PS1 games on PS4: Which PlayStation 1 games can you play on PlayStation 4?

If you're wondering which PS1 games you can play on PS4, you've come to the right place!

We’ve spoken before on the backwards compatibility of Sony’s consoles throughout the years, and with no further announcements as yet as to how backwards-compatibility will work on the upcoming PS5, we’re left to speculate as to what it will entail.

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With PS1 games on the PlayStation 4, none have come to the system in the traditional sense: you can't purchase them through the PS Store, and you can't slip a PS1 disc into the PS4 and expect it to run (that feature died with the PS3, sadly).

But we’ve had PS2 classics come to PlayStation 4, and also to the PS Now membership service, so you can stream Ape Escape 2 and Dark Cloud through PS Now.

But where are the PS1 games on PS4? Read on to learn all.

Why don't PS1 discs work on PS4?

There used to be a time where you could slot in your PS1 game into your new console, and it would play. Simple as that.

If that was still the standard, you would be reading an article of praise about this, but alas, here we are.

The PS2 could run discs from your previous console, and so could early versions of the PS3.

But Sony stripped this feature from later models of the PS3, to make them cheaper to produce, and the PS4 never had this capability to play old discs.

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PS1 games do not feature on PS Now

Around the early-2010’s streaming was on the rise, with Netflix and Spotify gaining traction, and of course games were the next frontier. Some services such as ‘OnLive’ were a great example of this, where you could download their app on a PC and you could play certain games through an internet connection. 

Unfortunately it ran out of money after two years, but the idea held on, and it led to another company called ‘Gaikai’ demonstrating this so well, that Sony bought them, and with that technology, built PlayStation Now which debuted in 2014.

PS Now, Sony's streaming service, enables anyone with a PS4 to play games of yesteryear, mainly PS3, but some PS2 games also appear on the service.

This is the time where I would love to say, "and PS1 games as well, so you can play Ridge Racer on your PS4", but sadly this is not the case.

For all that the service provides and the potential it offers, there are no PS1 games on the service.

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Which PS1 and PS2 games can you play on PS4?

If you want a PlayStation 2 fix, you'll find HD remasters such as Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on the PS Now streaming service. But if you want to play an entry of Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, you will need to simply buy it from the store.

But to get to the main point, there is no way of buying PS1 games on the store, and no way of playing them on PS Now. It’s incredibly baffling, and it only enforces the point that Sony simply isn't all that interested in backwards-compatibility and nostalgia as a whole.

But there is a slight saving-grace that some have PS1 games have arrived on PS4, in a sense, but in other forms thanks to the savvy ways of developers.

Final Fantasy VII is available to buy on PS4, but it’s the packaged PC version which originated from the PS1 version, so in a sense, you’re playing a PC-remaster of the PlayStation original.

MediEvil is available on PS4, too: the original game from 1998 is included in its entirety as a bonus feature in the PS4 remake. But that’s it.

HD remakes like Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy are also available to buy on PS4, which can provide a nostalgia kick too.

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Will there be PS1 games on PS5?

I’ve spoken before of a need for Sony to start supporting their previous games - Sony would win a lot of admirers if it suddenly announced that all your old PS1, PS2 and PS3 games will work on the PS5.

This seems like a long-shot, though, since all Sony has really said about PS5 backwards compatibility is that the PS5 will support a lot of PS4 games.

At the time of writing, we only have the DualSense controller unveiled, but barely any games confirmed for launch, and no console to stare at while we save our pennies to buy one. Here's hoping some more exciting announcements, perhaps with a retro slant, are in the offing...

READ MORE: Are N64 games coming to Nintendo Switch?