Vid of 40 GB PS3 running PS2 game: PS2 support disabled in retail PS3s?

Posted Jan 22, 2009 at 9:58AM by QJ Staff Listed in: PS3 Tags: backwards compatible, PS2, Sony
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A vid up on YouTube shows a 40 GB PlayStation 3 running a PS2 game, supposedly proving that any PS3 model - not just the first batch - has PS2 support.

It's reported that the ability to play PS2 games is just disabled in retail PS3 models (reminds me of what happened to the Wii) - the one in the vid only has PS2 support because it's in service mode. Here's the vid:



Legit? I can't tell, but I'm hoping it is.

Reports claim that a patch to unlock PS2 support is possible and will someday be released to the public. Seeing as PS3 homebrew was squashed some time ago, I'm guessing it'll still be some time before we see it happen, unless Sony obliges with their own official patch, which I doubt.

Big thanks to misthero for the tip! Cookies for everybody else!



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Via DemonHades

 
 
 

Comments

by mr420toki - 2009-01-22 09:54:08
why??

if this was real they would show everybody how to do it... i call it fake untill i can see proof!!!! but i already have a b/c 80gig so screw it... im still waiting for use to play backups of ps2 games on our ps3!!!!
by sickofitall - 2009-01-22 10:13:56
i assume all of that flickering was just the camera

but it sure did take a long time for the game to load.
by D4rklord - 2009-01-22 10:23:12
well

that kind of looks legit to me i mean unless there's another wire or it's a prerecorded video or even the cd could be a ps3 game with a ps2 label on it.
by kon_e3 - 2009-01-22 10:24:57
how do u know its 40G?

he should've showed us the hdd capacity of it, and that theres only 2 usb's and no memory card readers
by DVD_Sandwich - 2009-01-22 10:45:13
eh?

it looks like he's using a 20/60/80+ (the bc models) gb model and simply put "service mode" on his wallpaper...
by ShadeyProphet - 2009-01-22 11:01:27
the video flickering.

The flickering in the tv is the fact that the tv is an old Sd model, The camera was actually capturing the refresh rate of the screen, an hd tv wouldnt do this as the refresh rate is much much faster. if anyone had an old sd tv. grab the nearest digi cam you have and take a video of it in action, you will find this flickering to be easy to reproduce. as for the rest of the video, I can say it's fake. I remain skeptical. But I hope for the best.
by ShadeyProphet - 2009-01-22 11:04:57
correction,,

I can't say it's fake. Typo's happen to me just all the time ;p
by DVD_Sandwich - 2009-01-22 11:09:40
actually...

I take that back. you can't have the wavy line effect while you have a wallpaper actice. It still doesn't prove there's a way to play ps2 games on a low end model, though, because he didn't show what model it is...
by emcp - 2009-01-22 11:33:44
mm

its a sure fake, notice how he never showed us the screen as he turned the ps3 off the srevice mode image can be done, by redirecting the RSS feed, you can change the rss feed image etc, and redirected the xml file to a blank one to get the game to load, he never showed us musch anything to the left of the ps3, i believe its because theres a ps2 there, he swapped the av cord used for the ps3 onto the ps2 as its backwards compatible, ill inserting the game, thats why he leans to left and why it takes so long to load ak him to do it on a HDTV and well see if he can
by MisterAV - 2009-01-22 12:20:49
see

the faceplate isn't shining much. Only the 40GB has that color, the 60GB is much more brilliant. And if you see there isn't the place for the memory at the left. But it can be fake even if the PS3 is a real 40GB
by DVD_Sandwich - 2009-01-22 13:21:04
IT'S FAKE

if you pause as the disc is going in, and look to the left of the disc slot, you can see the lines that make out the flip open lid, which opens to reveal the memory card slots. the models which lack ps2 BC also lack the memory card slots; therefore, it is definitely a model which already has backward compatibility.
by Onimushaclan - 2009-01-22 13:27:17
Playstation 2 boot screen

usualy u see the logo for much longer than than 1/2 seconds
by ShadeyProphet - 2009-01-22 13:34:17
heads up guys

if you click the source link at the bottom of the news post, it takes you directly to another cleaner brighter video, that was done on a better tv. The DemonHades source link..
by ShadeyProphet - 2009-01-22 13:56:36
be careful doing this guys,

