Sony May Be Working to Make Old Peripherals Compatible with Modern PlayStation Consoles

gamerant.com:

In the wake of Nintendo’s announced plan to shutter the 3DS and Wii U eShops in 2023, more attention is being paid to video game preservation, and, while some gamers are content to embrace the current culture of remasters and remakes on modern hardware, some see a distinct need to resurrect retro software and hardware. On that note, Sony seems to be taking steps to ensure that legacy PlayStation content still has a place in the gaming space, and a new patent suggests that outdated PS peripherals could be made compatible with modern hardware in the near future.

A patent filed on June 30, 2022 by Sony Interactive Entertainment titled “Systems and Methods For Converting A Legacy Code Into An Updated Code” outlines a video game emulation process that Sony may potentially employ in the near future. Full of technical jargon, it’s not easily deciphered by those not in the know, though one interesting addition comes in the form of a diagram that apparently outlines methods to emulate software that made use of old PlayStation peripherals like the EyeToy, the PS Mouse, PSP Go, and something labeled a “legacy card reader.”

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It’s hard to know exactly what Sony may have in mind, but this does seem to indicate that official emulation of legacy PlaySation content will one day be so thorough as to include physical memory card support. That sounds so meticulous as to be almost unnecessary, and, coming from a company that apparently opted to forego PS3 emulation on PS5, it doesn't seem like priority. Still, memory cards were an important part of the fifth and sixth console generations, and, aggravating as they were, some gamers might argue that there's value in returning to these old-school