Sony Announces PS2 Emulation Coming to PlayStation 4

Sony has confirmed that it’s working on PS2 emulation for the PlayStation 4. Eurogamer has already reported that three of bonus titles included in the Star Wars Battlefront PS4 Bundle seem to be already running on emulation software. The emulation is supposed to run similarly to the Xbox One’s, mimicking the original PS2 software so that players can run PS2 games. Some of the details are still hazy, such as whether or not this means the PS4 will run PS2 discs, or only PS2 titles purchased from the PlayStation Network.

"We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation," Sony said to WIRED via email. "We have nothing further to comment at this point in time."

This is, in effect, a response to the Xbox One’s new backwards compatibility feature. Microsoft recently added 104 titles to the list of Xbox 360 games playable on Xbox One. Each game runs the same as it would on a 360, except Xbox One features like game DVR also function. While Sony offers the PlayStation Now streaming service as a backwards-compatible like solution, many users have voiced the desire for true backwards compatibility. Sony has said that PlayStation 3 games cannot be emulated on a PS4 because of the architectural differences, but this announcement may indicate otherwise.

“PlayStation 2 Emulation Coming To PS4, Sony Confirms” by Wired, via IGN and Eurogamer.