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How To Play PS3 Games On PS4?

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The Sony Playstation gaming console was launched in the year 1994 and has held gamers enthralled with games ranging from Super Mario Kart to Devil May Cry and BloodBourne.

However, with the ever-increasing complexity of the console from version to version, some games from previous generations are now unplayable. That is up until now. We decided to put together a guide on how to play PS3 Games on PS4 in tribute to the next generation of cloud-based gaming.

Sony PlayStation 4 is one of the premium gaming consoles rivaled only by Xbox One and Nintendo Wii. Being at the pinnacle of the gaming industry for more than two decades now, the PS continues its market dominance much to the delight of Sony PlayStation fans everywhere!

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How to Play PS3 Games on PS4

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Can u play PS3 games on PS4?” was the question asked by one of our readers. With the release of Sony Playstation 4 and PS4 not supporting the discs meant for the PS3, this question posed a possible pockmark on the PS4’s otherwise incredible gameplay and performance. So, can you play PS3 games on PS4?

The answer at the time was sadly – No. All the PS3 games stayed with the console for which they were meant. Any disc you bought for the PS3 stays with it, and you will have to get new game discs for PS4.

But, can the PS4 play PS3 games? The answer is yes. Although they both have extremely different internal architectures, PS4 does have the computing power to virtually emulate the PS3 architecture, which makes us think – Why would Sony do this to us?

Give us the computing power, but not the games we all love and adore. Can PS4 play PS3 games? If yes, how?

For those hoping to play PS3 games on PS4, Sony has released Playstation Now, a cloud-based gaming platform that allows you to play all your PS3 games on your PS4 by streaming it to your PS4.

For the gaming community, the PS Now comes as a boon that they had been long awaiting. This allows you to stream games from the cloud and play them in sync with your Sony Entertainment Account savegames. So, say hello to an all-new experience from all your old favorite games from last gen.

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Playing the classic vintage games on a new console can be a thrilling experience. The Advanced Graphics rendering and the amazing world texture enhancements make it look more real than the originals did, making the games seem new to the eye. Gameplay remains the same since the control scheme is no different than any previous model of PS.

An interesting thing to note about the PS Now is that it must always be connected, which does provide for some insecurity to those without a stable internet connection. But since all things are based on the cloud for the PS Now, this is a sad thing.

The upside of this is that your savegames will never be corrupted and you can always continue gameplay from the point where you last logged off.

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This somewhat combines the concepts of MMO gaming and traditional gaming with cloud synced savegames for some games like the Batman Arkham Series or Assassins Creed, where you either start where you last left off (out of mission) or in a nearby zone to the place where you can continue the free roam that sandbox games like these give you.

P.S. Now has been in development for some time (since 2014 in fact) and recently released in May of 2015 in North America. Over 400 games are accessible in the cloud for either a monthly subscription of $19.99 or a three-month subscription fee of $49.99.

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Does PS4 play PS3 games as well as the original console? The answer is ‘No’ again – Not all games can be emulated and even when they can, it requires a minimum of 5mbps uninterrupted internet speed to preload the game from the cloud. Right now, only 400 of the thousands of games available for the PS3 are available for the PS4, but thankfully almost all our favorite top-sellers are included.

Still, it is a blessing for those praying to the gamer gods for better clearer graphics and amazing gameplay for the games that do run.

Among these are the Assassins Creed Games up till ACIII, Batman Arkham Series (not including Arkham Knight), BlazBlue, Darkstalkers, God of War, Hitman HD remakes, Infamous, Resident Evil, Injustice: Gods among us, King of Fighters ’93 and XIII and several Lego video games including Batman and Harry Potter.

All these are highly recommended if you haven’t played them on the PS3 as well. But any gamer worth his joystick would have played most of these, if not all of them.

PS Now has a 7-day free trial as well, so you can test out how your internet connection responds to the bandwidth load from the cloud games.

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If it does work out, you can then choose to rent games for the standard 4 hours, 1 day, 7 days, 30days and 90 days. Or you can pay the subscription. Either way, it’s awesome, and if you have a PS4 and a decent internet connection – go head and sign up now to get access to all the goodies that Sony PlayStation Now has.

Warning: Side effects may include being unable to get up from your seat, sore thumbs, clawed hands, unblinking eyes and angry moms. If you have suffered from these before (especially the last one), consider keeping maximum snacks and caffeinated fizzy drinks to fight the adverse effects (and do it when she’s away)

We hope this answers the question – how to play PS3 games on PS4 and the question can I play PS3 games on PS4. The PS4 might not be meant for this exclusively, but it sure does meet the requirements of those nostalgic gamers out there with a thirst for adventure, action and adrenalin that only the classics can provide.

Diksha

A graduate of the IIMC, Diksha enjoys writing about marketing, Saas products, and making money online. Her goal is to help others make more informed purchases of tech products and services. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, watching movies, and listening to music. An ardent reader loves to be surrounded by technology. You can follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram

8 thoughts on “How To Play PS3 Games On PS4?”

    • The writer is probably not a gamer or it would have been blatantly clear that Mario has never made an apperance on Play Station. The day that he does make an appearance will be the day that Sony bought out Nintendo to assimilate. Its very doubtful that that will happen anytime soon, if ever. While Xbox and Playstation box over top console, Nintendo is constantly developing handhelds. I think that Nintendo makes consoles to simply say “Hey Microsoft, Sony, we are still here.”

      Reply
  1. So you are saying i have to re-buy a PS3 just to play Dance Dance Revolution with my USB dancepad? I feel like Sony is lacking more on the main priorities than just the playstation and PS2 games it only offers. I feel like returning my PS4 and trading it for a PS3 because this seems like a waste of my effort and time.

    Reply
  2. I will never use PS Now. Why should we pay an overpriced monthly fee to play PS3 games? The majority of PS4 owners own a PS3, so I’m not gonna waste money on such a cash grab. If they do a PS3 on PS4 thing like they’re doing with PS2 games, I just might actually play PS3 games on PS4. As long as they’re titles we like and not super niche titles.

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