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PS2 Classics Emulator Hacked - Plays any PS2 game on any CFW PS3

Cornbread78

Member
Yay, I can;t wait until PS4, so that can be hacked to play 8-10 year old PS3 games.

I wonder how the Durango's mandatory install and no disk play will be affected by the CFW/Hack community? The same as PC?
 

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
So, where's all the posters who swore blind that these titles were actually ports and not emulated? Where is your god now??!!

Well I'm sure most of these are ports, but definitely not to the extent that was once thought of.

Like for example Silent Hill HD is definitely a port since not even poorly emulated does the game do what the HD collection does in removing all the atmosphere and "cleaning" up the world.
 

amar212

Member
Somebody should try Gran Turismo 4 with the 900-degree USB wheel.

If THAT works, then you can call this a serious thing.
 
Well I'm sure most of these are ports, but definitely not to the extent that was once thought of.

Like for example Silent Hill HD is definitely a port since not even poorly emulated does the game do what the HD collection does in removing all the atmosphere and "cleaning" up the world.

I mean specifically the PSN PS2 classics range, obviously any HD-ified stuff is a port.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
mclem said:
we've known for ages that there's an emulator good enough for *some* stuff
There are ~200 games PS2 classics on PSN - a lot higher number than what PSP had when PS1 emulation was unlocked through CFW.

Durante said:
I really doubt the "any PS2 game" point.
SH4 is apparently already on PSN - and none of the previous entries were technically doing anything different (if anything, they did less of it). ZOE would be amusing to see if for no other reason that it probably outperforms HD collection - but regardless of performance I expect it to run.
I can think of "some" titles that "may" break the emulator (because they caused problems even with CPU only-side in the past, but except for Jak none of them are even well known.
 

amar212

Member
ya GT4 still doesn't run that great in pcsx2

I have some issues on my 60GB 1st series as well.

There are some green block appearing now and then in the upper right corner.

Also, in some very rare instances there are some slight audio issues.

The testing of the wheel would be the final disclosure of this method.
 

tborsje

Member
Good news for CFW ps3 owners! I used to be a CFW user until PS+ got good and tempted me away. Oh well, I have PCSX2 for PS2 games.

Forgot about that. Also, I forgot MGS3 is only 30fps. Has anyone tried MGS2?
30fps? More like 20 half the time, and less in many cutscenes.
 

N.A

Banned
Final Fantasy XII (International Zodiac Job System Patched)

Runs fullspeed. Very minor audio glitch on the confirmation sound.

7NOu0PXl.jpg


eKBsdmLl.jpg


r0FMAF7l.jpg


WAT!? How? Please tell me I don't have to spend a gazillion bucks on hardware just to do that.

I've never done it but I heard it's complex. A quick look at the flash devices shows they cost around $100.
 
Too bad I bought my 160 GB PS3 in February of 2012. That probably means CFW is out of the question.

I would love to play PS2 games on my PS3. This is upsetting because it nullifies any excuse that Sony might have had.

Can you still save and do everything that you could do normally, like Smoothing?
 

Rocky

Banned
It's a shame sony can't see the positive press it would bring back BC to play PS2 games via disc. At worst you might have to install the discs for the emulator to properly work.

I have to guess there's a licensing issue when the original PS2 hardware or parts of it aren't present. I would love if the gaming press could get a statement out of sony on this discovery.

Must be a pretty good emulator after-all. PS2 emulation on PC is way more demanding than most of the ps3 hardware.

I imagine that's the reason right there.

Nope, there were no issues back when they had the BC models. First it was hardware BC, then before it was discontinued, they sold software based BC models. Licensing has nothing to do with it.
 
Wow, that's amazing (and kind of terrible).

Indeed. For Sony to officially release this and claim full software BC with PS2 in a non-half-assed way would mean them testing every game through. Or, at least, enough of the catalog to provide full coverage of possible scenarios. I'm guessing confidence in the emulation performance isn't high enough to release it as a general emulator. That's why they don't just unlock this.
Couldn't they just put it out with a non-guarantee that it would work?
Use at your discretion?
 

