Sony Clarifies PS5’s ‘Backwards Compatibility’

Earlier this week Sony finally revealed a lot of details surround their upcoming PS5 console. So many, in fact, that a brief recap here would be impossible. If you did, therefore, want to learn what was revealed (including the console’s specifications) you can check the link here!

One of the major revelations of the broadcast, however, confirmed that the PS5 would be backward compatible with the PS4. Mark Cerny’s choice of words, however, did lead to a lot of conjecture surrounding exactly what this represented.

PS5 Backwards Compatibility

During the broadcast, Mark Cerny used a very unusual term to discuss backward compatibility on the PS5. Paraphrasing a little, he said that ‘the vast majority of the top 100 PS4 games would be playable on launch’. This did lead many to wonder whether this wording was deliberately chosen to perhaps mask the possibility that the overall (4000+) library of PS4 games would not work on the console.

Well, in an update to their official Blog page, Sony has clarified that this is definitely not the case!

“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.”

What Do We Think?

In fairness, it was a fair concern to have as Sony does have a pretty awful history when it comes to backward compatibility. The PS2 would run PS1 games, but generally terribly. Only the earliest PS3 models would run PS2 games after Sony effectively locked the software out on later releases. And the PS4 didn’t run PS3 games at all!

In addition to this, with Microsoft already on record promising that all (non-Kinect) Xbox One and thousands of 360 games will work on the Xbox Series X, it is a key question from consumers. On the positive side, however, at least Sony does seem to be putting significant effort into making it work this time around!

What do you think? Which console are you currently thinking of getting? The PS5 or the Xbox Series X? – Let us know in the comments!