Sony Commits Support to PS4 Through 2021

If it's anything like the PS3 then Sony will carry on PS4 support for a good few years after the PS5 launches.

That said, I imagine it'll be a slightly different scenario this time around, since PS5 will probably be (surely, it has to be) backwards compatible.

That'll be a solid 7 years or so by the time PS5 really takes over or even shows up on the market. Not bad.

As stated before, this little slanted black box has plenty of gas left in its tank. This actually gives me renewed hope that we may yet see Gran Turismo 7 in this generation... I can only dream.

I haven't even experienced my PS4 yet I got it late after launch 2 years, and I haven't even started

The Witcher 3
Horizon Zero Dawn
God of War
Last of Us Part 2 (looking forward too)

And then some more...... I honestly feel I am so far behind console gaming now that it's a rush job to most like WHERES NEXT GEN ALREADY suppose it's because when you get older commitments take priority

@ShogunRok I kind of imagined that PS5 would be a generational leap BUT incremental at the same time. PS4 Pro proved the concept, why start everything from scratch, again? So unless the console is ridiculously powerful, backwards compatibility could be an issue if they built from ground up again. If not backwards compatible, I think it will be a much, much harder sell. People have years' worth of games backlogs, support for more and more games spans years as they become more services than products etc. It all makes sense for PS5 to be a PS4 Pro on massive steroids

Of course sony will support ps4 till 2021.and 2024 also some ps5 games will also be ps4 games word up son

Another argument: remasters hit this generation, unlikely we will see that many for PS5. But to counter all that, their current model worked well over the years so it might again and games development takes more time and resources. They probably already started working on the first PS5 games, or will soon anyway. That will help define the next generation, I just really hope that the lines are more blurred and we get a smoother transition, everyone could benefit from that.

@Nakatomi_Uk hahaha im fAr behind also i got 40 ps4 games that i havent play yet and i play also.im still buying ps4 games.and im still got a lot of ps3 games on my backlog i need to finish .and i also got ps1 and ps2 games also downloaded on my ps3 that i need to finish.word up son

Day 1 if it's bc with ps4 games, I want to play all sony 1st party games with the best hardware available

Before anyone starts keep in mind this does not mean PS5 isn’t releasing until March 2021. This is them simply saying PS4 will still be supported. PS5 is very likely gonna be out before Christmas 2020 and like PS3 to PS4 it’s first couple years on the market will probably be crossgen heavy.

@LaNooch1978 I have just been playing the snes mini, unlocked the special cup at 100cc. Some things never get old. No ones forccing you to ditch the ps4, I probably wont jump in feet first to ps5 either.

@Nakatomi_Uk Games have also changed. On the snes mini as mentioned above you can play every game, complete all of them if you are good enough and have a fair opinion on them in the same time it takes to complete something like the Witcher 3. Age obviously is a factor with the additional responsibility and losing regular 'holiday' periods. But even the longest games from yesteryear like Final Fantasy 6 are only 35 hours long.

I think PS4 games have a couple of years left, even if PS5 launches in Nov '19 which people seem to forget would still be 18 months away, so there would still be 1 1/2 years of PS4 only even if PS5 launched next holiday. And a couple of early PS5 games could be dual releases on PS5 as well. Hopefully GoW2 for one. (I still need to finish HZD, hope it ends better.)

But with that said he said "support" which could mean as little as new game rentals on PS+. They just recently said Vita and PS3 games will stop being supported next year on PS+. Which technically means Sony has been supporting PS3 for 5 years after PS4 launched.

It's 2018, support <> new games. PS3 has Now, +, and Vue. And it's still my main media streamer in my bedroom. It's been awhile since its gotten a new game but I still play the games I get with PS+.

I still think PS4 will get new games for a couple of years after PS5 launches, 90mil install base won't be shoved aside like Wii U was, but there are other ways for Sony to support PS4 besides AAA games. Heck Dreams doesn't even gave a release date yet and I'm expecting that to be treated as a service for at least 2 years with updates, improvements and sharing of creations.

@ShogunRok tbh to a certain degree I expect ps5 to be completely backwards compatible, not just with ps4 but everything from PlayStation's vault(at least I hope so).

That makes me feel better, actually. Now we just wonder when exactly we'll get our first look at PS5.