Pooya

Member
Do Ace Combat games work? those are one of the few that have a lot of problems on pcsx2 as it uses things that are not emulated yet.
 
This proves that the PS3 is emulating PS2 SW natively and not being ported as some users have suggested.

Indeed. For Sony to officially release this and claim full software BC with PS2 in a non-half-assed way would mean them testing every game through. Or, at least, enough of the catalog to provide full coverage of possible scenarios. I'm guessing confidence in the emulation performance isn't high enough to release it as a general emulator. That's why they don't just unlock this.

That's a possibility. But then why are they not whitelisting the ones that ARE emulated and sold on the PSN store? Maybe because Sony wants to make money off each sale or maybe because they don't want to half bake and release a PS3 SW emulation that only supports small percentage games or so, like on XBox 360. Or maybe a combination of both.

This does not bode well for PS1/PS2 BC on PS4 even when going through PSN IMO. Seems like Sony wants you to buy the same thing again. In fact, this makes me think that the PS4 can emulate PS3 and PSN, but it would have to be done carefully and thoroughly tested like PS3 PS2 software emulation. The main reason I'm not buying a PS4 at launch.

I also think it's about time I stop believing GAF experts when they claim software emulation isn't possible for this or that reason. I hope PSV will eventually be able to emulate PS2 classics.
 

Mistouze

user-friendly man-cashews
LOL, I seem to have hit a raw nerve with you here. Did you think they were ports?
The existence of the emulator was known for some time, so I assumed it was an ISO of the original game with "maybe" some game-specific updates to the emulator if those aren't handled along with the system updates.

My point was the post of yours I was originally replying to didn't add shit to the discussion apart from the "hey look at me I was right" while not having any more knowledge about it than the people who were wrong.
 

angelfly

Member
Then why allow ps1 discs?
The market for PS1 remakes is extremely small yet there are still lots of dearly loved PS2 games out there that a lot of people want.
Hasn't the 360 never had CFW?

360 has been hacked and there have been kernel patches in the past to disable region locking. There's also a few custom dashboards available. The interesting 360 is only for JTAG'd systems.
 
Is there some specific PS2 hardware reason as to why exactly people think the compatibility would be low? It sounds similar to how pops works on PSP (for PS1 titles), and I know a similar rom-replacement trick works with Virtual Console titles on Wii as well. I'm kind of suprised this didn't happen sooner, really.

The available bandwidth for the GPU is almost double that of the PS3.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Couldn't they just put it out with a non-guarantee that it would work?
Use at your discretion?
People will probably always miss that and call customer support if something doesnt work.

Speaking about releasing a software feature like this, has it ever been done? An official release on a product that says "this might not work properly, use it at your discretion"?
 
People will probably always miss that and call customer support if something doesnt work.

Speaking about releasing a software feature like this, has it ever been done? An official release on a product that says "this might not work properly, use it at your discretion"?

They wouldn't be able to release it. Some of the glitches involve corrupting your internal memory card.
 
My point was the post of yours I was originally replying to didn't add shit to the discussion apart from the "hey look at me I was right" while not having any more knowledge about it than the people who were wrong.

Well, ok then. You just came on a bit aggressive I thought. The reason I didn't name names because I didn't want to try to call anyone out personally, thought that would have been bad form. Wasn't supposed to be an "I told you so" type post, just a gag.
 

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
That's a possibility. But then why are they not whitelisting the ones that ARE emulated and sold on the PSN store? Maybe because Sony wants to make money off each sale or maybe because they don't want to half bake and release a PS3 SW emulation that only supports small percentage games or so, like on XBox 360. Or maybe a combination of both.

I think the combination of both.

Offering piecemeal compatibility with just a few games could look pitiful, and create an expectation of more. When they publicly stated that they were going to stop pursuing emu for PS2, they were wanting to absolve themselves of those expectations (even if technically it wasn't true that work stopped). We'd be back to those compatibility lists at the start of the gen, but they would look a thousand times more modest.

As for why they don't just unlock this with a warning, it's not really their style. Maybe if it was 90% working they might, but if it was 'only' 80 or 70%...I don't think they would. Is too messy.
 

androvsky

Member
People will probably always miss that and call customer support if something doesnt work.

