Topic: Maybe It's Finaly Coming...BC?

Now the Question Is it Ps4 to Ps5 or Older gens.

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@Hapuc IF BC is coming to Playstation, the most likely would be PS4 games on a PS5. The way the PS4 is built, the architecture is much more likely to be compatible with the PS5.

I wouldn't be surprised if the PS5 also works a bit like an iterative upgrade. By that I mean that games are given a 'boost' by the improved hardware - maybe not the 'full' power of the PS5 - like boost mode on the Pro and 'permanent' boost mode on the X. Both these iterative consoles do not use the full capability of the hardware - with the Pro, half the GPU is not used - and its similar with the X too. This could open up the potential though for PS4 games to receive a PS5 'patch' but those that don't could still benefit by running much better - with less frame rate or resolution drops. Its almost certain that is what the 'next' box will do as MS have stated that their plan is to enable games to move forward with each new console. Whether Sony are as keen or not, time will tell. Its whether or not the pull of Backwards Compatibility will offset any potential loss of income from remasters, PSNow etc. I do think if they do a 'remaster' like Shadow of the Colossus, that won't have a major impact but if they want to do remasters like God of War 3 (literally just a port with a higher output resolution), then maybe it will. SotC is how to do a remaster - its not the HD version just ported and outputting at a higher resolution....

Anyway, I think if Sony do offer BC, its much more likely to be with the PS5 and PS4 games as the PS3 was too different in a lot of ways...

@BAMozzy Would Be Cool but tbh I wouldn't be surprised if it was Ps3 they are leaving a lot of money out by reselling old games on PSN Hell add PS2 and 1 games they would make billions and when I'm looking at it if they could do Ps2 to Ps3 I wouldn't be Surprised if they did Ps3 to Ps4.

@Hapuc The PS3 games isn't likely at all because of the Cell Processor used and the architecture too. The original PS3 launched with full BC but only because Sony built a PS2 into the PS3 - part of why it was so expensive. I think as we are into the 4th year now and speculation on PS5 is building, I think its increasingly unlikely that the PS4 will be BC with PS3. Couple that with the fact that Sony have discontinued the PS3 hardware as well as stopping the PS3 IGC support, Its more indicative that the PS3 era (inc games) is coming to an end. We also see the servers being turned off in individual games/franchises too - like Killzone for example. If anything, I can see Sony remastering games like Killzone, Resistance, Infamous etc and, if they release on PS4, being BC with PS5. The 'big' Naughty Dog games are on PS4 anyway.

As I said, with the PS3 being so 'different', the fact it hasn't been 'possible' so far and the fact that a PS5 could be here in 18months (Nov 2019 seems likely), I think its very unlikely we will see PS3 BC with the PS4. Not even PS emulators work consistently with all games so even if they do go that route, it won't be 'full' BC and could take years to get a few hundred games added. There will be games that you have/want that may never come - at least not in the timescale you may want with the likelihood of a PS5 being out. Maybe Sony could build in some Emulation for the PS3 era games but like I said, they would weigh up the cost of doing that, whether it will add to much to cost or mean that they have to sacrifice on other areas (like CPU/GPU) to build the console to sell at the right price. I think its much more likely that we will see PS4 BC with PS5 and Sony will look to PSnow and remastering to bring PS3 games to the newer console.

That doesn't prove anything companies patent things all the time and most of the stuff they patent never sees the light of day.

I'm fairly certain that the PS5 will be BC to some extent.
I think it'll be able to play digital PS4 games. Will it read physical discs? Now that is the question.

The remasters and remakes, plus the fact that the PS4 is in its fifth year makes me think that it would be a lot of wasted resources to implement an emulated backwards compatibility system like the Xbox One is doing. I have no doubt that the PS5 will be backwards compatible, there's no reason why they should switch architecture again.

@BAMozzy Hmm Hmm yeah I agree with that.

@Tasuki I posted this because this patented back in 2015 first and it's brought up back again.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I think It's a given that Ps5 will be backward compatible.

@Kidfried Well yeah But I brought this up because this was patented back in 2015 first and people were thinking backward compatibility was coming and now again so thinking BC is coming is not long way off.

@Octane Oh definitely the Ps5 will be BC I'm just thinking PS3 had a large library and if they put those games on PSN to work with Ps4 it would be amazing from business perspective too imo.

@Hapuc True, but it's a lot of work to port all of those games individually. And they can never guarantee full compatibility. Emulation isn't an option I'm afraid. So while it would generate some headlines, I'm not sure if it would be worth it for Sony as a company. Are they going to sell more PS4s as a result? Unlikely. It's been too long, the right time to implement a feature like that has been passed a long time ago. And on top of that, there's quite a few PS3 games available on PS4 in the form of remasters and/or remakes, so what's the point in playing the older versions? Maybe I'm indifferent because there's not a whole lot left on the PS3 that I want to play, but don't have access to. The games I missed out, I can live with that, so I personally wouldn't care for a BC program like Xbox One on PS4.

