Gah, accidently submitted this without writing my post, sorry guys.

Anyway, there's a rumour making the rounds that Sony are experimenting with introducing compatibility for PS2/PS1 games onto the PS4 via s software patch. If this comes to fruition, I'll be probably getting a PS4, especially since there are indications that this emulation may come about in such a way that makes PS2/PS1 games look a bit less shit on modern televisions. Another part of this rumour is 1080p support for selected titles, not too sure what to make of that. Trying not to get too hyped about this though, only a rumour at the moment.

Edit: Also, this could be my own lack of knowledge about emulation talking, but how could PS2/PS1 games be made to look 'better' when it is still the same disc? Would anyone care to explain?

Edit 2: For those who may be curious, this is the article most other articles are pointing towards. Take it as you will
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133240-Sony-May-Add-Backward-Compatibility-to-the-PS4

Are we sure this doesn't have anything to do with the streaming of older games?

I assume the software will have to be updated for either option.

If they added it and you needed the game, I would be more interested (I already own one though) but the ability to stream any game from PS1 to PS2 would be amazing. There are hundreds of games on the PS2 I never got to play and would love the chance to without scrounging Ebay and local game shops.

Yes, BUT only if it's not one of those "on selected titles" thing.

@finaldasa:

The articles I read about this (mainly on legitimate websites), made a very clear distinction between the PS4 being able to run PS2/PS1 discs and the PS3 game streaming service they plan to introduce for the PS4. If you're an Australian, I would really recommend OzGames as a way to find classic PS2 games new.

Like any other similar additive feature, it won't solely confirm my purchase, but rather add to an increasingly attractive package. The more stuff like this comes along, the more I'm satisfied with my buying a Ps4. Hopefully Playstation Now(Which I'm assuming this to be in reference to) delivers on it's promising potential.

I would be more easily sold on the PS4 if it had PS3 disk based game compatibility. No rush to get one right now, let the games pile up for a year or two and then jump in when there's a ton of stuff to play and I can put my PS3 away. If it also had PS1/PS2 disk compatibility I would be really happy.

I have a dream of having a all in one Sony console that plays all Sony disk based games.

@adequatelyprepared: Interesting. Seems like a weird choice but I guess if it adds a feature then why not? I wouldn't mind it because I have a small stack of PS2 games I want to get around to replaying and that would make it easier than plugging the PS2 back in.

I already have a PS4. And no.

No.

I currently have a PS2 hooked up to a TV. A bunch of my favourites have been repurchased and are on my PS3, which is also hooked up to a TV. I don't need a PS4 to run PS1/2 games.

The fact that the PS4 is a thing at all, and a thing that will have Kingdom Hearts III on it, makes me want it by itself.

But alas, I couldn't afford a PS3, so the PS4 looks just as unlikely.

And if Xbox One finally gets backwards compatible, I would consider buying one as well.

PS2 emulation is good enough at this point that no, I don't really need to care about this.

Gonna be very curious to see if this is actually a thing, if it will have remote play support, ps1/ps2 games are dirt cheap now, being able to remote play the backlog is enticing.

Same with PS1 emulation.

I have a PS4, but whether this is something I will care about will highly depend on how it works and what I can actually play. If it's going to be limited to select titles than I can pretty much guarantee that the vast majority of the games I care about won't be supported. If I can just pop in something like Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne or Xenosaga and have it not look like crap on my HDTV then that would make it the best console ever. Being able to play PS2 games on my HDTV at a decent resolution has been a dream of mine since I got an HDTV.

I don't care much about PS1 emulation, as even a sub-par computer can emulate those games almost perfectly nowadays. PS2 games require a much higher end computer than I own though, and the emulation is still not perfect.

@themanwithnoplan said:

Exactly. Its a cumulative thing.

Yeah, if what you mean is I can shove in my PS1 and PS2 disks into the PS4 and play them, potentially even upscaled. That would be great. I already own a PS4 though. Pretty happy with it as-is but a emulator for PS1 and PS2 built-in would be pretty cool.

That would add to the reasons I'm already planning to get a ps4. What am I gonna do? NOT play MGSV, destiny, FFXV etc? Those are much more compelling reasons to me.

What I really what is a Vita TV box that does that.

I will be buying a PS4 in the coming weeks/months anyway, but if they added some PS2 support, I'd definitely take advantage of that. There's some games from that era that I haven't been able to play in years and I am ready to break more pairs of rose tinted glasses.

That was already a mayjor factor was ps2 replability.

I was already planning on getting a PS4, but if you can transfer your classic games you got from the PSN when you had a PS3 to the PS4 that would be amazing. Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Persona 3: FES would be in my PS4 if this can happen.

I already have a PS3. It has PS1 and PS2 game emulation.

I have a PC that emulates PS2 games quite well.

However, I don't particularly like to emulate games. I don't have moral qualms with it, but sometimes it requires you to fiddle with settings and options. If a sizable portion of the PS2 library becomes playable on the PS4, then yes, I will be much more likely to buy the console sooner. I was going to get one anyway, but not until the console has a sizable library. I'm still playing a lot of PS2 games, especially JRPG's, so I'd love a machine that can do that well on modern TV's. I've got a PS2 and I'm fine with playing games on it, but after seeing the difference between SMT Nocturne on the PS2 and SMT Nocturne in 1080p on my PC, I always feel like going back to the PS2 is a sub-optimal experience.

In less pretentious market-y words, playing PS2 games on a PS2 is sucking more and more as time goes on.