Speaking about releasing a software feature like this, has it ever been done? An official release on a product that says "this might not work properly, use it at your discretion"?

Sony basically did that with the partial hardware BC PS3s, many PS2 games just didn't work when that model launched and most had issues of some sort. I will grant that the compatibility is probably even lower with this, but the acceptable level is more of an arbitrary decision.
 
This proves that the PS3 is emulating PS2 SW natively and not being ported as some users have suggested.



That's a possibility. But then why are they not whitelisting the ones that ARE emulated and sold on the PSN store? Maybe because Sony wants to make money off each sale or maybe because they don't want to half bake and release a PS3 SW emulation that only supports small percentage games or so, like on XBox 360. Or maybe a combination of both.

This does not bode well for PS1/PS2 BC on PS4 even when going through PSN IMO. Seems like Sony wants you to buy the same thing again. In fact, this makes me think that the PS4 can emulate PS3 and PSN, but it would have to be done carefully and thoroughly tested like PS3 PS2 software emulation. The main reason I'm not buying a PS4 at launch.

I also think it's about time I stop believing GAF experts when they claim software emulation isn't possible for this or that reason. I hope PSV will eventually be able to emulate PS2 classics.

Sony doesn't want the lawsuits / headaches that would arise from emulator glitches. The general public is usually quite stupid. If something that Sony puts out doesn't work...they're going to be the ones who have to hear the crap from millions of people about it.
 

Vorg

Banned
Final Fantasy XII (International Zodiac Job System Patched)

Runs fullspeed. Very minor audio glitch on the confirmation sound.

7NOu0PXl.jpg


eKBsdmLl.jpg


r0FMAF7l.jpg




I've never done it but I heard it's complex. A quick look at the flash devices shows they cost around $100.

ugh, I wanna play this so bad. :-/
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Aquamarine said:
Sony doesn't want the lawsuits / headaches that would arise from emulator glitches. The general public is usually quite stupid. If something that Sony puts out doesn't work...they're going to be the ones who have to hear the crap from millions of people about it.

Just testing titles is a significant cost. If you consider the ridiculous number of PS2 titles released over the years, multiply that by the number of regional sku's (because they need to be tested separately) you're looking at a huge outlay for a feature that isn't going to generate any direct income.

Objectively they simply cannot afford not to thoroughly test each title also, given that its potentially an attack-vector for hackers leading to yet more expense patching things in order to restore system security.
 

kuroshiki

Member
I still have original fat PS3 60gb rocking, but I only played one PS2 game on it. Yakuza 2. I tried Wild Arms series and some other and I'm telling you, they all look like an ass.

If it is proper HD edition of PS2 games I'm actually willing to pay for it.
 

Paertan

Member
Cool that it works =)
But as many have said already it would not be possible for Sony to release something like this as a product. Testing would cost a fortune. If I had a CFW PS3 I would try it but rather just use PCX2 I guess.

When was the first PS2 classic released? Wondering how long it took Sony to get the emulator working.
 

Very nice, man. This is an incredible feature that hackers have unlocked.

One thing though: It would be good to note any emulation glitches you find in a separate column, so that you know what you're getting into when deciding to play your PS2 disc on PCSX2 or the PS2 Classics general-purpose emulator.

Cool that it works =)
But as many have said already it would not be possible for Sony to release something like this as a product. Testing would cost a fortune. If I had a CFW PS3 I would try it but rather just use PCX2 I guess.

When was the first PS2 classic released? Wondering how long it took Sony to get the emulator working.

October 4th, 2011--the USA store first got God Hand, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, Ring of Red, Odin Sphere, GrimGrimoire.

It's not a matter of getting the emulator "working." It's a matter of optimizing the emulator for every PS2 classic release so it doesn't lead to serious problems (overflows, memory corruption, etc.)

The 100% software emulator is designed to work on a need-to-play basis, NOT to support all of the titles. All previous incarnations of PS2 emulation on the PS3 have depended on facets of PS2 hardware still embedded within the system to some capacity.
 
ugh, I wanna play this so bad. :-/

I'm playing through it right now (30 hours in) and it's awesome:D

I don't know what SE managed to fuck up ff13 so badly considering that they had all the mechanics in place in 12 and in a far superior form.

