--- description: Sony's games console is adding the feature the competing Xbox One just got title: The PlayStation 4 Is Getting a Massive Upgrade image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32917cedb4537b1b/6988721a524fc08b99df595c/playstation2-dualshock2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sony Confirms the PS4 Is Getting a Massive Upgrade ## Video: Tech Time: Why Super Mario Bros. is One of the Best Video Games Ever Made [Watch (HLS stream): Tech Time: Why Super Mario Bros. is One of the Best Video Games Ever Made](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/b86vuoEJ.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2015-09-10. TIME Tech Editor talks about the genius of Super Mario Bros. as the NES game turns 30._ by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2015 12:50 PM CUT  Wikipedia by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 20, 2015 12:50 PM CUT PlayStation 2 games are in the offing for the PlayStation 4, says Sony. Digital Foundry, a site that analyzes games from a strictly graphical standpoint, got the conversation started yesterday [with a breakdown](http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-hands-on-with-ps4-playstation2-emulation "undefined") of Sony’s recently released _Star Wars_ legacy bundle for the PlayStation 4, which includes three visually upscaled PlayStation 2 games. “As it happens, the PlayStation 4’s PS2 emulator is now available, released with no fanfare whatsoever,” wrote the Foundry piece’s author. Think of a game emulator as a piece of software, a “wrapper” that imitates the behavior of another system, a kind of operating-system-within-an-operating-system. _Wired_ confirmed that Sony is indeed working on PlayStation 2 emulation for the PlayStation 4\. “We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation,” Sony [told the site in an email](http://www.wired.com/2015/11/playstation-2-emulation-coming-to-ps4-sony-confirms/ "undefined"), adding “We have nothing further to comment at this point in time.” This isn’t the first time PlayStation 2 games have been said to be coming to the PlayStation 4\. Digital Foundry [claimed back in January 2014](http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-ps1-ps2-games-heading-to-ps4 "undefined") that a Sony source had confirmed PlayStation 2 as well as original PlayStation emulation was in the works for the PlayStation 4, possibly with high-definition finessing. But that was nearly two years ago, and all PlayStation-related backward compatibility talk since has focused on Sony’s game streaming service PlayStation Now, which launched out of beta in North America last May. Sony has yet to specifically confirm that the three legacy _Star Wars_ games now available as part of a [_Star Wars Battlefront_](http://time.com/4114336/star-wars-battlefront-review/ "undefined") PlayStation 4 bundle—_Star Wars: Bounty Hunter_, _Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter_ and _Star Wars: Racer Revenge—_are part of the emulation initiative, but Digital Foundry’s analysis seems to confirm that. Why acknowledge PlayStation 2 emulation without fanfare? That’s less clear, but assuming it wasn’t a PR snafu, it may be part of a subdued campaign to offset Microsoft’s recent switch to supporting its most popular legacy game system. When the Xbox One [shifted from Windows 8 to Windows 10 last week](http://time.com/4109794/xbox-one-update/ "undefined"), it included emulation support for over 100 Xbox 360 titles and promises of more to come. The newer Xbox 360 and older PlayStation 2 consoles never technically went head-to-head, but the PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling dedicated games console of all time, with over 150 million units. Since PlayStation 3 games are already available through PlayStation Now subscriptions, adding PlayStation 2 (and original PlayStation) support would give the company a hypothetical leg up. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4121790/playstation-emulation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4121790/playstation-emulation/"},"headline":"Sony Confirms the PS4 Is Getting a Massive Upgrade","datePublished":"2015-11-20T12:50:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:06:59.708Z","description":"Sony's console is getting a feature the competing Xbox One just added","url":"https://time.com/4121790/playstation-emulation/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Sony","PlayStation 4"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32917cedb4537b1b/6988721a524fc08b99df595c/playstation2-dualshock2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32917cedb4537b1b/6988721a524fc08b99df595c/playstation2-dualshock2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PlayStation2-DualShock2","caption":"","creditText":"Wikipedia","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4121790/playstation-emulation/","name":"Sony Confirms the PS4 Is Getting a Massive Upgrade"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tech Time: Why Super Mario Bros. is One of the Best Video Games Ever Made","description":"TIME Tech Editor talks about the genius of Super Mario Bros. as the NES game turns 30.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/b86vuoEJ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-10T14:07:36.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/b86vuoEJ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4121790/playstation-emulation/","duration":"PT1M32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4121790/playstation-emulation/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```