With the launch of the revised PlayStation Plus and its collection of classic games, much attention has been paid to the PS3-shaped hole in the library. A new patent suggests that Sony is still looking for ways to address the gap.
As reported by Game Rant, Sony Interactive Entertainment published a new patent on June 14 called “Systems and Methods For Converting A Legacy Code Into An Updated Code.” The patent details an emulation system for video games that would track with a renewed push to get PS3 games running smoothly on modern hardware. However, the section of the patent that stuck out to Game Rant was the inclusion of a diagram mapping how old PlayStation peripherals like the EyeToy or PSP Go could be emulated too.
Patents like this are filed all the time, and may not ever come to anything. It’s interesting that emulation at this level is on PlayStation’s mind, however. Why would it trouble itself with getting technology that is, in some cases, decades-old working on newer platforms? Remember, it was Sony’s decision to put PS3 emulation on the PS5 in the too-hard basket. As Leah discussed in her piece on the situation at the time, a large part of this decision was motivated by the PS3’s byzantine development systems. It was hard to make games for the PS3, it was hard to get them to run smoothly and, as a result, even emulating them on modern hardware can be a challenge. If it were a matter of throwing hardware at the problem, you would think the PS5 would be more than up to the task.
As Sony plumbs more and more of its legacy library to feed the hungry PlayStation Plus Classics beast, it could be trying to pre-empt issues around storage and memory cards. Before internal storage became a standard feature in the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, video game consoles were still selling external storage cards as an add-on. It’s a long shot, but this would be one way to start getting ahead of that problem should it rear its head.
I’m sure there are some of you reading this muttering something to the effect of “They’re probably trying to get the damn Move controllers working, god help us.” And … yes they did bring those up.
I thought at first that the inclusion of the Move controllers might be because of their connection to the original PlayStation VR headset. However, the headset does not appear in the aforementioned diagram, suggesting Sony may have other ideas about integration. We may not be rid of the accursed things just yet, but there are certain games from the Move/Kinect era that simply won’t work without them.
With that, it’s over to you. What’s Sony’s play here? Which PS3 games are you desperate to see get among the games on PlayStation Plus Classics? Sound off in the comments below.
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