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PS2 On PS4: ‘Ape Escape’ Appears On Wikipedia, Not In PlayStation Store — News Site To Blame?

By David Cornell
Published on: 05:52 PST, Jul 22, 2016

The PS2 on PS4 port list is slowly growing, but a couple of entries on Wikipedia point to games that are not presently available in the PlayStation Store. Ape Escape 2 and 3 can be seen directly at the top of the list, and it might be enough to generate excitement over the ports.

Technically, they may be coming eventually, but further research proves they aren’t available yet.

Among the games available on the PS2 on PS4 list are some fan favorites and a few obscure titles. Grand Theft Auto III and its follow-ups, San Andreas and Vice City, are representing for the Rockstar Games side, as well as the heavily controversial Manhunt and Bully.

Manhunt was a title that didn’t get a lot of mainstream sales due to its ultra-violent content getting it pulled from some major retailers. You played as a Hispanic prisoner who had to kill other prisoners to earn his freedom, and along the way, there are numerous racist taunts handed out by the game’s enemies. There was even a bonus for pulling off executions, which were triggered by walking up behind enemies unnoticed and pressing a button.

Bully might even be more controversial now, with the game giving you the chance to be the kid everybody wished would stop. In today’s schoolyard culture in the United States, bullying can actually end up getting the child in legal trouble, and by extension, the parents.

Twisted Metal Black was also known for its hyper-violent gameplay involving vehicular manslaughter with a variety of weapons.

Some Star Wars titles that didn’t review so well were ported around Star Wars Day to help PlayStation 4 owners celebrate May 4.

Missing from the PS2 on PS4 list are all of the Konami classics such as Silent Hill 3 and 4, and the Metal Gear Solid games.

Ape Escape was a hit on the PlayStation, as you played the role of a boy armed with a futuristic net and various non-lethal weapons to capture apes. The backstory involved one such ape getting ahold of a helmet that made it intelligent, and then it helped its fellow apes break free from confinement. Animal rights activists would probably see nothing wrong with that scenario, but the game made ingenious use of the controller’s analog sticks to swing the net and use things like a slingshot, a baton, and even a helicopter device.

When the PS2 on PS4 list was first announced, Ape Escape 2 and 3 were high on some gamers’ wish lists. The games were fun and family friendly, something many games these days fail to accomplish.

Upon seeing those titles at the top of the list on Wikipedia, you might open another tab and go into the PlayStation Store. Search for Ape Escape, and you’ll get zero results. Click on Games, and PS2 on PS4, and look through the available list, and the two titles are nowhere to be found.

Further research on the origin of this possible oversight reveals an article from Destructoid, which announced in December of last year that a batch of games are coming to PlayStation 4. Ape Escape 3, Okage: Shadow King, Primal, Siren, and Wild Arms 3 were mentioned in the first paragraph. They claim that these titles all have ESRB ratings, but nothing is known of their release dates. All but Ape Escape 2 and 3 have made it to the list by now.

The source of this report appears to be Gematsu, who falsely claimed the Ape Escape games were already PEGI rated for PlayStation 4. These Sony titles might still make it to the PS2 on PS4 list, but there doesn’t appear to be any evidence to support it yet.

[Image via Sony]

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