1UP says that the recent v1.92 PS3 firmware update fixed some issues with the backwards compatibility of some PS2 games (so that’s what it did), which is good, but I’m sure we all would love to know which of our games will play correctly. Enter the PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 Format Software Compatibility Status for PLAYSTATION®3 Hardware search engine.
You may have seen this search engine before, but it has now been updated to show more problem results. Oh, and there’s now a selectable option for 60GB and 80GB PS3 model owners.
For the most part, the search engine seems to work well, showing known problems and how and when they were fixed. I searched for a few issue-plagued titles I won, including Parappa the Rapper 2. The search results accurately listed known problems with the PS2 rhythm game (some slow down and graphical glitches) and also detailed what firmware version numbers resolved the issues.
It’s a bit of a bummer that not all games show up. For example, the original Parappa the Rapper (PlayStation) has no glitches, but suffers from severe timing delays, making the game totally unplayable. Unfortunately, there is no entry for Parappa the Rapper in the database. I guess they’re not fixing that problem.
While we’re on the bummer topic, a little blurb at the bottom of the page brings some bad news:
“We are working with game publishers and peripheral manufacturers to develop the appropriate hardware to play peripheral-dedicated PS1 and PS2 games on the PS3. Ultimately, however, it will be up to those companies to decide if they want to produce these peripherals to support this gameplay option.”
In other words, keep your PS1 and PS2 plugged in.
