PlayStation’s Legacy Should Be Embraced, But Not Held Hostage Behind A Paywall

thegamer.com:

Backwards compatibility is finally coming to modern PlayStation consoles. I don’t mean in the form of a disparate selection of remastered classics you need to pay for, but as part of a revised PS+ that will finally see Sony embrace its enviable legacy across the medium.

The all-new PlayStation Plus will include three distinct tiers - Essential, Extra, and Premium - with the latter two set to incorporate over 750 games spanning the PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3, PS4, and PS5 libraries, meaning that Sony is prepared to incorporate the biggest hitters from its entire lifespan into the new service. That’s big news, and something we’ve been waiting to see realised for what feels like an eternity.

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Playing PS4 games on the PS5 is a relative breeze thanks to the transference of physical compatibility and 99 percent of its digital offerings, but the majority of other platforms are splintered in their representation. PS3, PSP, PS2, and PS1 are nowhere to be seen at all unless you’re willing to purchase rare classics or put up with PlayStation Now. This newly upgraded subscription service is presenting itself as a direct solution to those problems while simultaneously addressing player demands that have existed for so long that we’d almost stopped hoping that Sony would do something about them.

But here we are, in a few short months we’ll be able to put down a monthly payment and get our fill of countless classics from multiple different platforms. I imagine a number of the included games have since been lost to time, or have become increasingly inaccessible thanks to declining hardware and rare physical copies. However it does feel like Sony is holding our nostalgia