EDIT: To be perfectly clear, I mean that I will be far more likely to buy a PS4 sooner if I can put my PS2 discs into it and play PS2 games. I do not mean that I will be more likely to buy a PS4 if I'm given the option to play a small selection of PS2 games, or if I'm given the option to re-buy PS2 games from PSN, or if I'm given the option to stream PS2 games with Gaikai or whatever. I'm talking about locally playing PS2 games off of the discs that I own.

The one thing that makes PS2 games look much better when emulated is the higher resolution. Emulators do not add files, they just up-res the game and can inject anti-aliasing, among other nifty little features, which do a lot to make the game clearer, crisper, and easier on the eyes than an actual Playstation 2 can.

Pcsx2 has been so well optimized that at this point almost all the games I've tried run at a really nice quality with little to no configuring, but at the same time there is something about being able to use my PS2 discs on the PS4 that seems like it would be cool. If they can manage to make them remote play compatible with the Vita I would be really pumped for any kind of emulation I could get.

@believer258:

The stuff I read made a clear distinction between the streaming PS3 games on PS4 stuff and being able to straight up put PS2 disks into the PS4 and have them work. I agree with you though, having this specific feature is what will push me over the edge to get a PS4 when Phantom Pain comes out, not any sort of PS Store/Streaming shenanigans. Considering the power of the PS4 and how far emulators have apparently come, it would a smart move on Sony's part to actually do this, especially since it won't be eating into any of their ventures (if they had PS3 backward compatibility, that would eat into PS3 sales, not the case with the PS2. It's unfortunate to state that, but it makes sense for them to not have PS3 compatibility).

My PS3/Vita combo already plays most of that stuff anyways. I'm cool for now.

I convinced myself to buy a PS4 and XBO with pretty much no incentive to do so. So no, I don't really need an incentive to waste money.

I want a PS4. But who cares about the past, time to move on.

Already bought into PS4, and I am happy with my purchase. If Sony's bringing software emulation of its PS1 and PS2 library to the platform, I'd be even more happy. Since all my PS2 gamepads are faulty, I've no way to replay Shadow of Rome, which I've been itching to do for a while now. It might also finally give me the opportunity to play Rogue Galaxy, which I've wanted to do forever. Plus anything what broadens the digital marketplace on PS4 is a good thing. More dynamic digital pricing finally.

Probably not. Now if they released an HD PS2 Ace Combat Trilogy on there.......

Where's the 'already have one' choice? Anyways, if I didn't have one yet, no, that would be a very stupid reason to want to get one in my opinion. I don't need backwards compatibility.

No. Being able to play ps1/ps2/ps3/ps4 discs on 1 system is a cool idea, but its just not a realistic thing in this day and age. And besides, I'd buy a ps4 to play ps4 games. Just like I bought a ps3 to play ps3 games, and so on. Everything else is secondary, IMO (except playing dvd's/blu rays/mp3's/other file formats).

I'm fairly certain I'm going to get a PS4 at some point (I like a lot of Sony's first party stuff, and I'm going to need one at some point to play console games that will never come to PC - like Kingdom Hearts 3). That said, backwards compatability would probably make me take the plunge earlier. My backwards compatable PS3 broke just over a month ago (it still works but has serious overheating problems). I decided to buy a new PS3 to play PS3 games and just keep the old one for when I want to play PS2 games on the TV. If I could get a PS4 so it could do the same thing without the worry that maybe it will die for real the next time I turn it on (and play PS4 games) would probably be a good idea in terms of my sanity.

I myself am waiting for more titles to come up, and was kind of on the fence about it. The main reason I'm looking forward to a feature like this is that it'll stop my PS2 games from looking like garbage on new TVs. When it comes to consoles, I am an unabashed fan of the Sony consoles, and will probably end up with a PS4, if only because I have an idea of what its library will eventually look like (KH3, great Naughty Dog exclusives, etc). It's just that working and legal PS2 emulation will help me get some mileage out of it from the start (I REALLY want to see a good-looking Killer7 on my wide screen TV).
Also yeah, sorry about the crappy poll options, I accidently hit enter and posted this before I was done with it -_-".

Sorry. I just mean, if it was like past backwards compatibility, I don't really care about it that much, but if it makes games look better than they previously were, like PS2 games in HD, that'd be kind of amazing.

I have a PS4 currently but that'd be great!

But it's hard to get rumble working with the games.

No, buuut that's because I already intend on getting a PS4. That said, I would appreciate that very much (more so than PS3 BC, oddly enough. I didn't end up owning a whole lot of PS3 games).

No probably not, I don't really buy new consoles in the hopes of playing old games. If I wanted to play PS1 or PS2 games, I have a PS1 and a PS2 that does that already. Also I already got a PS4, so this is hypothetical. But backwards compatibility has never been important to me.

It not being a shitty xbone is reason enough. I need no more.

What about PS3?

It would be a nice addition. But not essential.

It'd be an extra incentive for sure. I could emulate most of my library with sharper graphics already but would still prefer to play them without having to think about EE/FPY Advanced Recompiler options and speedhacks on a console.

people need to get over backwards compatibility as a needed feature. it will only keep consoles down

Nope. I already have a PS3 that plays PS1 and PS2 too. If they had all 3 and I could just swap out my PS3 with the PS4 and keep going as is then yes I would be interested. Even if that was the case though, there is nothing on PS4 worth playing so there's still no reason to get any of the next gen stuff.

Kinda, but first and foremost I'd need to hear about analog audio output options. I'm fine with them not having the ports if it's compatible with generic USB-to-RCA audio devices or something. As it is my main audio receiver is analog only, and I have no interest in buying another one. I do have one optical audio in on my PC, but that slot is already being used.