PS5 backwards compatibility: Bad news for PS3, PS2 and PS1 fans

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PS5 backwards compatibility: Bad news for PS3, PS2 and PS1 fans

The PlayStation 5 can do a lot of different things that fans will enjoy but there will be limitations on the power of backwards compatibility. Fans have been waiting to find out the true scope of the console’s back-compact abilities, having learned that most PS4 game would be included. However, there was still a question mark regarding how the PS3, PS2 and PS1 would be treated, even though it seemed pretty unlikely that Sony would be able to go back that far. And now it’s been confirmed that the PS5 backwards compatibility feature will only reach back as far as the PS4.

This is still good news for gamers making the switch and hoping to take all their favourite current-gen games with them.

But everyone can stop dreaming of dusting off those classic titles from their back-catalogues.

Sony Interactive’s CEO Jim Ryan revealed as much as to Famitsu in an interview, after being asked about compatibility with PS1, PS2, and PS3 titles.

Ryan commented: “We keep in mind the engineering specialized for the PS5, as we produced the device.

“In the midst of that, the PS4 already has 100 million players; we thought they ought to want to play PS4 titles on the PS5 as well indeed, so we included compatibility with the PS4.

“While implementing that, we also focused our efforts on taking in the high-speed SSD and the new controller DualSense at the same time. So, unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the implementation of such compatibilities.”

The scope of the PS5’s backwards compatibility features was already touched upon by Sony a few months back, following the console’s technical reveal.

Sony told fans more about how PS4 games would work on the PlayStation 5, with the company confirming in a statement:

“A quick update on backward compatibility – With all of the amazing games in PS4’s catalog, we’ve devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5. We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5.

“We’re expecting backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5 so that they can benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions.

“We’re currently evaluating games on a title-by-title basis to spot any issues that need adjustment from the original software developers.

“In his presentation, Mark Cerny provided a snapshot into the Top 100 most-played PS4 titles, demonstrating how well our backward compatibility efforts are going.

“We have already tested hundreds of titles and are preparing to test thousands more as we move toward launch. We will provide updates on backward compatibility, along with much more PS5 news, in the months ahead.”

Gamers will be able to find out more about the console’s new features when the PS5 hits shelves on November 19 in the UK.

The PS5 Digital Edition will be available for a recommended retail price (RRP) of $399.99 USD/$499 CAD/¥39,980/€399.99/£359.99 (MSRP), and PS5 with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive will be available for an RRP of $499.99 USD/$629 CAD/¥49,980/€499.99/£449.99 (MSRP).

Published at Thu, 17 Sep 2020 21:21:11 +0000

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