14 DAY TRIAL // A recent patent filling from Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan indicates that the company is working on an add on for the PlayStation 3 that will make the platform compatible with video games that have been launched on previous generations of home consoles.
The patent was discovered by forum posters in Japan and seems to indicate that Sony sees a lot of potential in allowing gamers to travel a bit into the past and enjoy the best titles of the last decades on the newest generation of PlayStation.
The patent application from Sony mentions the existence of a Central Processing Unit, a decoder and emulator for the DVD format (which is not supported by the PlayStation 3) and separate processors for graphics and sound.
It's not clear whether the new add on is connected to the PlayStation 3 via a traditional USB link or via a proprietary connector.
In the lead up to the launch of the PS3 Sony played up the fact that it's new console would be able to play the games which were launched for the PlayStation 2.
Soon after the official launch backwards compatibility was removed from new consoles and this lead to earlier models of the PS3 selling for ever increasing sums of money on eBay.
Now Sony itself seems to be interested in actually monetizing the nostalgia of game players by launching a new peripheral that connects to the PlayStation 3 and deliver the same functionality that early versions of the consoles had included as part of the up front price.
At the moment Sony is preparing to launch the PlayStation Move motion tracking controller, which will allow PS3 users to enjoy a new range of games, most casual titles and the likes of Resident Evil 4 and Killzone 3.
Later during the fall the Sony home console will also get a firmware update that will enable full three dimensional gaming.