New interview reveals work is underway—though PS2 remains the top priority.
Sony has been struggling for a long time to get current hardware to emulate the PlayStation 3. It looks like they may finally have a good solution. In a recent interview, the CEO of Implicit Conversions—one of the main companies behind Sony’s official PS2 emulation solutions—addressed the long-standing question of whether the PS5 or its successor, the PS6, could ever get native PS3 support.
For years, the only way to play PS3 games on a PlayStation 5 was to stream them. This method has been criticized for poor quality, long input delays, and image issues. Fans are still hoping for true local emulation that could use modern hardware, improve frame rates from the PS3’s notoriously bad times, and make 4K screens look better.
Many people have thought that Implicit Conversions could be used to fix the PS3’s notoriously complicated architecture, since they are already powering Sony’s new PS2 project. During the interview, the CEO stated that the team had thought about the idea.
He said it straight out: “We think it’s possible.” Neither the Switch nor the PS4 is likely to run it. The PS5 and, when it comes out, the PS6 are more likely to be able to. There is a scientific way for it to work, though. You just need to put in the time, effort, and resources to make it happen.
Even though the statement made people happy, he also said that adding support for PS3 is currently on hold. He said, “The world runs on money,” and the stronger desire for PS2 games still determines how resources are used. The company is still “working with a third party” and using an early version, but Sony’s main goal remains to improve and expand PlayStation 2 emulation.
PS3 is on hold for now as an R&D project.
Because of how the PS3’s Cell engine is built, emulation has always been very hard. Even new PCs have trouble maintaining stable performance, and many experts have long said that the PS4’s slower Jaguar CPU cores make native support impossible. In the same way, the CEO said the same thing, ignoring older, portable gear like the Switch as well.
Power on the PS5, on the other hand, has led to experiments. Fans have already shown that PS3 games can run on the PS5’s APU unofficially, with mixed but positive results. But Sony’s strict system-level RAM allocation and OS restrictions make things harder than community demos do.
In the future, the PS6 might have the processing power to replicate the PS3’s complex SPE design with far fewer problems. The CEO said that a future generation of consoles might have a better balance between CPU and GPU. This would allow more advanced emulation jobs that are currently just beyond the PS5’s capabilities.
PS6 has a faster CPU that might finally be able to beat PS3 emulation.
The main reason Implicit Conversions is focusing on PS2 emulation right now is to meet demand and make money. Many publishers are ready to resell classic PlayStation 2 games, which have a vast library and nostalgic appeal. At the same time, Sony sees value in expanding its PlayStation Plus service. With so much business interest, it makes sense that the company is putting most of its attention on a platform that can be used right away.
Still, the fact that PS3 emulation is being studied in secret is essential. Sony has avoided answering the question in public for years, but proof from a third party that the foundational work has been done gives us hope that the company may one day offer full backward compatibility, even if not this generation.
Implicit Conversions sees PS3 emulation as an ongoing research and development project without a set end date, but with big goals. If Sony invests in it, the next generation of consoles could be the one that finally gets the PS3 library out of streaming limbo.