The way to access service mode, while your ps3 is powered down "red light" hold the power button on the ps3 while you boot it up.. three out of four times you do this you will access service mode.. now heres the catch, there is a menu in white text black background, with a few options to choose from, be careful in here.. how these guys in the video are getting to the xmb in service mode though is beyond me, I couldnt do it.
by jac_the_ripper - 2009-01-22 14:05:45
fake...

he changed the video output. get a life man
by darks - 2009-01-22 14:47:11
fake...

this is definetly fake he changed video input to a ps2. found a vid on youtube where u can see when hes powering off the ps3 the screen gets blue but the ps3 is still blinkin to turn off. additinoaly u can see a guy with something like a remot reflecting from the tv screen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omWOdvGWKkM&feature=related
by Walo - 2009-01-22 15:24:06
Fake

Is very easy to show a 40 gb PS3, and have another PS3 hidden providing the video signal, he never showed the video connection of the PS3, in fact in not a single one of the videos reporting the PS2 compatibility the video connections are shown.
by Onimushaclan - 2009-01-22 15:39:43
haha

why didnt he use the PS button to exit to XMB?
by Shatterdome - 2009-01-22 15:48:17
...

I'm not going to comment on if it's fake or not, probably is. If you think about it though, PS3's were using software BC after they removed the emotion engine. There is no reason that newer PS3's can't run the software emulation, other than Sony isn't including it in the firmware, or it's disabled.
by rakizta77 - 2009-01-22 16:09:13
wt

the video really lacks evidence. and the PS2 game booting up so slow. i believe when you bootup a PS2 game, it should say "Press PS button" at the top right screen after the logo shows up. definitely fake.
by DigiTalDeaD - 2009-01-22 16:54:14
Wrong..

If you watch the high quality version you'll see there are no such lines or memory slots. Real or fake...who cares, if it were as simple as this guy is making out then it would have already been exploited + released ages ago.
by PS3 OUTSIDER - 2009-01-22 17:10:01
even 60gb ?

i havnt played a ps2 game on my 60gb ps3 for months so can someone please verify to me that my ps3 still has b.c thanks guys
by weirdpeople - 2009-01-22 19:43:59
I found another video

I found a third one this one looks more legit but idk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0U7vElslY0&NR=1
by Walo - 2009-01-22 19:45:38
is still there

b.c. is not removed in the older versions
by Walo - 2009-01-22 19:50:02
...

In the 2nd gen PS3s only the PS2 GPU was removed, the PS2 CPU was still there. But in the 3rd gen PS3s both the GPU and CPU from the PS2 was removed.
by cyclone0001 - 2009-01-22 20:00:20
He also could have...

just switched out the chrome faceplate of a old bc ps3 with a new matte finish faceplate. Also, he intentionally doesn't show the entire ps3 because he didn't show the front usb ports. He didn't want us to see it had four instead of the standard 2 on a 40 gig. I call absolute bs.
by Shatterdome - 2009-01-22 21:37:40
hmm..

Even then, they released a patch to allow PS3's to play old Singstar games....so it must still be possible through pure software emulation...
by nikko03 - 2009-01-22 21:58:35
.

hmm.. i believe this and i dont..but first of all i base this off another video he released.. in the other video he does show the two usb ports, the lack of mem stick slots, and the lack of the chrome finish. But no matter what when you start a ps2 game your controler disconnects and it tells you to press the ps button..but one other thing i noticed it the change in the size of the picture when the game was started, which happens with bigger tvs and is an option unless you change it to full screen. and i just dont remember if the ps2 could do that so idk...
by DVD_Sandwich - 2009-01-22 21:59:28
and

and what's with all the damn noise in the background? tell them to stfu!
by Daistaar - 2009-01-22 23:09:30
Wrong video

The source link goes to a guy loading up NHL2k8 for PS3, not the F1 racing PS2 game in this video. TV is different, but not the same clip.
by DannyDanger - 2009-01-22 23:18:58
REAL OR FAKE

We can all agree on one thing... his tv SUCKS!!!
by Daistaar - 2009-01-22 23:26:39
to be fair..

