One of the biggest points of anticipation for Sony’sPlayStation 5"The Road to PS5" technical presentation was backward compatibility. Questions regarding just how far Sony would go with thePS5have lingered for months now. Unfortunately, Sony ultimately didn’t reveal any previously unknown backward compatibility plans. PS4 backward compatibility is in, but previous generations remain just a rumor. However, Mark Cerny did touch on some of Sony’s plans for PS4 backward compatibility in a bit more detail.
The PS5 features backward compatibility with the PS4, with Cerny confirming that “almost” alltop PS4 gameswill work with the PS5. This is due in large part to the hardware design for the PS4, PS4 Pro, and PS5. The hardware allows perfect scalability between platforms. The “almost” comes into play due to game design, not hardware design. Some games simply aren’t designed to run on hardware that runs incredibly fast compared to earlier hardware generations.
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Due to scalability, every single game has to be rigorously tested before it’s approved for release through backward compatibility on the PS5. That’s what Cerny means when he says “almost” all top PS4 games will be available atlaunch on PS5. He says that Sony’s tested the 100 top PS4 games based on playtime when making this statement. Hopefully, “almost” means at least 90 and above of the top 100. Beyond the top 100, it’s anyone’s guess how well backward compatibility will work.
The elephant in the room remains whether or not the PS5 will support backward compatibility for thePS3, PS2, or even the original PlayStation. Rumors have been spread far and wide that the PS5 will support backward compatibility for these platforms, but Sony has yet to announce anything. If anything, Cerny’s presentation seemed to hint that this kind of backward compatibility is extremely difficult and outside of the scope of the PS5’s design. However, the PS5 certainly seems powerful enough to do so with emulators if Sony has a mind to.
Expect more information about thePS5’s backward compatibilityoptions in the months to come as Sony finalizes details about the feature.
ThePS5is planned for release in holiday 2020.
MORE:10 PS2 Games We Can’t Wait To Replay If The PS5 Is Backwards Compatible
