When Sony expands its PlayStation Plus service starting to appear next month it will double in PlayStation Now, which provides access to hundreds of games from older generations for consoles. Now, the company appears to be taking keeping the game more seriously.
According to Twitter and LinkedIn posts I spotted Video game factsSony has hired at least one engineer (Garrett Fredley, former construction engineer for mobile developer Kabam) to work on a new conservation team. “Today is my first day as a Senior Construction Engineer at PlayStation, serving as one of the early recruits for the newly created Conservation team! Keeping the game was my number one professional passion, so I am delighted to be able to return to those roots,” Friedley wrote. “Let’s go and make sure we don’t forget the history of our industry!”
It’s not entirely clear what the preservation team will be working on or what Sony’s goals are. Engadget has contacted Sony Interactive Entertainment for clarification.
Sony hasn’t always done a great job maintaining games. Many PS1 games worked on PS2 and the original PS3 models could play many PS1 and PS2 games, but you can’t play older generation discs on PS4. However, the PS5 supports all but a few PS4 titles.
The company shut down its digital storefront for PSP last summer, though it rewinds the plan to shutter PS3 and Vita stores after a major backlash. There’s no guarantee that every PS3 and PSP exclusive will be added to the new PS Plus service, which won’t include Vita titles, so some games will be lost over time.
In a 2017 interview, Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, talked about seeing the Gran Turismo titles on PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 at an event, and said something that’s still bugging him ever since: “PS1 and PS2 games look old, like Why would anyone play this? Ryan explained last year she was trying to prove how beautiful the more modern look in the series was and that he had no intention of disrespecting PlayStation history. However, many took his initial comment to mean that Sony doesn’t care about older games.
It’s good to see Sony focus more on maintaining the game. Nonprofits and fan-driven enterprises have led the charge on this front. PC gamers, of course, have access to titles dating back decades (ie, you’re in and out of the game). half life Recently).
Microsoft understands that people still want to play old games on modern platforms and has put more emphasis on backward compatibility in recent years. The Xbox Series X/S can play games as much as the original Xbox.
However, like Sony, Nintendo hasn’t been exactly as great at maintaining games. It’ll be closing 3DS and Wii U stores next year, and it probably won’t bring all the games from those consoles to the Nintendo Switch. Future generations of gamers will not have access to many of these games.
Update at 2:05 PM ET: Pointing out that PS1 games worked on PS2.
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