I could see some form of backwards compatibility on the PS5, but again, it's way too early to tell. The PS5 may not even launch for a year or so, and they're not going to want to hurt the PS4's sales by even showing it off at E3 or close to the holiday season of 2018. They may talk about it, but I don't see it getting released until they see what Microsoft will be doing or waiting altogether for PS4 sales to start slowing down. As for the compatibility, I could see them doing it with VR games the most...just to give a small momentum to buy the VR 2 (and we know they'll make a new one for the PS5) and probably the downloaded online-store games being able to make their way over. As for PS3 titles, they'll continue on PSNow, and that could even be what they're after...but I think PS4 games would get added onto PSNow...because of the fact that even with the PS4 out, PS3 was still getting the retail games from Sony too and support from other companies too, well into a year or so into the PS4's lifespan. If sony did make the PS5 compatible with PS4 and PS3, then the system itself will sell at a high price, and I think Sony learned their lesson with the PS3, just like Microsoft learned their lesson with the XBONE. $400 or less is the option, anything higher will take focus away from a consumer's eye. As a parent (and let's say that I didn't play the consoles or games) and my kids wanted a newer system, I'd go for the cheaper of the bunch...and granted that the Switch would still be out and probably a lower price (granted it would be underpowered emensly by the time the PS5 and XBONE 2 come out), it would still be the cheaper option for parents...especially with a console's launch (retail games wouldn't be a great shelf taker at the moment, and the older games would be taking up more space). I'm just looking at it at a consumer's point of view. Other than that, I think it would be more remasters and collections that would come instead...especially since companies are making money with them.

@Kidfried From a business ethics capacity I can see the mainstream kicking back once digital becomes the defacto method of consumption. If games purchased are unavailable on the next playstation platform when backwards compatible with similar architecture is easily performed, there will be an outcry.

Personally I will be extremely reluctant to repay for the any of the 175 games currently housed on my PS4 if the PS5 is another PC in a box. They should be playable forever like steam for instance.

Historically the various chips and tech powering consoles meant consumers repurchased old games as we had no other option. That sceanrio is not necessarily the case anymore.

One of my biggest wishes is for the PS5 to be back compatible with all previous PlayStation consoles. I know it's pretty unlikely we'll get that (and I'm sure would be quite the technical challenge), but hey, it's a wish!

As others have mentioned, it playing PS4 games is inevitable, surely?

There is no guarantee the PS5 will be Backwards Compatible. Sony will want to whatever suits their business model best. We saw with the PS4 that Sony went for a clean break - partly because of how complex and difficult the PS3 was. However that certainly didn't affect sales and enabled Sony to offer PSNow and remasters too. Even if its easily done because the PS5 shares the same architecture etc, Sony may well opt to have yet another Clean break, expand PSnow and continue with remasters.

Not saying that is what they will do but its just as feasible. If they do go the Backwards Compatible route with PS4, I think it will be more like a iterative hardware - boosting game performance but only up to the 'capped' limits. Bloodborne (for example) would still be a 1080/30 game. Those 'Pro' patched games though should be enhanced on PS5 but again only play at the level they were capped to. This however 'could' also pose a problem because of the 'chequerboard' Object tracking built into the Pro's GPU. This provides 'superior' CB rendering to the methods used on Xbox or PC. Whether this is built into a PS5 which may be targetting Native 4k or not will depend on Sony's commitment to BC.

Theoretically speaking, the PS5 could work just like a much more powerful Pro as far as PS4 games are concerned. Boosting games to play at locked frame rates and resolutions - with Dynamic scaling, its not just Frame Rates that drop. That also means though that they 'could' receive a PS5 patch to change those caps and even visual settings like Shadow Quality, Anisotropic Filtering etc. To use 'Bloodborne' as an example, they could send a patch to change the settings to run at 4k/60 for example - but whether they do or not may depend on whether they have plans to re-release the game with different (4k/60) settings.

Call me a cynic if you want, but like we see on the Pro, older games aren't being patched and we have seen a lot of remasters this gen which are 'lucrative'. Why give us a patch for free to play these games at a much higher level when they can easily re-sell the game with 'new' and higher quality settings and call it a remaster...

I would be absolutely amazed if PS5 isn't fully compatible with PS4 software, and then that just becomes the norm going forward.

@roe It's impossible unless they build a PS2 and PS3 in the PS5 (just like how the PS3 was crazy expensive due it essentially being a PS2 and PS3 at the same time).

@Octane they could do it the same way MS did because on the XB1 you download the game for free and the disc serves as the key

of course you run into the same problem they have and that is only select games work because not only does it mean releasing a new build of the game for the new system BUT they may not even have the licence any more (especially if it's a movie licensed game) which is probably why Sony hasn't done it yet

I aready have my plan for next-gen figured out. If Ps5 isnt backwards compatibility with Ps4 then i wont buy no many exclusives it receives.

@FullbringIchigo Well, yeah, but making every PlayStation game so far compatible with the PS5 by porting them, or at least a chunk of them is an impossible task. That's way too many games I think.