When has sony shown any real interest in backward compatibility? I think you have your answer already for PS5

@Bingoboyop I doubt it will be with PS3 for a couple of reasons. First one being the architecture between PS3 and PS4 (so presumably PS5 too since they moved to x86 architecture) is completely different so requires a chunk of work to stably emulate anything. The second being PSNow exists on streaming PS3 games, so to allow BC here would cost them revenue.

I'm not even convinced they will make PS4 games BC despite it being a simple matter (again, making the assumption of them using x86 architecture). They can make more money by using the games on the PS4 to sell their PSNow service and it also allows for yet another generation of remasters :/

I can only hope that it's backwards compatible. I don't have any more room for another console by my TV, so if it's not fully backwards compatible with PS4, I don't know if I'll get it. Also being able to play all my backlogged games in better quality than my base PS4 is another plus.

still convinced that the ps5 won't come out before mid 2020.

anyway good sign for the ps4.

LOL just made a comment on a different post about exactly the same thing.

@ShogunRok i doubt it will be backward cimpatible they will be already working on re re masters of ps3 games for it lol

@hotukdeals As long as the PS5 uses a similar architecture, I don't see why it won't be backwards compatible. They basically would have to actively remove that option if that isn't the case.

@Dichotomy @Neolit I don't think PS3 backwards compatability on PS5 would be that difficult. I tried out RPCS3 on my PC which is around PS4 specs and while it isn't good enough to consider playing over an actual PS3 (too many framerate drops, thanks to my CPU being mid range from 2012), it is quite impressive. A PS5 would run them a lot better obviously, being much more powerful and utilising more modern APIs (supposedly Ryzen does some beautiful things for PS3 emulation).

There is also the matter of Sony having the ability to build a more optimised emulator for it, having all the Cell documentation and developing on just one set of hardware. I'm not personally expecting it to happen, but I don't see why it couldn't.

@Anguspuss @Bingoboyop @finalstan I just think that if it's not backwards compatible, Sony will get torn apart for it.

I know Xbox hasn't had the best time this generation, but the stuff Microsoft has done with backwards comparability is really impressive. Sony has to step up its game in that regard, and PS5 seems like a good place to start.

And I agree for the most part @finalstan. I'm not sure if Sony will have some sort of 'gimmick' up its sleeve for PS5 (I'm sure it'll have something new that's plugged as a selling point) but I can't see it straying too far from the PS4. More power, obviously, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if next-gen turned out to be more about 'upgrading' rather than starting fresh. Hence backwards compatibility, maybe even PS4 games being patched — that kind of thing.

Not surprising. Support for the PS2 lasted up until just before the PS4 launch in 2013.

Through TO 2021.

@playstation1995 Sweet Jayzuss, and I thought my physical/digital backlog stack was bad. You, sir, are my backlog hero 👍

It’s got to be coming out next year as two years of supporting the PS4 would be about right.

I got mine at launch - and still going strong. They give me another 3 years - and I got my bang for the buck and some.

@LaNooch1978 It depends whether or not you want a 4k console for the 4k generation or happy to hold on to the HD era. The Pro is built to basically double the resolution - not quadruple it, doesn't have the RAM to cope with 'high quality' textures and 4k buffers, still has a CPU designed for mobile tablets 5+yrs ago so its built as a half way step or stop gap until they can do a proper 4k console for the 4k generation.

Whether you want to jump on board at launch or not is up to you - I joined the 4k TV generation in 2014, 4k HDR in 2016 and want my gaming experience to catch up sooner rather than later. Its not 'just' resolution, its the composite of that image - everything that goes into it - like texture quality, lighting/shadows etc - and doing all that without having to drop to 30fps with fluctuating PQ (dynamic scaling) and without unlocked frame rates.

Developers are making games that are 4k and run at 60fps+ with high/ultra settings adding so much to the image. They then have to scale that down, cap frame rates at 30fps, dynamically scale the resolution to try and get more stability in the frame rates, go through and tweak the visual settings averaging a medium/low level to keep the resolution/frame rate higher etc. Games like AC:Unity or Just Cause 3 weren't bad performing games - its just that they were too ambitious for console hardware which is why they had so many performance issues. The CPU can't cope with number of NPC's or the level of physics calculations required in the destructions. They were built more for PC CPU's. Sucker Punch spoke about the CPU bottlenecking and how difficult it was to achieve what they wanted with Infamous 2nd Son, ND wanted U4 to run at 60fps too but had to settle for 30fps - I could go on...

