E3 2012: Gaikai to bring backwards compatibility back to the PS3 through streaming?

Here’s an interesting pre-show rumour doing the rounds before next week’s big E3 gaming convention. Games streaming company Gaikai are said to be joining forces with Sony to bring old-skool PS1 and PS2 games to the PlayStation 3.

While PS1 game discs still work on PS3 consoles, the original 60GB PS3 is the only machine of this generation for Sony that supported backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 games.

The potential deal with Gaikai would see Sony offering up their first-party catalogue to the streaming specialists, letting gamers with newer PS3 consoles access the classic games via the web. Third-party developers could opt in to offer their back catalogues too.

If true, there’s the potential for this deal to spread to tablets and smartphones too. While “PlayStation Certified” hardware is a good shout, there’s no reason to rule out at this early stage other tablets and smartphones, like the iPad or Galaxy S3, getting the feature.

Recently, Sony have been making a pretty penny with re-mastered editions of PS2 titles, upscaling them to 1080p and giving the visuals a polish. Hits have included HD Collection re-master releases of games like God of War, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

Sony’s E3 conference kicks off on Monday. That’s a late 2am Tuesday morning start here in the UK. We’ll have all the details of any deal once they’re confirmed.

Via: GamesIndustry International