How to Tell if You Can Play PS2 Games on Your PS3
The original 60GB and 20GB launch models are backward compatible with PS2 games because they have PS2 chips in them. Other models, most notably the 80GB Metal Gear Solid PS3, used to be backward compatible using emulation software, but they no longer support PS2 games. To tell if your console is PS2 backward compatible: If you have an 80GB PlayStation 3, or a Metal Gear Solid PS3, that hasn’t been updated since it came out of the box, it may still be backward compatible through software emulation. If you use any PS3 online services, then your console has likely lost the PS2 software emulation backward compatibility.
Finding a Backward Compatible PS3
Because the newer PS3 models can’t play PS2 games, used 20GB and 60GB PS3 consoles often cost more than a brand new PS3 Slim. Now that Sony has closed the PlayStation 3 store, you can’t even download old PS2 games on the PS3. Therefore, your best bet for playing old PS2 games is to buy a used PlayStation 2 if you don’t already have one.
