Is Sony comtemplating euthanizing (Dreamcasting) the PS3? - Page 15

There are already PS2 emulators for the PC:
http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/ps2/

It isn't all that remarkable.

It may not be remarkable but it would sure be a treat for a lot of PS3 owners and a good way for Sony to sell more games. (via download)

I can see Sony moving to a software solution for BC as a strategy. Software emulators would be "easier" to maintain. It's a little surprising that it didn't do this from the outset.

That would be abs-freakin-lutely awesome... But I'm not counting it nor am I crossing my fingers for it. And I DO WANT IT!!!!

No difference in production costs since it would be via firmware update. Also, PS2 sales have been falling rapidly through 2008 (sales only increased 50% for the holidays). Besides, no one looking to buy a PS2 would then decide to buy a PS3 instead. The things most directly hurting PS2 sales are the $199 Xbox and the $250 Wii.


Supposedly, this was the intention, but in an effort to get their machine out quickly, Sony put the PS2 internals (Emotion Engine and GS chip) in every PS3 as a stop-gap measure that was designed to be phased out and eventually replaced by a software BC solution.

My best guess for why we haven't seen software BC yet is that:

1) Sony determined that most of their customers weren't using PS2 BC, didn't want it in future consoles, or didn't know about it.

2) Sony doesn't make any money from selling old PS2 software.

3) Sony saw that both Nintendo and MS had found a way to sell old content via download. It's possible Sony is currently looking into some similar sort of for-pay downloadable format. If they do that, then we may also simultaneously get full software emulation for old discs as well. But I'm skeptical (see reason 4 below).

4) I'm guessing that MS's "Xbox Originals" aren't making them all that much money, and legacy titles are hard to negotiate with publishers in a way that makes it profitable to all parties. That's why there haven't been very many impressive titles other than those that were published by MS Games. I'm sure Sony knows this and isn't in a rush to start doing the same thing with PS2 titles. Hell, we've hardly seen any PS1 titles as it is!

I think people are ignoring the main reason why the console manufacturers normally include BC. If you've got to start your game collection over from scratch, why wouldn't a PS2 owner look at the Wii or XBOX? The one benefit that those two consoles couldn't have over a PS3 with BC is the ability to play all your old games.

I've got an non BC PS3 and I'm bummed because of it. If not for the BR option, I would have chosen an XBOX too. Most games look and play mostly the same on the two consoles and the XBOX is cheaper.

I wanted Blu-Ray and I stayed for the games. I would LOVE to be able to play my old PS2 games on the PS3 since my PS2 died about 6 months ago.

Well, to be fair, the Wii plays Gamecube games, and the 360 plays some Xbox games.

I never said Sony confirmed it; otherwise I would've posted a link and the discussion would be over

A french news site did pick up a story that the firmware update that upgraded the flash player was so small (and also late, if you recall) because it had PS2 BC as a part of it but Sony decided to hold it back a little longer. Too lazy to find a link, and they didn't really have anything to back it up so it doesn't matter that much anyway.

I'm just saying what I think is going to happen.

F*CK. I want an arch enemy.

Lol...have you ever tried these? They dont play games (yet?) so having an emulator that doesnt emulate means nothing (yet!). The PS1 emulators have matured enough that everything I have thrown at them, both legally and illegally, has worked great. Sure my PS3 already does this but the filtering & scaling on the PC makes these playstation games look much better than the pixel doubling & stretching that the PS3 does....

Never understood why the PS3 PS1 emulation doesn't do native rendering, not just upscaling. The hardware sure could handle it, and it's already software emulation..

Sometimes Sony truly does have no vision de grandeur.

What I meant was that if I had a PS2, the PS3 with BC would have a feature that the Wii and Xbox wouldn't have - it would be able to play my old games.

Quote of the week. LOL!

I have some time Friday. Please list your special powers, weaknesses, and description of costume. If it looks like there's a logical match maybe we can work something out on a trial basis or just throw some hate and venom around the forum for a bit and work from there.

Right now I'm basically playing off the 'I like pie' theme but I'm getting in shape with the new year, working on my muhaha laugh and hoping to take over a major city by next December. Maybe cause a natural disaster and next year hold the world ransom. I'm taking the time to interview a few potential enemies so that I can get an arch enemy by the spring. Baby steps you know.

I don't understand what you want... are you thinking Sony is going to apologize for this gross oversight and pay to send your console to them so they can replace it with a new model with IR?

Martez, for a media center that the PS3 is, not including an IR port just boggles my mind. C'est la vie. There are work arounds but there shouldn't be. Look at everything else the system has been packed with and something as simple as an IR port... I mean I'm still waiting on an all in one IR + BT Harmony remote.

Those would be nails (according to vincent). They currently have different markets, what Nintendo did was expand the market....can they keep it? I laugh my arse off when I see the term "hardcore gamer" used as a synonym for the shooter brigade. I'd wager I've been playing games longer than 90+% of the people here (first was some 30 years ago) and my attitude is "oh wow, another shooter.............YAWN" - that makes me? If expanding the market gets other companies to take a look at the poor control interface or the lineup of games I'm all for it.


You mean like the individual posting in this very thread that "reviewed" HD-DVD's without even owning a player, right? No angels on either side of that coin.


Not exactly, it was more the posters that couldn't stand anything but "Blu-Ray Uber Alles", even now they are loath to admit that the the garbage JAVA brings with it. A year later & I'm still seeing the load/update/connect message - not acceptable to the hit & go avg consumer....................but like this thread who gives a damn? It's an electronic device, of little interest to me who's selling in what numbers. Sony ain't going to "Dreamcast it".

So why are you in the Sony section, again?

I think he's here looking for an apology:

The funny thing is, it was not too long ago when the shooter console market was for "casuals" - casuals being jock frat guys playing Halo all night and what not. We are talking 2001 here. Now those guys are considered hardcore gamers! Oy vey!

Heh heh, that is because the REAL hardcore market, the guys who memorized the entire tech tree to massive wargames, pixel mapped their fighting games, knew the cockpit layout to Falcon 4.0 or IL-2, or min/maxed role playing games to the nth degree all grew up and the market shrinked to nil.

Hardcore these days primarily means fast-twitch reflexes, it seems

Frankly, I can't stand shooters. They are only "fun" for those who have all the maps and all the weapon locations memorized. If you're "new" to the genre, forget about it. You can't have fun there. I NEVER liked them, and the 360, from what I've played of it, is only good for shooters. Hence my adoration for the PS3. (Along with Blu-Ray, reliability, and games that I love).

All of the above are still in force today. No worries there.

Overall, due to the extra year out, the 360 does have more shooters when compared to the PS3 but 'per capita' or based on the entire library, the PS3 has more shooters. The XBOX1 was known, and guilty of, being a 'shooter system' but this round the 360 is the most diverse of both consoles