Rumor: Sony Cloud Deal Will Make PS3 Backwards Compatible, Stream PS2/PS1 games

With rumors that Sony is planning to buy a cloud gaming company circulating, a new rumor has popped up that suggest the move could enable backwards compatibility on the PS3.

GI.biz reports that a deal with Gaikai (who are the most likely candidate for a buyout) will allow current-generation hardware to play PlayStation 2 and PSone games via a streaming solution. The service will offer both first-party games and third party games, although publishers have to be on board so it won’t be the full catalog. The rumor also says that “it’s not yet clear which Sony devices beyond the PlayStation 3 would get a Gaikai-supported game streaming service, but it could extend to Sony branded TVs and tablets” – something that we think is vital for Sony to allow.

Apparently, the backwards compatibility streaming now would also allow Sony to test streaming games before it dives head first into streaming with the release of the PlayStation 4. While the site doesn’t go on to speculate, having PS3 streaming on the PS4 would also allow Sony to move away from the troublesome cell chip while still having some form of backwards compatibility.

What do you think of the news? Would you pay to stream PS2 and PSone games? Let us know in the comments below.

TRENDING