Since the Playstation 4's debut, fans have been wondering if they were ever going to get a chance to play the company's sizeable catalog of Playstation 1 and 2 games on their console (aside from a few choice high-def upgrades, that is). Now, after years of Sony skirting the possibility of their Classics series of downloadable re-releases coming to the PS4, there's a glimmer of hope.
Last night, the Pan-European Game Information Board (PEGI), Europe’s answer to America’s ESRB, posted re-ratings of Dark Cloud 2, Ape Escape 2, and Twisted Metal: Black for the Playstation 4. The ratings, which were reported by gaming site Gematsu, have since been taken down.
It seems like somebody jumped the gun, in other words, perhaps in advance of Sony’s pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference tomorrow. If that’s the case, then we can draw some reasonable conclusions.
So far, Sony’s preferred method of offering old games to PS4 owners has been through the Playstation Now subscription-based streaming service, which lets players stream games directly from Sony’s servers. PSNow releases, however, don’t get re-rated.
Sony Computer Entertainment AmericaIf 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.
That said, the three games PEGI listed are, for flagship titles, a bit odd. Dark Cloud 2 and Ape Escape 2 are both fantastic games, but they’re cult classics through and through. (Sadly, most audiences of the early 2000s were not ready for a game where you could craft an aquarium by taking photographs of water and a box.) Twisted Metal: Black is a bit more of a mainstream choice, especially for the West, but these aren’t exactly the PS2’s system sellers.
Then again, catering to the unlikely dreams of the hardcore gaming audience might be Sony’s new hot strategy. Just look at, uh, all of E3.
