PlayStation 5: Why you should care about backward compatibility

For anyone who has owned more than one version of the PlayStation console, backward compatibility are dirty words. Sony to their credit have always been cautious about not outright promising backwards compatibility.

However, with every new console, the PlayStation devotees hopes rise. They wonder if maybe this time they’ll be able to play their current games on their shiny new console.

What is backward compatibility?

For everyone else who maybe haven’t had their hearts broken by Sony before, backward compatibility refers to your consoles ability or inability to play games from an older console on a newer one.

With each new console coming out with better technical specifications, being able to play the games that you paid thousands and thousands of rands for on your new console is not the most unreasonable expectation to have.

Xbox One allows you to play your Xbox 360 games. It was probably the most significant selling point the Microsoft console has had in its war against Sony.

Sony has tried to keep those wanting to play older games happy by making PS3 games available via PlayStation Now. It’s a game streaming service that’s not yet available in South Africa.

And would still require users to buy a new digital license for games they own on the PS3.

PlayStation 5 may support backward compatibility

At the moment it seems that real backward compatibility might be heading to the PlayStation 5.

Mark Cerny, who is the lead console architect for the PS5, said the similarities in architecture between the PS4 and PS5 will mean that backward compatibility will be possible.

This is the best clue so far that perhaps Sony’s attitude towards software is changing. Ultimately just because the console will be able to play older games, still doesn’t mean that Sony will let us play older games.

I may just be jaded by my previous disappointments. But I’m not sure that the people who count all the money at Sony are going to just give up on all the money they make from making us buy the same games twice for each console.

Please let me be wrong!

Also read – PS5 Release date, news and latest updates