12 does so many things right:
The gambit system is so much more elaborate and superior to the ff13 one, there are no loading screens to get into combat, the ui is better, the map is way better (well I guess in corridor fantasy you don't need a map), weapons are actually visually represented and you can actually find more than a handful of them throughout the game, there is no grind and the game world if about 10x the size of ff13s.
The job system is really cool and you can swap your chars in and out conveniently without having to redo your entire gambit set up (ff13s biggest fuck up)
It even lets you control each character seperately (again ff13s big fuckup)

I was highly skeptical of the gambit system, thought it would be shit after playing ff13, but it is great.
 
OP answering his own question in the same sentence.
Gotta sell those 'hd remakes'.

Just play your ps2 games on pcsx 2 people.
They have full flawless emulation for 99 percent of games now (more than on ps3) with perfect ps3 controller support.

You can play them at 4x resolution on any 5 year old half decent cpu and any random half decent gpu from after 2008.
You get savestates, you get unlimited saveslots, you get a frameskip option to fast forward tedious bits.
Most importantly you get 16x anisotropic texture filtering which makes the games look a lot better (no fuzzy textures at angles and at a distance)

It's the kind of emulation features that should have been in ps3 to begin with.

Here's final fantasy 12 rendered at 3x native res with a locked 60 fps on a dirt cheap cpu from 2008 and a hd6870:



edit: I'm adding this because it's a LOT more convenient than having to CFW your ps3 and it's a way superior way to emulate your games

I would love to do this but the emulator seems kind of obtuse. I just want to play my games. Has the ps2 emulator become easier to use?
 

mclem

Member
Couldn't they just put it out with a non-guarantee that it would work?
Use at your discretion?

For whatever reason, console manufacturers do obsess over the "It Just Works" nature of consoles; I assume it's a matter of image, to give them a (percieved) selling point over PCs. The only time I can think of that I've seen a console game released where it working or not was at your own risk was the few GC titles Nintendo released that were 60Hz only (MP2, at least, I think there were a few others - some on the Zelda Collection discs?)
 

jett

D-Member
Pretty cool, no CFW PS3 here though. BTW I once read that Godhand on the PS3 had framerate issues. Is that still the case?

I would love to do this but the emulator seems kind of obtuse. I just want to play my games. Has the ps2 emulator become easier to use?

Last time I used it, no, it's still "obtuse", but nothing you won't understand how to configure in five minutes.
 
I would love to do this but the emulator seems kind of obtuse. I just want to play my games. Has the ps2 emulator become easier to use?

All I had to do the first time was:
-install emulator

-plug in my controller

-start emulator

-default plugins are perfect I didn't have to change a thing

-optional and highly recommended feature: set the graphics plugin to render at 4x native res (takes 5seconds) so the game is high res with good image quality

-click on memory cards option and select a memory card size and where I want to save it on my hdd (basically selecting your save folder, takes 10seconds and allows you to move your saves or use other people's saves)

-select the bios (which thanks to sony sueing bleem you are now no longer allowed to link on here, assholes ...)

-select the game iso

And that's it.
So basically install emulator, select memory card, select bios, select the game you want to play and set graphics options if you want to and go.
Every consecutive time all I need to do is start the emulator and click fast boot and I'm in the game.
Once ingame it acts exactly like a ps2... you save from the ingame menu screen and it shows your memory card like normal.
When you are done playing you save your game in the game menu and close the emulator.

You no longer have to choose game fixes, you don't have to select different plugins or change plugin settings, the default settings work flawlessly these days.
They recently updated PCSX2 to version 1.0, it is now the final finished version.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
androvsky said:
I will grant that the compatibility is probably even lower with this, but the acceptable level is more of an arbitrary decision.
The difference is testing 5000+ titles for no financial return - or testing on average about 2 titles per week, that actually sell.

phosphor112 said:
The available bandwidth for the GPU is almost double that of the PS3.
But performance isn't.
 
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