on it, including Odin Sphere and the Fatal Frame series.

[AranhaHunter]

They need a PS2 classics section on the PSStore, with all the ps2 games there, it would be easier to navigate and find the games.

[Psx0005]

Originally Posted by Hayabusa85

These are not the kind of games that are going to sell a PS3 to people wanting BC and they won't sell as well if they are not HD remasters with trophy support. So if that is Sony's logic then they are braindead. Plus if they are emulated then it will just annoy people that an emulator is up and running but not letting them play their retail games. If it meant an emulator that I could upscale all my PS2 retail games again on the PS3 (R.I.P. 60GB PS3 ) then I would prefer that. But if there is not an emulator to use play retail games and they are emulated then no chance in hell I am supporting that even with the ones I don't already own on PS2.

So for me HD Remasters With Trophies = Buying games like Odin Sphere I already own again as well as those I don't already own. Emulation + Emulation For Retail Games = Buying games I don't own for PS2 already but not re-purchasing those I do. Emulation + No Emulation For Retail Games = Boycott & Rage

Have to agree with ya on this, Hayabusa85. I still have the 60GB Phat with PS2 BC, but quite frankly I use it for PS3 and PS3 games only.

I have a lot of PS2 games back from those days, and 2 PS2's (an original and Slim unit) to play 'em on but to be quite honest the PS2 is now part of my videogame history. Time to move on.

Probably the same reason I passed on the RE4 and RE: CV HD-remakes, even with those specific games getting a HD upgrade and trophy support. As I already had 'em on the original PS2, didn't really see the point in spending additional funds just for "memory's" sake. But I do have to admit, the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus HD update has me intrigued

But I figure choice is good all around for everyone.

[Sponge-worthy]

Back in the GeoHot days, it was revealed that PS2 emulation is part of the PS3 system, but it is merely switched off (much like OtherOS).

About half of my PS2 collection has been rendered moot via HD remasters. I'm down to DOA2:Hardcore; Half-Life; Harvey Birdman:Attorney at Law; Okami; Psychonauts; and Rez.

Would love to move from a 60GB 'fat' model to a slim, but even if updated versions/PS2 emulation is made available, those measly 2 USB ports are tough to swallow.

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by Sponge-worthy

Back in the GeoHot days, it was revealed that PS2 emulation is part of the PS3 system, but it is merely switched off (much like OtherOS).

About half of my PS2 collection has been rendered moot via HD remasters. I'm down to DOA2:Hardcore; Half-Life; Harvey Birdman:Attorney at Law; Okami; Psychonauts; and Rez.

Would love to move from a 60GB 'fat' model to a slim, but even if updated versions/PS2 emulation is made available, those measly 2 USB ports are tough to swallow.

From what I understood, it was a hardware capability that made the previous PS3 backwards compatible, not software.

[Sponge-worthy]

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

From what I understood, it was a hardware capability that made the previous PS3 backwards compatible, not software.

Originally yes for the launch 20GB and 60GB models. Then, BC was handled by software emulation. Then, it was removed entirely. Sony did infer later down the road that even the software-emulated models contained some hardware component, but I think that was a smokescreen. More likely Sony just didn't want to support such an emulator--having to continually, and retroactively, debug and patch the software to accommodate the massive PS2 library.

[androvsky]

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

From what I understood, it was a hardware capability that made the previous PS3 backwards compatible, not software.

Hackers did recently uncover a PS2 emulator that runs on all PS3s (including Slims). Problem is it's from 2009 and runs very poorly; for some reason Sony included it with firmware 2.6 but didn't actually enable it. These games are probably using a heavily tweaked emulator, so it'd be like the 360 where you have to download something for each game anyway.

Sony did infer later down the road that even the software-emulated models contained some hardware component, but I think that was a smokescreen.

You can look at system teardowns, the so-called "software bc" systems absolutely had PS2 hardware as a separate chip on the motherboard. The difference is the "hardware bc" systems contained the PS2's CPU and GPU (and possibly memory too), while the "software bc" systems just had the graphics chip from the PS2. It's not something Sony could lie about, since every time there's a major system revision tech websites tear it apart and examine it pretty closely.

[MOONPHASE]

Soon, PlayStation Network will add a list of downloadable PlayStation 2 games. Sony is putting niche third-party titles like Odin Sphere, GrimGrimoire, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, Ring of Red, and God Hand in their own section titled "rare classic games." It's unclear if these titles will be updated with trophies or any other PlayStation 3 specific features.

These will be released on October 4 (tomorrow!) as part of Sony's "Only on PSN" marketing campaign. Sony Computer Entertainment plans on pushing made for PS3 exclusives like Eufloria, Okabu, inFamous: Festival of Blood, and PixelJunk Sidescroller all of which will be released in October.

Since a rare classic section is coming to PlayStation Network, are there titles would you like to see on there?

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/03...psn-donwloads/

[Maximus]

Wouldn't it be funny if Sony's 5/10/11 announcement is backwards compatibility for all PS3s and we can play our PS2 discs in slims...

Not saying this is likely, in fact it has about 0.0001% chance of being true.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

Odin Sphere looks beautiful on the PS2 but it does have a problem with slowdown. It would be nice if they could at least fix that.

They fixed it for the PAL version.

[Trace17]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Wouldn't it be funny if Sony's 5/10/11 announcement is backwards compatibility for all PS3s and we can play our PS2 discs in slims...

Not saying this is likely, in fact it has about 0.0001% chance of being true.

Equally likely: the rams win the super bowl, the astros win the world series and Jason Statham is voted President of the USA.

If so though, I would be at the local game store in a heart beat with a full wallet.

[androvsky]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Wouldn't it be funny if Sony's 5/10/11 announcement is backwards compatibility for all PS3s and we can play our PS2 discs in slims...

Not saying this is likely, in fact it has about 0.0001% chance of being true.

Don't tease, someone already replied on the blog and said you can't play discs. Well, they said you can't play discs with these downloads, but the implication was clear, even if there is a loophole.

Although "Long Live Play" fits with the idea of playing older games.

Any idea if these are pure emulation? Looks like there's some strange stuff going on with them, like they don't use save data on the virtual memory cards; they get their own XMB category.

They fixed it for the PAL version.

Ah, but is it fixed for the NTSC version on PSN?

[Agent Bond]

An HD version of Soul Edge would be freaking great!