PS3

[Mirandagurl]

PS3 is a strange console in how it lets me play PS3 games obvs and PS1 but not the PS2
it's shame rly cause theys some great games on that and always will be no matter what the latest and greatest console thats out now IMO
Any1 else feel the same way? also if u have PS4 do you get to play any older games on that?

 

[FinalArcadia]

Some of the early PS3 models actually did play PS2 games, but unfortunately they lost that at least by the Slim model. At least some good PS2 games are available for the system as PS2 Classics (I have a digital copy of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly thanks to that). However, I'm kind of a hoarder lol, so I still have my PS2 and use that to play my old discs.

The PS4 doesn't have BC, though it sounds like the PS5 will play PS4 games at the least, which is nice. PS4 does have some PS1 and PS2 games in the PS Store though, but it feels like there are less available there than on PS3 for some reason.

PS3 is actually my favorite of Sony's consoles, so I still use it regularly because of what a great library it had! I'd love to be able to play all my Sony discs on one system, but I can see why that doesn't work, especially when the PS3 is kind of notorious for having a weird Cell architecture and hard to emulate.

 

[prog rocker]

Some of the early PS3 models actually did play PS2 games, but unfortunately they lost that at least by the Slim model. At least some good PS2 games are available for the system as PS2 Classics (I have a digital copy of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly thanks to that). However, I'm kind of a hoarder lol, so I still have my PS2 and use that to play my old discs.

The PS4 doesn't have BC, though it sounds like the PS5 will play PS4 games at the least, which is nice. PS4 does have some PS1 and PS2 games in the PS Store though, but it feels like there are less available there than on PS3 for some reason.

PS3 is actually my favorite of Sony's consoles, so I still use it regularly because of what a great library it had! I'd love to be able to play all my Sony discs on one system, but I can see why that doesn't work, especially when the PS3 is kind of notorious for having a weird Cell architecture and hard to emulate.

Man, you're making me regret trying to update my PS3 (the update was corrupted, so my PS3 is temporarily out of comission). If I didn't try to do that I could still play with it.

 

[Stratelier]

Yeah, the reason is because the PS3's internal PS1 emulator was 100% software-based but the PS2 emulator was not. So, early PS3 models included some vestigial PS2 hardware but this proved to be problematic so it was removed in later models. There is some compensation for digital PS2 titles where it's at least ported to PS3 hardware, but it's not the same as being able to play it straight off the original game disc.

In a way, it's kinda like comparing the SNES's Super Game Boy to the GCN's Game Boy Player. The former was basically actual Game Boy hardware stuffed inside an SNES cart while the latter was a software-based emulator.