Sony Working 'Really Hard' on Digital Releases of PS1 and PS2 Games, Talks PSN Subscriptions

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With reports that Sony is looking to bring downloadable PlayStation 2 games into the PlayStation 3's online PlayStation Store, and the company itself having said it's considering "a [PlayStation Network] subscription model...in addition to the current free services," VP Peter Dille recently addressed the topics in a chat with IGN.

On the subject of downloadable PlayStation 2 games and more PSOne downloads, Dille was cagey, but optimistic. "We're working really hard on it," he said. "We're going through our own studio organization and trying to make sure all these old games are out there so that we can lead by example, but we're also communicating with all the third-parties about the success of the Final Fantasy games, and other PS1 and PS2 classics"

He added: "I think people can look for more of that because once the third-parties see how this works, it's just found money. There's not a whole lot of work that has to go into it and once we can get it up on the network, it finds an audience pretty quickly."

But while digital distribution is a major focus for older titles, the same can't be said for the PlayStation 3 games at retail. Though some PlayStation 3 games have seen both retail and digital releases (Burnout Paradise, NFL Head Coach 09), Dille noted that downloadable releases of the PlayStation 3 retail catalog are "just not something you'll be seeing anytime soon" due to the fact that such games game be up to 50GB.

"To download 50 gigs of data before you play a game [under current conditions], you could probably go buy a car, bring it home, put your family into it, drive to the store by and bring the game home by the time you [could download it]," he explained.

And what of the paid subscriptions possibly coming to PlayStation Network? Dille was once again cagey--he didn't touch upon indications that such services could include server-side save storage and beta access--but offered the following:

It's been our philosophy not to charge for it from launch up until now, but [Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai] recently went on the record as saying that's something we're looking at. I can confirm that as well. That's something that we're actively thinking about. What's the best way to approach that if we were to do that? You know, no announcements at this point in time, but it's something we're thinking about.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 3, 2010 2:21 PM

    Ha, I knew PS2 games on PSN were inevitable with MSFT doing the their Xbox Originals instead of software BC and Sony taking out Hardware/SW BC altogether.

    • reply
      February 3, 2010 2:34 PM

      I was lucky to find a used 20 GB PS3 so that I could have BC.

      • reply
        February 4, 2010 8:22 AM

        I'm being sincere here; but isn't it easier to get a PS2?

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