The Pro is like a PS3 (maybe weaker) was to the HD Era. Yes it may use some 'clever' rendering technique to make 2x1080p (or half 4k) look almost as good as native 4k but most games run at 1440 or less - even 1080p in some cases (Dirt 4, Tekken) which is the equivalent of 540-720p for HD. How would people feel if Soul Calibre released at 540p on the base PS4? How would people feel if the games were 540-720p with maybe games like GTSport running at 2x450p and chequerboard rendered to give 900p or H:ZD, GoW running at 2x540p/30fps. Maybe OK with it but what if games like RDR2 ran at 600p whilst the Xbox was offering 900p with better textures and higher visual settings and PC at 1080/60 - would they be calling for Sony to bring out a full HD console? maybe if they had HD TV's whilst those on Base PS4's still have SD TV's...

Anyway, tech doesn't stand still - as you know having just upgraded your TV. Wouldn't you want a console that actually meets the standards of that TV by choice?

personally i have my doubts over whether PS5 will play PS4 games, even if the chips are AMD and x86. AMDs next gen Ryzen chips use simultaneous multi-threading architecture rather than the out-of-order/speculative order of the jaguar-based CPUs. PS4 games are highly optimised designed to run on one form of hardware (PS4-pro is largely exactly the same as PS4 only boosted). not saying it won't be possible, for example some kind of middleware API, or virtualisation, but it might take time and effort which could result in sony having to go with somewhat weaker hardware or waiting longer to release PS5.

consoles have to pick specs for the masses, not the small fringe who have all the cutting edge technologies. depending which sources you read, 8K TVs could be 'mainstream' by 2022.. is PS5 going to be 8K-capable? i really really doubt it, so we're just going to hear all these arguments over again with games being sub-4k uhd, or double-4k not being true 8k... ad nauseum.

@leucocyte I agree! (re Backwards Compatibility). Of course there is always going to be 'discussion' about what is acceptable, what hardware delivers the highest res/frame rates and if these are equal, the level of visual settings, the load times, etc etc. Its been that way forever. Was Commodore better than Spectrum, PC better than Mac, Sega better than Nintendo, this sports player/team better than that. Resolution has become more of a 'defining' category in recent years because its an area where there is a difference. If XB1 had been powerful enough to match Sony as well as match it on visual quality and performance, it would still have had 'discussion' over which was 'better'. Resolution became important because it was a metric by which gamers can use to their 'advantage' to try and win arguments. The XB1 is bad because its only 900p, the Pro is 'bad' because its not 'native' resolutions etc. Personally, I want to play games at the best level that is potentially possible on console. If that means I have to play at CB4k/30, so be it but by choice, if there was a choice, I would play it at native 4k/60. With games like H:ZD or GoW, the choice is 1080/30 or CB4k/30 (nt inc any low res/higher frame rate modes) so I bought a Pro to play at the highest level - that is the current 'choice' but if the choice arose that I could play at 4k/60, I would have taken that option.

@LaNooch1978 I hope you don't think I was accusing you of being a luddite. Personally I enjoy speculating about what is coming 'next' in terms of tech, what that could mean and even what I hope it offers to me. I embrace the future rather and look forward to seeing what comes 'next'. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy the here and now. Just because I would prefer to play Last of Us 2 at native 4k with great draw distances, high quality textures etc and 60fps as a minimum, I will still happily play it at 1440/30 on my Pro with base level PS4 visual settings/textures etc.

I will always watch 4k movies/TV via SkyQ where available but if not, I will happily watch in HD. I rarely watch SD nowadays but if the only choice I have is SD, I will watch it rather than miss it. I do go to the effort of seeing what the highest resolution of any film/sport event/TV show is before watching - I haven't watched an EPL football match or F1 in HD (or worse) for a LONG time now.

@Savino Its not that 'simple'. The reason we don't have ultra physics, huge NPC numbers with complex AI, massive worlds etc is more down to the limitations of the CPU's - its that part that limits these things more so. The worlds also comes down to development time, costs and space too but the greater the draw distance, the more objects you can see, the more the CPU has to command the GPU to draw. The more 'physics', the more calculations the CPU has to do. The GPU, as the name suggests as a Graphics Processing Unit, is more about rendering everything and applying all the processing effects, calculating where the lights reflect or create shadows, where reflections should be etc.

