Can a PS3 play PS2 games? (1 Viewer)

I want to know if a PS3 can play PS2 games, cause I want to play Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (getting PS3 and KH1 and 2 for Xmas).

Sorry, but no. Unless you buy an old 60GB model from E-Bay, but even those aren't 100% compatible with all PS2 games.

For PS2 backwards compatibility, all PS3's can play PS2 Classics downloads off PSN.

The only models however that can play actual PS2 disc are the earliest. In the early Japanese and American models, the two major PS2 chips are present and run PS2 code. Later on with the European launch and later backwards compatible models in the West, one of these chips was replaced with software emulation handling its functions which reduced accurateness but reduced cost.

Then a little while later (2008 or so, as I recall), that other chip was removed which eliminated the feature entirely as Sony desperately was trimming features back then like SACD support to drive cost down and try to save the system from the large early losses it saw.

ShandaRBucy said:

I want to know if a PS3 can play PS2 games, cause I want to play Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (getting PS3 and KH1 and 2 for Xmas).

Click to expand...

You're in luck since Kingdom Hearts has seen a full HD remastering for the Playstation 3 titled Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix. No need to play the original PS2 release with inferior graphics thanks to that and it also includes Chain of Memories.

Kingdom Hearts 2 and Birth by Sleep, remastered and titled as 2.5D Remix, are due for the PS3 sometime this year in another remastered release.

Many others of the cream of the crop on the PS2 have seen popular HD remasterings and releases on the PS3, often in full retail collections with several titles on a single disc at a budget price (especially the 1st/2nd party exclusives like these and Ico and the Shadow of Colossus).

Bryan^H said:

Sorry, but no. Unless you buy an old 60GB model from E-Bay, but even those aren't 100% compatible with all PS2 games.

Click to expand...

Beware of these earlier models since they've proven to not age very well. Not worth the price they go for used with their reputation.

That said, even many actual PS2's aren't perfect so I wouldn't hold that against it (Especially the earliest BC models that essentially have all the major PS2 components present). Excluding some PS1 incompatibilities like with a few of the Digital Eclipse arcade compilations when played on a PS2, some slims can't play a few actual PS2 games. I think there are other compatibility problems as well with certain other PS2 models.

Not a surprise for a system that still is slightly kicking today, only saw hardware production end a year or so ago, and which was around for well over a decade with 150 million systems produced and numerous revisions and changes and thousands of games developed for it.

You may be able to find a PS2 for cheap. They stopped making them but the slim units can be found for under $100.

You will undoubtedly be able to find PS2's cheap for many years to come. The only way to spend much on one these days is if it's brand new or an import.

Despite the popularity of Japanese PS/PS2 imports in the West, a used Japanese PS2 console still goes for a good chunk of change these days despite well over a decade of thousands of them having been imported to the West.

Yes and no. As Leo said, most "PS2 Classics" that are put up for sale on the Playstation Store are compatible with the PS3 as they are basically emulated to run on the newer PS3's, but they will not run PS2 games off a disc. There was however the very early 60GB PS3 which did have backwards compatibility which could run retail PS2 discs, but they tended to be very expensive and prone to hardware failure.

I still have my original 60GB model, but on the rare occasion I play my PS2 games, I still prefer playing my games on my PS2 console. The convenience of playing PS2 games on a PS3 is good, but the games still play best on the console they're designed for.

hypnotoad8128 said:

most "PS2 Classics" that are put up for sale on the Playstation Store are compatible with the PS3 as they are basically emulated to run on the newer PS3's

Click to expand...

Actually, all PS3's will run downloadable PS2 Classics off PSN.

The way that works (PS2 classics downloaded onto PS3) is through emulation. Sony had hardware from the PS2 in the launch version of the PS3 and eventually removed it. They figured out how to emulate a PS2 on PS3 and that's what their downloadable PS2 classics use. The haven't released the emulator for mass consumption and use, either because it requires game-specific settings or they want to make money re-selling downloadable digital copies of PS2 games.