PlayStation Exec Defends PS2-on-PS4 Price Points

PlayStation president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has spoken out to defend the price points for the company's PlayStation 2 games on PlayStation 4. The first batch of games available now cost $10-$15, which some deemed to be pretty pricey.

He said on a recent PlayStation Nation podcast that the emulation technology (which can get the PS2 games running at 1080p/60 FPS) as well as the implementation for PS4 features like Trophies and Share functionality, doesn't necessarily come cheap. There also also licensing and quality assurance costs.

"We are also able to add Trophies; some people really care about Trophies," he said. "So we can provide that. And it takes some time for our staff and QA and licensing and everything to bring back these games. So it takes us time and cost. So we felt that we should charge."

Yoshida went on to say that of course the PS2-to-PS4 emulation technology cannot bring classic games up to the graphical standards of contemporary counterparts. But the improvements are good enough so that you can play a 20-40 hour role-playing game and not grow tired of the experience, he said.

It's possible price points will come down in time, but this is not confirmed. You can already save on one of the games, PaRappa the Rapper 2 if you're a PlayStation Plus member ($7.50 instead of $10).

In addition to PaRappa the Rapper 2 (which arrived just this week), Sony has confirmed that The King of Fighters 2000 will be added later. Rockstar's Max Payne might also be on the way, though this is not confirmed.

Earlier this month, Yoshida said Sony will work "tirelessly" to release even more PS2 games for PS4 "on a regular basis." The company is also asking for your suggestions for which games should be added.