• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Sony ‘could be working’ to bring proper PS3 game emulation to PS5

The cynical part of me says Sony doesn’t do it because they don’t want to have the conversation about why the PS3 games you already purchased aren’t just playable. By making it streaming only they can effectively limit the titles and put it behind a paywall. I mean even Xbox has been transparent that they had to go get permission from publishers because many of the older gen agreements weren’t constructed to account for backwards compatibility. I think Sony just doesn’t want to open that box, the flack they are catching now is a fraction of what it would be if you knew your PS5 could play a game you bought 12 years ago from Sony, but they weren’t letting you play it without a subscription or a repurchase.
I fear this is true. Both Nintendo and Sony prefer you repurchase games you already bought to play on new hardware over the Xbox method of letting you use your original discs and in many cases updating the games so they look and play better than ever.

The 360 had pretty different architecture than the X1 and X Series yet they made it work. I wish all the platform holders respected their customers previous game investments and let them continue to play the games they bought. For all the talk of rentals and game ownership it appears games bought on Xbox actually seem to mean something.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
Yeah right. I just don’t see them putting in a big MS effort for BC. They’ve had Now streaming for years.

They’ll probably focus on porting or emulating specific first party games like a Sly Cooper Collection, God of War, Resistance. They’ve killed the online servers of ps3 stuff like little big planet and Motorstorm anyways.
 
Last edited:
Then why not just hold off on PS3 if they're really that serious about getting the emulation to work right? Maybe it's possible, but I just think Sony is waiting for people to get used to streaming it so they have to put in the money and work.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
""When we've dabbled with backwards compatibility, I can say it is one of those features that is much requested, but not actually used much," said Ryan."
ZxY4M35.gif


Nice to see he has changed his mind after they found out making bc might be possible.
 
Last edited:

MaulerX

Member
I don't know if they're working on it or not but they should.

The PS5 is powerful enough to breeze thru it. They just need to devote some time and resources ($$$) into making it happen.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
But why? It would cost too much and they already have streaming. People don't care that much about ps3 games. Emulating them doesn't help Sony

Maybe some people are simply living an a echo chamber in here and the average gamer actually wants it?

Sounds crazy i know.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
I doubt the "average gamer" is interested in playing PS3 games. That's more an enthusiast thing I would say.

Well yes and no.

I'm not saying people buys a ps5 to play ps3 games, but with last gen I gotta admit I was happy to play 360 games I couldn't have done otherwise.

But yes, the average gamer is fifa cod gamers,where the choice of platform doesn't matter either way
 

Topher

Gold Member
Well yes and no.

I'm not saying people buys a ps5 to play ps3 games, but with last gen I gotta admit I was happy to play 360 games I couldn't have done otherwise.

But yes, the average gamer is fifa cod gamers,where the choice of platform doesn't matter either way

I get that. But I think the appeal for BC diminishes a bit more each year of subsequent gens. Most folks want newer games. Frankly, I think this shipped sailed a long time ago. Not saying I wouldn't be pleasantly surprised if Sony reversed course, but my gut says they won't unless they are seeing information suggesting there is significant money to be made.
 

Fake

Member
Hope so. Don't want this sub shit as a forced way to play emulation. PS1/PS2 games can easily be played without internet, just pay and download.

Can't say about PS3, but PS5 have room enough for doing so.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
I get that. But I think the appeal for BC diminishes a bit more each year of subsequent gens. Most folks want newer games. Frankly, I think this shipped sailed a long time ago. Not saying I wouldn't be pleasantly surprised if Sony reversed course, but my gut says they won't unless they are seeing information suggesting there is significant money to be made.

The x360/ps3 era had more unique titles compared to ps4/xbox one.

Most of the interesting ps4 and Xbox one games could also be played on a PC, whereas there were even many third party games on ps3 and Xbox 360 you couldn't play on a PC.

Can also be my nostalgia kicking in.
 

drotahorror

Member
Eh if Sony paywalls it behind a monthly fee there’s no way I could support that. I have digital and physical ps3 games, why would I need to pay $100 a year to play them on ps5? I guess if it was a one time fee I could deal with that but still lame.
 

emmerrei

Member
PS3 datacenter will eventually ylod all of them, and aren't power efficient anyway, so the emulation will arrive at some point.
 

radewagon

Member
The more I think about, PS3 is the worst console Sony has put out. It's just crappy hardware all around, with few developers capable of harnessing its full potential. Crazy Ken fucked up big time with PS3.
To be fair, Playstation 3's failure is also the reason for Sony committing themselves to creating absolutely phenomenal exclusives. Sony exclusives were always good, but PS3 exclusives were god-tier. The argument can easily be made that while the PS4's design might have been the worst decision, it also had the most positive outcome and has been hugely influential. Sony should do everything it can to break the PS3's game's out of PS3 jail.

---- they should also let all our physical discs work and allow our digital purchases to transfer over (ala Xbox).
 

