Awkwardly enough, the Xbox Series X/S is better at playing PS2 games than the PS5

Turns out the Xbox Series S and X are better consoles for playing retro PS2 games than the PS5, which is a little awkward if you’re Sony.

One of the biggest selling points of the PS5 and the Xbox Series S/X consoles is the long-awaited addition of backwards compatibility – i.e the ability to play older games.

Now while this is great for those gamers who have a huge collection of old school games lying around in their cases somewhere, this is one area where the Xbox trumps the PlayStation.

Whereas the PS5 can only play PS4 games (and not every single one either), the Xbox Series S/X can not only play Xbox One and OG Xbox games, it can also be tinkered to play vintage PS2 games. That’s got to be a little awkward if you’re Sony.

As reported by VG247, retro game enthusiasts have managed to tinker with Xbox Series S/X console’s built-in developer mode to emulate PS2 games. And it’s not some half-arsed emulation job either as the PS2 games run pretty damn well on the new Xbox consoles.

By opening up the Xbox Series S/X console’s developer mode, the hardware can run a variety of apps such as the open-source retro emulation software RetroArch, which is the app of choice used to run PS2 games on the new Xbox consoles.

Now RetroArch isn’t perfect – there are bugs, file size caps, and performance issues – but seeing vintage classics like God Of War and Shadow Of The Colossus working on an Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X is pretty stunning.

Needless to say that it’s pretty awkward that the PS5 isn’t able to play any older PS2 or PS3 games while its chief rival can do it without a sweat.

But hey, if this motivates Sony to implement greater backwards compatibility capabilities in its PS5 then I’m all for it.

Check out PS2 games running on the Xbox Series S:

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