Could The PS4 Be Home To Some PS2 Classics And Not So Classics?

The PlayStation 4 may soon host a slate of classic PlayStation 2 games, recent submissions to European ratings counsel PEGI (Pan-European Game Information Board) indicate. Ape Escape 2, Dark Cloud 2 and Twisted Metal Black will be among the first PlayStation 2 games to see a release for Sony’s newest console.

Originally released in 2003, Ape Escape 2 is a 3D platformer in which players pursue an army of escaped monkeys and attempt to capture them using a wide variety of unconventional gadgets. The game follows up on the original Ape Escape, which was designed as an innovative showpiece for the original PlayStation’s Dual Shock controller.

Dark Cloud 2, a 2003 sequel to developer Level 5’s debut effort Dark Cloud, is an RPG with unique town-building mechanics. Level 5 later went on to create games like Dragon Quest VIII and the Professor Layton series for the Nintendo DS.

Twisted Metal: Black is a vehicle combat video game developed by Incognito Entertainment and designed by Sony Computer Entertainment America originally release in 2001 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. 

Last month, Electronic Arts announced that upcoming Star Wars Battlefront-themed PlayStation 4 hardware bundles will include digital copies of four classic Star Wars games, including the PS2 titles Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The publisher has not announced whether these games will be emulated PS2 Classics or reworked ports.

At E3 2015, Microsoft announced the Xbox One would support Xbox 360 backwards compatibility through software-enabled emulation. Responding to this, Sony's Shuhei Yoshida confirmed Sony has no plans to implement a similar solution to allow PS3 titles to be played on the PS4

The unearthed ratings naturally suggest more classics may be released in the future, but Sony has not yet indicated an intention to continue releasing PS2 titles as an ongoing strategy. If these games are receiving new, PS4-exclusive ratings, it suggests a possible pivot in strategy for Sony, away from a purely streaming model and toward the possibility of actual re-releases. Perhaps even the long-awaited extension of the Classics series to their newest console. This being said means here in Australia we might have every possibility of trying these titles out considering our internet is not yet good enough for a Playstation Now service.

Red 15/09/2015 

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