We hispanics can be brutish with technology. Be glad he didn't just unplug the damn thing, LOL. I do have a few things to call into question though: 1.) Why do all of his videos have the same date "1/1 and 1:00"? 2.) He has the new PSN logo which came out in November. At what point did service mode become unavailble. I thought only FWs under 1.6 or 1.8 could still access it. 3.) Why is there no PS2 splash screen or do "service Modes" bypass the splash screen? 4.) Do 40gb (if it is since we can't see) PS3s have the memory card utility? I can understand for PSN PSOne games but PS2 mem card support? Correct me if I'm wrong which I might be on some of these...
by yoshi314 - 2009-01-22 23:31:14
let's assume it's not fake

if it's not we can assume that sony has a very good reason for removing ps2 support from newer ps3 models. at least temporarily. probably ps2 games are run in similar "sandbox" as the "other os" option (linux) is. my wild guess would be that sony came across some serious security issue with some ps2 software title. (well, you can even use usbadvance on ps3). performance problems are rather hard to believe. ps3 not powerful enough to handle ps2 ? that's a pretty funny excuse.
by Daistaar - 2009-01-22 23:41:21
Same guy? Still fake

That video is fake as well. The PS3 LEDs never go on in this third vid until he inserts a disc. We then hear a PS2 load screen sound but see no splash screen. I think he's got a PS3 and PS2. The PS2 is idle at the browser with the disc waiting to load, he hits the button on the PS3 to launch, blacks out, hits PS2 X to launch, switches Video output and voila. Fake.
by xche78x - 2009-01-23 03:29:51
MY THEORY (i could be wrong)

the video used 2 units of ps3, one is 40 and the other can run ps2 games (20 60 old80). inserted a ps2 game on the 40gb ps3 and the backwards compatible ps3 at the same time. the bc ps3 unit is the one connected to the tv. the 40gb ps3 acts as a decoy, connected to nothing. presto the ps2 game will boot.
by damonous - 2009-01-23 13:05:58
Fake: Power-on noise

At the :26 second mark, you can clearly see that the 40gb PS3 is POWERED ON. At the :53 second mark, you hear the chirp signifying the booting of the PS3. How is this possible? ....unless, of course, there is another PS3 in the room which he just booted, and that happens to be the 60gb model. ;-O
by damonous - 2009-01-23 13:13:16
If it's true

Although I doubt the validity of this based upon some of the vids I watch ....on the other had, I could see it being feasible. For example, by 'reducing' PS2 support, they were able to clear the VERY expensive 60gb + 20gb models out of the marketplace. Then, by removing ALL PS2 support, they were able to clear-out older 80gb units and sell the cheaper 40gb models, etc. Not only that, but where Sony was hemmoraging money on every console sold .... they were able to maximize the profit of the PS2. ..So, I could see an aggressive 'restructuring strategy designed to make them profitable: get rid of older, costlier hardware, and promote sales of last-generation hardware.
by gammy69er - 2009-01-24 18:13:49
This is bull

Really, it would take a firmware hack to do something like this (or a case mod) - we don't see any of the system specs or nothing. Where's the proof of concept. Not to say that this isn't possible though, as i have a Oceania 60 gig and unlike it's international counterparts, it did not have the EEC built in, ps2 is software emulated - and luckly enough Sony has seen fit to leave it that way, as there was concern for them taking it out in a FW update, which they have not. Pretty sure Sony will put it back one day, and maybe even psp support too ;P
by DVD_Sandwich - 2009-01-29 03:58:36
yup

all PS3's have the memory card utility, because all PS3's have PS1 backward compatibility. PS2 BC is not in the 3rd generation systems, though.
by Aces In The Palm - 2009-01-29 23:58:14
hmm

@walo the emotion engine was the CPU and was removed first the graphics synthesizer was the GPU @Shatterdome the singstar games use actual song information from the ps2 discs. at no time is any form of emulation used

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