PlayStation president defends price of PS2 games on PS4

Shuhei Yoshida, PlayStation President of Worldwide Studios, has addressed the complaints regarding the high price point of PlayStation 2 games on PlayStation 4.

The first batch of PS2 games playable on PS4 via backward compatibility functionality arrived earlier this month with a lineup of eight games, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Rogue Galaxy. Unlike the Xbox One's functionality, however, which allows you to play Xbox 360 games you already own for free on Xbox One, Sony charges you again to play these older titles. And it doesn't come cheap. Prices to play these PS2 classics range from $9.99 all the way up to $14.99. This has been a major complaint for many PlayStation fans, and while Sony is taking feedback on future backward compatible games, it appears the price will stick — for now, at least.

Speaking on a recent PlayStation Nation podcast (via GameSpot), Yoshida justified the price of backward compatible games on PS4, reasoning that the emulation technology and implementation of PS4 features, like Trophies and Share functionality, doesn't come cheap. There's also the 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."

It's possible, should Sony experience pushback from the consumer, that the price points for these backward compatible games could come down in time. PaRappa the Rapper 2, which arrived this week on PS4, is already discounted if you're a PlayStation Plus member; it's now $7.50 instead of $10.

Do you feel the price of PS2 backward compatible games on PS4 is justified?