One of the issues that has been a thorn in Sony’s fans’ side since the PlayStation 4 launched is backward compatibility. Both the PS4 and PS5 have limited support for Sony’s vast catalog of older games, and while things have been getting slightly better over the last few years, the PS5 still lags behind the Xbox Series X/S. Not to say that’s all going to change immediately, but there is a rumor currently doing the rounds that Sony is currently working on a new PlayStation 2 emulator, which may open that console’s library up in a big way.
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The rumor was first spotted by the team at PlayStation Lifestyle, though the actual news comes from YouTuber Mystic. In a video titled “Classic Games On PS5: Sony Is Doing Better..But..,” Mystic talks at length about how one of the reasons Sony hasn’t been putting PS2 classics onto the PS5 is “a matter of them just probably not having a brand-new PlayStation 2 emulator. He followed that by saying that he would be surprised if he heard that Sony wasn’t actively working on one and then said that he has it “on good authority” that the console maker is actively working on a new PS2 emulator.ย
Now, you should take all of this with a massive grain of salt. After all, this is one person’s word who doesn’t have a very long track record for leaking information. That doesn’t mean Mystic is lying or anything, just that it’s important to set expectations with something like this compared to a notable Fortnite leaker revealing a new skin. Mystic could very well have inside information, but he’s not consistently posting leaks.
That said, this would make some sense. After all, Sony has been pushing classic games out on its PlayStation Plus service over the last few years, using it as a way to get some of its old titles back into users’ hands. It also recently raised the prices for the subscription without adding any additional benefits. One way it could soften that blow would be to invest in even more classic games on the service. Plus, there’s always the off-chance that we see something like this baked into a PlayStation 5 mid-gen refresh to make an upgrade even more attractive to consumers.
Will There Be a PlayStation 5 Pro or Slim?
The PS5 Pro rumors have been circulating quite a bit over the last few years. After Sony set the precedence with the PS4 Pro, that was to be expected, but rumors have really started to swirl over the last few months. In fact, a July report claimed that we will see a PlayStation 5 release sometime in 2024 and it will support 8K console gaming. The console is supposedly codenamed Trinity and has been in the works since 2022. Of course, just like the rumor around the new PS2 emulator, you’ll want to take all of that with a hefty dose of skepticism until Sony makes an official announcement.
