so, I was talking to an old buddy, and he asked me a question I am not sure the answer of..



my buddy bought a new PS3 today (yeah, hes late to the party lol) at a locally owned game shops liquidation sale.. he gave me a call, and asked if he could Borrow my copy of a few PS2 titles i have..

I told him that I am pretty sure the newer PS3 models were not backwards compatible with PS2 games.. he said he did not know that and it was a bummer, but then asked me a further question I did not actually know how to answer.

he asked that, if the newer PS3 models were not backwards compatible with the PS2 discs, would he still be able to play the downloadable version of PS2 titles available from the PSN Store on his new PS3.. I wasn't sure, so I told him I would look into it for him and give him an answer by the time he gets off work tomorrow, but i can't seem to find any answer on google..


so, I thought someone here may know..

so while the newer PS3s can't run PS2 games from the disc, do the digital versions from the PSN store still work on them?

I wouldn't count on it. I had the backwards compatible console but that was before the mass digitalization of console games. If PSN lets him download the games and they don't play, he has cause to give them a piece of his mind and get a refund.

Here's what I found.

https://support.us.playstation.com/articles/en_US/KC_Article/Play-PSone-and-PlayStation-2-Games-on-a-PlayStation-3
"All PS3 systems have the ability to play downloadable PS one and PlayStation 2 Classics available from the PlayStation Store."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_2_Classics
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_remasters_for_PlayStation_consoles

I own a PS3 and own a couple PSN purchased Playstation and Playstation 2 games on my PS3, the 500GB model. They do run on the PS3 because the ones you purchase off of PSN aren't the hard copy but rather they run on emulation, so they might be wonky at times, but I've never experienced any wonkyness. So the short answer is that if he wants those games and they're big enough titles then the odds are high he can purchase it off Playstation Network for usually 15 dollars at the highest, but 5-10 dollar range most commonly.

As, you can see at the *chart below, only two particular PS3 models are fully compatible with PS2 game discs. (meaning you can play original physical copy PS2 games on those consoles)

The first SKUs of the PlayStation 3 featured an "Emotion Engine" on the motherboard to achieve backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 games.

However, a PlayStation 2 software emulator is available in later system software revisions for use with Sony's PS2 Classics titles available for purchase on the Sony Entertainment Network.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_models

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And as mentioned above "All ps3 models can play PlayStation 2 Classics available from the PlayStation Store."

All digital PS1 and PS2 games on the Playstation Store works on any PS3.

I have a PS3 that can't run PS2 discs, but I've been playing the PS2 game Suikoden III lately on it anyway since I bought it from Playstation Store 2 months ago.

Not backwards compatible as such.. but... If they are purchased from the playstation store and downloaded maybe your friend could get it to work.. We do not know..

I know my ps3 is not. Mine is the last ps3 model sold.

Good to know that , thanks.

Only the early PS3 systems 60 GB and below where PS2 compatible, the later ones even today are not; however, you can download PS2 games from PSN and I think every PS3 should be able to play them.

thanks for the response guys