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Following the announcement of a fully revamped and reworked three-tier PlayStation Plus subscription model, it was confirmed that the most expensive version will feature classic PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3 games. Information has been scarce on which games, exactly, might be reintroduced into the PlayStation ecosystem this way, but that may well be changing soon.
Some PSN users have discovered that PlayStation is already adding meta-data referencing certain games that are likely to be included on the aforementioned list of PlayStation Plus classics. At the time of writing, three games have already been discovered, and the community is searching for more information pertaining to other possible inclusions.
Namely, Reddit user the_andshrew discovered the ID numbers, refreshed splash images, and other assorted meta-data for Tekken 2 and Mr Driller from the original PlayStation console, as well as Ridge Racer 2 from the PlayStation Portable. Curiously, while the four classic Syphon Filter games did pop up elsewhere a few days ago, they've yet to be discovered on the PSN at this time. At first, only two games had been found, with Mr Driller added to the table later on, which could mean that the_andshrew will be updating it further, should they come across any more information.
Allegations of classic PlayStation games coming to PlayStation Plus have been very common following Sony's announcement of the service's retrofit, and some PSN users even claim to have come across a leaked classic game UI on PlayStation 5. Claims such as these should be taken with a pinch of salt, however, and what makes the featured table particularly interesting is that all the information featured therein can be verified independently. In other words - it's far more likely to be true.
All of this shouldn't be overly surprising on its own, though. Recently, it's been revealed that PlayStation is forming a game preservation team to keep beloved classics around for generations to come, and Sony seems to be taking the project seriously so far. If the Extra and Premium tiers of PlayStation Plus are to truly deliver the sort of value that Sony is pitching with this revision of the service, PlayStation veterans may have a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
Further, Sony may be taking a similar approach with PC, as PlayStation is hiring a PC-focused director to optimize its outreach. These are big steps for what was once a very closed-off gaming ecosystem, and seeing the official PlayStation branding on a wider range of devices and platforms than ever before is a very exciting development indeed. Whether it pays off for Sony in the long run, however, is an entirely different matter.