Backward compatibility on Sony consoles

Introduced in 1999, the PlayStation 2 console was capable of playing almost every game from the PlayStation 1 and even supported memory cards and controllers of the first model. But this is not the first set-top box to support backwards compatibility. The Sega Genesis came with a Power Base Converter adapter, allowing you to run games from the Master System. And the even earlier Atari 7800 ran almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, and this is the first console to support this feature.

But let’s go back to PS2.

The console’s I/O processor is the CPU from the PS1. In later models it was replaced by a chip with PowerPC architecture, and the PS1 core was emulated in software. Therefore, some PS1 games will not work correctly on later PS2 models, if at all.

One of the hardware features of Playstation 2 is the presence of vector modules VU0 and VU1. VU0 is used to transform polygons, physics and other things related to gameplay. When the console is running in PS1 mode, the unit implements support for the original controller – GTE (Geometry Transformation Engine). In PS1 it was used to work with three-dimensional graphics and was placed on the same chip with the central processor. The VU1 module is used for polygon transformation, lighting, and other rendering-related calculations.

Sony designed the Playstation 2 not only as an evolution of the console, but also made sure that PS1 support was implemented at the hardware level. The only thing that was emulated in software was the implementation of the PS1 GPU, for which the PS2 "Emotion Engine" processor was responsible. New options in older games were a bonus – accelerated disk reading and texture smoothing. The PS2 architecture consisted of three key parts: the Emotion Engine CPU, the Graphics Synthesizer GPU, and RDRAM. The console became the best-selling console in history, and Sony took care of backward compatibility when promoting the next generation of its devices to the market.

At E3 in 2005, the company unveiled the PlayStation 3 and announced that it would be compatible with PS1 and PS2 games. Early models contain chips from the PS2, including the "Emotion Engine", "Graphics Synthesizer" and RDRAM memory. These chips were soldered directly to the motherboard, replicating the PS2 hardware. But emulation was also used here. The I/O implementation and audio processing were not hardware, so PS1 emulation was done in software. The Cell processor was responsible for both functions.

Thanks to PS2 hardware emulation, PS3 CECH A and B models are still in demand on the secondary market. But they are difficult to find because the devices are extremely unreliable. You may encounter the “yellow light of death” and overheating problems, and the drive will quickly fail.

Photos of the PS3 board and Cell die: “Emotion Engine”, “Graphics Synthesizer” and RDRAM memory are on the motherboard, and the rest of the architecture is emulated by SPE processor cores

In 2006, Sony released firmware 3.0 for PSP handheld console. This added PS1 backwards compatibility. Once again, emulation was implemented properly. The portable system was built on the MIPS R4000 processor, a direct successor to the MIPS R3000 from the PS1, which made it possible to run games from the old console with good performance. Adding new features encouraged users to update firmware. This is how security holes were fixed. There was a constant struggle between the company and the hackers. The new firmware will allow you to play the latest games and access the PS1 catalog. And the company will get rid of the vulnerability with which you can run pirated roms and install your own firmware. But hackers will find a new hole and force Sony to update the software.

Going forward, the company is https://noidverificationcasinos.co.uk/review/spinscastle/ changing direction, focusing on current and future games.
The reason for the high cost of PS3 consoles was, among other things, hardware support for PS2. This meant that Sony did not make money from selling consoles. To save money, the architecture was revised by removing the “Emotion Engine” and RDRAM memory, but retained the “Graphics Synthesizer” chip. "Emotion Engine" began to be emulated in software. This task was assigned to the PS3 physical accelerator, and all other SPE cores will emulate the remaining hardware.

In the Slim version of the console, backward compatibility was completely cut out, abandoning the “Graphics Synthesizer” chip and software emulation. This reduced the cost of manufacturing devices, which was important for Sony, since the company was losing the battle with Microsoft – the Xbox 360 was leading the market.

Sony will return PS2 support to PS3, but through the digital PlayStation Store. The “classic hits” section will offer about 70 games. This is a completely software emulation, the central and SPE cores of the Cell processor are responsible for it. Despite the low compatibility, the emulator works well and in some cases offers better performance compared to the original hardware.

PS Vita – Sony’s latest "portable" – plays most PSP games thanks to its predecessor’s built-in hardware. However, the games themselves are only available through the PSN store.

PlayStation 4 was released in 2013 without backwards compatibility. Many were left perplexed by the lack of support for games on PS3. The reason was the complexity of the Cell processor architecture. Sony did not try to emulate it on new consoles, focusing on remastering the games.

In 2015, the company officially confirmed that PS2 games would be released on PS4. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to play a PS2 disc by inserting it into the console. The PSN digital store has added a section for purchasing games from a special collection. And it disappointed many.

Trophies have been added to PS2 classics, but we are drawn to old games because of nostalgia, and trophy hunters are a different layer of gamers.

In 2017, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan stated that the company was not interested in supporting classic games, saying that it was one of those features that was highly requested but not actually used by many people.

Ahead of the PS5 launch, Sony has announced that most games will be backwards compatible with PS4, including disc reading. At the time of writing, I did not find information about support for earlier generations. It is clear that hardware is capable of this, and with modern AI and neural network technologies it is possible to scale and reconstruct the image. That is, old games can look great even on a 4K TV.

Over the coming year, the company will be busy making games backwards compatible with PS4 in order to fill the window before new games are released. From the first generations, only classic hits will be available through the PSN store.

Conclusion

It is possible to achieve software emulation, but you will have to work with the source code of each game. It’s much easier to copy hardware by releasing new revisions of old consoles. But few people will downgrade their living room by returning the CRT TV. Most want to play on 4K TVs with surround sound. But these consoles and games are not designed for 4K and such sound – you can’t just solder HDMI and optical audio output, and leave the game development to AI and neural networks. We’ll have to involve a team of professionals. Therefore, the only way is remasters and remakes for modern hardware.

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Best comments

The article explains why Sonya refused to support older games.

Microsoft’s list of classics is also thinning, so I think that they will eventually follow the same path.

Well, Sony’s problem is that almost all of their family of consoles are made on different architectures, and emulating software is a very thankless task. I wrote not so long ago, although maybe a long time ago, a blog about the Playstation 3, and there I described its architecture in detail. In short, in addition to the video chip, SPE cores are also involved in rendering, and how to transfer all this to one graphics chip is a big question. There are many problems with the emulator on PC because of this.

For the Mikes, the situation is much better, Xboxes are all closer in architecture to PCs and, most importantly, to each other, and besides, the same toolkit is still the same DirectX. It’s not particularly difficult for them to make that same software emulation; paradoxically, it will work better than hardware. By the way, IMHO, Microsoft is pushing and will continue, for example, RDR natively in 4K can only be played on Xbox One X. By the way, I also wrote about this)

It’s especially great for Xbox 360 owners who still have discs: insert a disc, download a patch that improves framerate or resolution, or both, and enjoy playing your favorite game :) Thus, cool games do not become victims of exclusivity for certain platforms, such as MGS 4, the Motorstorm and Kilzone series, and so on.

I had my first curling iron. Version 9 (like stories in the store). I haven’t completed Lara’s new trilogy, Veronica’s code and Resident Ivel 4 (the original, not the susiver).