Shuhei Yoshida, President of SCE Worldwide Studios, has revealed via PlayStation Blog that PlayStation 2 games will officially be playable on the PlayStation 4 as of tomorrow. Unfortunately, there's a catch and it's a big one - these are completely separate downloads from the previously released PS2 discs and digital classics on the PS3, confirming a recent YouTube leak.
Starting tomorrow, PS4 owners will be able to hit up the digital storefront and select from a variety of PS2 classics that have been ported over. The initial lineup of games is, for lack of a better word, mixed, and will include:
- Dark Cloud ($14.99)
- Grand Theft Auto 3 ($14.99)
- Grand Theft Auto Vice City ($14.99)
- Grand Theft Auto San Andreas ($14.99)
- Rogue Galaxy ($14.99)
- The Mark of Kri ($14.99)
- Twisted Metal: Black ($9.99)
- War of the Monsters ($9.99)
Other titles slated as "coming soon":
- Parappa The Rapper 2
- Fantavision
- Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
- The King of Fighters 2000
Some of these choices are obvious (like Grand Theft Auto) or inspired (like War of the Monsters and Rogue Galaxy). But why the first Dark Cloud over the vastly superior second? Or The Mark of Kri?
The biggest disappointment in all of this is that your PlayStation 2 discs or digital PS2 classics you've purchased on your PS3 will not work on the PS4. These PS4 versions are completely separate purchases, though they at least come with a few welcome upgrades, like sharing functionality, trophy support, and 1080p upscaling.
