PlayStation 5 To Be Backwards Compatible?

The PlayStation 5 could potentially have backwards compatibility, reports say. A patent has turned up, implying that Sony fans will be able to replay games from previous PlayStations on the new console. This feature has been missing from Sony’s machines since the PlayStation 3 Slim (which could play both PS3 and PS1 games).

According to Twinfinite, the patent describes a way of for the PlayStation 5 to check if an application is meant for an older device. Further fuelling backward compatibility rumors is that Mark Cerny, the architect of PS4, is listed as the inventor. His name on the patent suggests relevance to the PlayStation 5.

While this is no guarantee that the PlayStation 5 will be able to play last-gen games, it at least entertains the possibility. Having a backwards compatibility feature would help players easily access past games without having to keep old consoles lying around.

Previously, Hellpoint developer Marc-André Jutras has expressed a desire to see this feature return to consoles like the PlayStation 5:

The PlayStation I think will do it. I know, was it the Xbox 360 where they had a backward compatibility list with the original Xbox? They had to approve the game title by title? I think that was weird, and I hope it won’t be like that. I prefer to have an emulator that will run all the games a console has, maybe with small bugs and glitches, instead of saying I have 50 games in my library and I can only play four of them because the others aren’t approved yet.

But of course, Sony has the PlayStation Store and it no doubt generates a lot of revenue for the company. As of now, this is the most reliable way of playing older games on PlayStation 5. Given that players can buy classic titles on there, the big S might not see backwards compatibility as a necessity for PlayStation 5.

But the news of this patent (hopefully) contradicts this. Regardless, given rumors of the PlayStation 5 being announced this year, we will see how it turns out.

Would you like to see backward compatibility on the PlayStation 5? Let us know in the comments!

Nathan Franklin

A writer who loves any medium that can take him away from the real world. He loves gaming, science fiction, philosophical novels and even the odd guilty-pleasure trash TV Drama.