Lognor

Banned
Maybe some people are simply living an a echo chamber in here and the average gamer actually wants it?

Sounds crazy i know.
It just seems like too much work. You already have streaming of PS3 games. Someone posted a comment that it would cost millions to develop an emulator. Why would Sony spend millions when they already have a solution - streaming?

There aren't even that many good games exclusive to the PS3. Many of those were ported to the PS4 and already playable on the PS5.

Streaming is good enough for PS3 games. We also know that Sony doesn't really care about its legacy. PS Classic was a shoddy product that they put minimal effort into. So why spend a bunch of money for a slightly better solution?
 

John Wick

Member
"could be"

let me know when they do. they should've done it 9 years ago when PS4 came out.


yeah poor sony needs money for development. it's not like they created the PS3 or know how it works! /s. we shouldn't have to pay them to support PS3 games.
I doubt the PS4 had the CPU to emulate the PS3 properly. Would be a waste of time if the games didn't run smoothly or full speed.
 

John Wick

Member
It just seems like too much work. You already have streaming of PS3 games. Someone posted a comment that it would cost millions to develop an emulator. Why would Sony spend millions when they already have a solution - streaming?

There aren't even that many good games exclusive to the PS3. Many of those were ported to the PS4 and already playable on the PS5.

Streaming is good enough for PS3 games. We also know that Sony doesn't really care about its legacy. PS Classic was a shoddy product that they put minimal effort into. So why spend a bunch of money for a slightly better solution?
Also outside of gaming forums who wants native PS3 emulation? Hardly anyone.....
 

Lognor

Banned
Also outside of gaming forums who wants native PS3 emulation? Hardly anyone.....
Right,

The Last of Us is already on PS4. So is Uncharted 1-3. So is GOW 3.

Most of the best PS3 games were ported to PS4. There are only a few I can think of that aren't: Motorstorm games, Resistance games, Infamous games...But I can't see any of these being highly sought after to play on the PS5. Seems like it would not be a great return on investment for Sony.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Also outside of gaming forums who wants native PS3 emulation? Hardly anyone.....

No one buys new hardware to emulate older generations.

But it's a very good feature to add value. And if your console can utilize it, you'll end up buying the older generation games when they're on sale etc.

I can relate cause i've bought multiple 360 and Original Xbox games cause they work and often have enhancements.

It's essentially free money.
 

Mr Moose

Member
But why? It would cost too much and they already have streaming. People don't care that much about ps3 games. Emulating them doesn't help Sony
I personally don't care for it, can't think of any PS3 games I need to revisit, and if I did, I'd just hook my PS3 up.
Old games (PSOne/2) look like shit.
 

KWAB

Banned
If Grubb says it then It's happening. It will be the same day that Microsoft removes the need for Xbox Live Gold too.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
To be fair, Playstation 3's failure is also the reason for Sony committing themselves to creating absolutely phenomenal exclusives. Sony exclusives were always good, but PS3 exclusives were god-tier. The argument can easily be made that while the PS4's design might have been the worst decision, it also had the most positive outcome and has been hugely influential. Sony should do everything it can to break the PS3's game's out of PS3 jail.

I agree. It really pushed them to produce some insane high quality games. Sonys first party really started to shine with PS3. It would be a shame if most games were stuck on the platform.
 

Mahavastu

Member

Mahavastu

Member
The open source community has put a ton of work into this. Sony should cough up a few million and buy some tech from them. If they're going to pay 4 billion for Bungie then why not?
The main reason for Open Source is, that Sony would not have to buy anything and could "just use it".
Anyway, the PS3 Emulator is under GPL2, which means Sony would have to publish the source code for anything they add to it, which might not what they want to do. So maybe Sony prefers to either throw out some millions or do their own emulator themself.
 

Topher

Gold Member
The main reason for Open Source is, that Sony would not have to buy anything and could "just use it".
Anyway, the PS3 Emulator is under GPL2, which means Sony would have to publish the source code for anything they add to it, which might not what they want to do. So maybe Sony prefers to either throw out some millions or do their own emulator themself.

That's a good point. And as protective as Sony is of their own development API, I don't envision a scenario where GPL2 would be remotely in their plans.
 

Tams

Gold Member
How many people actually really care about backwards compatibility?

Enough to put some effort and expense in, but not to go full hog.

Most games are transient and few, if any give a shit about them a few years after their release, if that. It's good to preserve them in a playable state (like any media), and of course best if backwards compatibility is the norm, but that's it.
 

CuriousNoah

Neo Member
Many years ago when the PS3 came out, I remember some people mentioning how the weird architecture of the ps3 was going to become an huge burden for backwards compatibility on future Playstation consoles after the removal of Other OS.
They even mentioned that those very PS3 games people are playing now will one day end up being playable only on a PC through an emulator after the PS3 lifecycle. a lot of people were shitting on them for this statement and well who is having the last laugh now ?


I think half of the issues with emulators could be solved if an official homebrew mode of sorts is an option on the PS5.

