This article assumes you prefer to play games on actual PlayStation hardware and not unofficial emulators.

I know what you’re thinking.

Buy console > plug it in > play games

Oh if only it was that easy. It used to be when we all had CRT TVs which is what these consoles are designed for. But unless you’re either really old or already into retro gaming you probably don’t have a CRT lying around.

So how do you play old PlayStation games on our modern 4K TVs? It would be a good idea to start to explain why it’s not as straight forward as just plugging the consoles in anymore.

The PlayStation 1 & 2 output analog signals to the TV usually via composite cables. Those are the red, white and yellow ones. For a CRT that was designed to accept analog signals it works perfectly with almost zero delay between the console sending the signal and image appearing on the screen and it looks nice a clear.

Your modern HD or 4K TV is expecting to receive a digital signal, preferably via HDMI. Some new TVs have composite connections, my Toshiba 4K TV does, but it still needs to convert those old analog signals to a digital signal that the screen can display. This takes time, not much time but enough for you to notice a delay between you pressing a button on a controller and the action happening on the screen. This is issue one.

Issue two concerns the resolution. If you have a 4K screen the TV has to scale whatever signal it gets to 3840×2160. The PlayStation 1 outputs a 320×240 resolution. If you were to display that at actual size on a 4K screen it would be about the size of a credit card. The TV has to stretch that image to fit most of the screen. It will still have black bars at the sides but it will be so stretched that it looks very blurry and isn’t really playable. The PS2 outputs a slightly larger 640×480 image so it’s not as blurry but still not great.

Issue three is caused by the games themselves. They were made to be displayed on a CRT which draws the image one line at a time but there is a tiny space between the lines. You don’t really see it unless you’re very close to the screen but it’s there. Games are designed to take advantage of this to make the images look nicer and to hide some of the jaggies in the graphics. Because modern TVs don’t have this “feature” you can see the parts of the game you weren’t supposed to see. So it’s not your imagination, games do look worse on modern TVs. So what can we do about it?

You can just plug a PlayStation 1 into your TV but as mentioned earlier, the image is so small it’s practically unplayable when scaled up to a HD or even a 4K screen. So what about playing PS1 games on a PS2?

The PlayStation 2 will play 99% of PS1 games but they play at the PS1’s native resolution of 320×240 so won’t look any better on a PS2.

The best way to play PS1 games is to play them on a PlayStation 3. All PS3’s from the original fat version to the super slim model can play PS1 games. You won’t even need to worry about memory cards as you can create as many virtual memory cards as you want. You’ll also be able to use the PS3’s wireless controller. The PS3 will also smooth out the graphics and load the games faster plus as the PS3 is designed for modern TV’s you don’t have to worry about the delay from the console to the TV. So for PlayStation 1 games play them on a PlayStation 3.

PlayStation 2 games are easier in some ways to play on a modern TV but there are more options when it comes getting the best experience possible. While you can plug a PS2 straight into your modern TV if it has the right inputs it won’t look very good but better than a PS1 and will suffer a similar input delay as the PS1. However most PS2 games are perfectly playable with a direct composite connection. Thankfully there are options for PS2 games to look very nice a modern TV. The first is the most expensive option. You can play PlayStation 2 games on the launch version of the PlayStation 3 but only on models CECH-A and CECH-B. These models actually have the PS2 hardware on the motherboard of the console allowing for near perfect compatibility. PS3 models CECH-C and CECH-E (there is no CECH-D) use software to emulate the PS3 hardware and the results are mixed with only about 70% compatibility and of those 70% most play with issues ranging from minor to near game breaking. This makes the A & B models very sought after and therefore very expensive. They also weren’t super reliable suffering from the Yellow Light of Death. A serious hardware issue where some components can become disconnected from the motherboard due to the heat the system can generate. It’s the very same issue that caused the infamous Red Ring of Death on the Xbox 360. So caution is advised on buying a launch PS3. Thankfully there are two accessories you can buy that will allow you to have a great experience playing games on a real PlayStation 2 on a modern 4K TV for a fraction of the price of an old PS3.

First up is a HDMI adapter. This little box plugs into the back of the PS2 where the composite cable would and then a HDMI from there to the TV then a USB cable for power is plugged into the front of the PS2. You’ll have to change the video settings of the PS2 before you connect the adapter but once you do the image quality will vastly improve. The blurry text will be gone and so will the general fuzziness of the picture. Colours will also pop a lot more. Also in my tests it actually improved the delay from the controller to the screen. It’s still there but much less noticeable.

The second accessory is for the controller. Original PS2 controllers in good condition and good working order are getting harder to find in 2023 so they are more expensive as a result. Not to mention that they are wired and the only wireless options are all unofficial and all rely in infrared for the signal which isn’t very good. This is where the brilliant Brook controller adapter comes in. It pricey at £38 but it will allow you to use bluetooth controllers with your PS2. So controllers for the PS3, PS4, PS5 and even the Switch Pro controller all work perfectly. If you have an Xbox controller without the latest update that will also work but Microsoft recently altered the way the bluetooth in the Xbox controllers works and they are no longer supported sadly. This little box plugs straight into the controller port of the PS2 and doesn’t require an extra power cable. You pair your controller with the adapter and away you go. I was worried adding a controller adapter would increase the lag but playing PS2 games with a DualShock 4 actually feels better than an original PS2 controller. It’s much more responsive and lot more comfortable in the hands. Unfortunately you will still have to get up off the sofa to turn the PS2 on and off but the controller will switch itself off when the PS2 goes off.

There are other things you can do to make the PS2 experience slightly better but these involve yet more accessories, a lot more setup time and a lot more money. So unless you are worried about your disc drive crapping out I would stick with what I’ve described here and enjoy playing the vast library of amazing PlayStation 2 games on you modern TV.

So that’s how you can play your PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games in 2023 without having to find space for a bulky CRT TV and more importantly you get to play these amazing games again, or perhaps for the first time on official PlayStation hardware.

I am not affiliated with any of the products talked about or linked to in this article. I bought them with my own money and I am offering my unbiased opinions on these accessories.