This way a lot of capable devs could make decent emulators in a homebrew capacity or even port RPCS3 to PS5. people would have been playing PS3 games in some form right now on the PS5 if this was a thing.
Yeah don't tell me that Sony can't design a firmware without the right security against PS5 piracy to allow an homebrew mode to work. if you give an official homebrew option then no one is gonna hack your console to enable homebrew.


So I think the right request from the PlayStation community should be to request Sony to open up an dev mode option of sorts on the PS5 consoles. I don't think Sony can make an official and a proper emulator for the PS3 and even their older consoles at this stage.

If you can't do it then let the community solve it for you. I think this would be the right approach to this and is not gonna cost Sony a lot of money. Sony can even go an step further and make their older console designs like the hardware and the software related info public.


People will complain that they can't buy those games and well at this point just pirate it. the disc reader on the PS5 can't read PS3 discs, so you have to pirate the game to get the game files or dump the disc with the help of a PC. then load it up on a emulator on the PS5 and well enjoy your game.

I would say forget buying even being an option as licensing related issues are a mess to deal with. if those copyright holders complain that people are pirating those old games now then the community should step up and ask them to release their games officially and not give borderline ambiguous marketing speak.

if they don't do anything or can't do shit then its just "fuck you I am pirating this as you are not giving it to me in an official capacity when I am ready to pay for them."
Its a god damn game meant to be played made by actual developers who wanted people to play them in the first place.



Now people can come up with all sorts of "Sony can..." stories online but ultimately we wouldn't know shit if Sony themselves are not saying it to the public.
 
Last edited:

Mahavastu

Member
I think half of the issues with emulators could be solved if an official homebrew mode of sorts is an option on the PS5.
That simply won't happen.
Last time they did it (PS3 Linux) they switched it off and happily paid large fines, because the Linux was just short before being able to run pirated PS3 games.
A home brew mode gives good hackers a lot of comfortable toys to easily hack the device, even if you try to limit the possibilities (back then they reduced the access to the GPU i think)
 
Last edited:
I mean long term it makes sense.

You don't want to maintain the datacenter for the rest of time. You emulate this once for PS5 and PS6 going forward and you can see if you can maintain the legacy systems going forward.

The question is whether it is actually worth it given there isn't really much left on the bone for PS3.

Comes down to a cost benefit ratio, and I can see why sony wouldn't just announce it, because if early investments into an emulator don't prove worthwhile, it might ultimately be better to shutter it without any noise.

Basically it's a math problem.

The cost of running servers for the next X amount of years, maintaining and replacing those servers and serverblades with PS3 architecture, let's say 10 years.

Say you can shift that hardware architecture entirely to PS4s and PS5s which can run a newly made ps3 emulator, how much does that save you?
 

CuriousNoah

Neo Member
That simply won't happen.
Last time they did it (PS3 Linux) they switched it off and happily paid large fines, because the Linux was just short before being able to run pirated PS3 games.
A home brew mode gives good hackers a lot of comfortable toys to easily hack the device, even if you try to limit the possibilities (back then they reduced the access to the GPU i think)
Then there really is nothing that can be done to to play these older games.
If people are able to run pirated versions then Sony just has to patch the security loopholes with updates and maintain the features correctly. we are living in a time where you have to be online to download updates for a game and be connected online for most of the stuff. this isn't like the PS3-360 era.

I still think the removal of Other OS is one of the dumbest decisions that Sony has done to solve an issue that can be rectified cheaply with firmware updates. to me it looks like "hey we can't keep patching security issues with the Other OS, so we may as well just remove Other OS itself." they just gave up and folded here.


Realistically, I feel homebrew is a solution for proper backwards compatibility. it would be a miracle if Sony officially allowed proper backwards compat support but we can't expect a miracle of that sort.
 

BreakOut

Member
Sony could be creating the cure for cancer as well. They could be doing anything, they probably aren’t.
 

Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
The more I think about, PS3 is the worst console Sony has put out. It's just crappy hardware all around, with few developers capable of harnessing its full potential. Crazy Ken fucked up big time with PS3.
What an amazing clusterfuck it was. Remember when games like The Darkness couldn't show blacks as dark on the PS3 as they could on the 360? Or how about Fallout. I have a New Vegas save I will never be able to play again because of a bug/memory leak that causes the system to crash to a black screen. It's only on PS3 and Bethesda was never able to fix it.

I spent many hours on my PS3, but it's stunning looking back at how many bad decisions SONY made during its development, release, and support over its life span.
 
Last edited:
It’s probably a assumption bet on the fact that Sony will have to retire those Cell servers eventually.

Unless Sony just plans to remaster most PS3 games. Maybe thats easier?
 
I’m in no doubt that they are exploring it because given the new PlayStation Plus tiers it would make more sense to have everything run natively and stream by choice, but the reality of it is that the SPUs are a nightmare to emulate, especially for the 1st party games that targeted maximum efficiency.
An emulator with a whitelist is a possibility, but not ideal.
 
Top Bottom