The current hardware - inc the base console was more heavily weighted towards its GPU - essentially designed to create next gen visuals with little scope to push 'gaming' beyond last gen. The Pro and Xbox X are even more heavily weighted to the GPU but then again they were designed to draw much larger images in the same time as the base consoles - not designed to specifically run the games at faster frame rates. The reason we get 1080/60 options is because the GPU can draw 1080p images much quicker than the base hardware and thus save some time meaning it can hit higher frame rates. To illustrate that, if it takes a CPU ~10ms to do its processing and instruct the GPU what to draw, and the GPU takes 20ms to render a 4k image, that is 30ms and within the 33ms needed for 30fps. If you then drop the res down to 1080p (a quarter of the size), the CPU still takes 10ms, but the GPU being much more powerful now takes 5ms to render a 1080p image so that falls under the 16.6ms needed for 60fps. If the CPU then has a more physics or AI to calculate and that now means the CPU takes 13ms, the GPU at 4k will still take 20ms , meaning it meets the 33ms but at 1080p (5ms), will mean it drops frames. Even reducing the resolution down to 25% won't mean you can double the frame rate.

What is important is that you get a device that is much more balanced. The Zen CPU (if used as the leaks indicate), is much more powerful, faster, multi-threaded and more efficient too. In other words, it can be used to have much more physics, more complex AI and NPCs (I know Days Gone has a lot but the horde has basic AI and less texture, variation etc than a 'crowd' of people in a city) etc - regardless of the GPU. It will no doubt be built to offer 4k so will need to be 'powerful' enough to render that image and do it quickly enough to fit the parameters of the design.

It was the CPU choice of both MS and Sony that limited game design and restricted the development of games with 'ultra' physics etc...

@Neolit I think you have a fair point there with the digital library thing.

@ShogunRok I will buy a ps5 day one if my digital library purchases can come with me. It would probably convince me to only buy digital as well (love the physical disk though)

I know this is a debate every generation but I'm really, reallly hoping for a full backward compatibility. I lile the idea of keeping my games library and just update the console.
Hell, I'm interested in Xbox one now that the BC option is so well rendered, with all those original Xbox games running, with you very own (and old) disc, running in a glorious HD signal with not a single more purchase from you. This is saling argument for me, so I'm considering it (just to play Kotor 1 and 2 with a beautifull picture).
SO. Sony, please. Let me just trade my Ps4 pro for a PS5, and let me keep my games. Like I did with my Ps4, when I traded it for a ps4 pro.

So basically the same that happened with PS1 after PS2 launched, PS2 after PS3 and PS3 after PS4. I wouldn't expect anything less. By 2021 PS4 should be at or over 90 million units sold. No smart company is going to just quit on that. The only thing I don't love about it is it means cross-gen games, which whether people want to admit it or not, does hold back the new generation hardware.

I feel like the PS5 will be compatible with all PS4 games like the PS4Pro was, they're not going to change architecture significantly are they? Even if there's a new medium of Blu Ray disc it should be compatible with the normal type. We might finally get native 4K and 60fps as the standard so I'm looking forward to it.

With both Mass Effect and Uncharted on hiatus I’m not sure I’ll be joining the next PlayStation gen.

BC is easy keep your PS4! Even if the PS5 is BC I have doubts I would sell or trade in my PS4-PRO. As 100% BC never happens. Convenience is a thing so I would still love to see it. After 2 -3 year into the PS5 I won't care to play PS4 games any more. I will more then likely have a black-log of PS5 games by then.

PlayStation consoles usually lasts a few years after their successor arrives.

@Orpheus79V While it is doable, I don't think Sony will put the resources into making it happen. An unofficial emulator on PC is a different prospect to an official one, you expect some games to run badly or not at all and no one has to worry about potential loopholes in security the emulation may cause.

As I said before, I think Sony would rather sell PSNow opposed to giving us something for free, after all they did sink a considerable sum of money into streaming technology that, so far, has not returned much back.

@get2sammyb While it's true Sony have offered backwards compatibility in the past, I think the market has changed considerably since then. The entire industry has moved towards a more profit driven structure (they're businesses and that's what they do, not singling out Sony here) and there seems little profitability in backwards compatibility.

I doubt many people would outright not buy a new console because it can't play their old games, but PSNow would become a more enticing prospect if it had a catalogue of PS4 games you'd otherwise have to have a two console setup to play. I hope they do make the next console backwards compatible, but until I see it written as an irrefutable fact I'll not be convinced it is going to happen.

@get2sammyb I think with most people replacing their phones every year or two there is a need to make sure backwards compatibility exists in that market. Without it a lot of people would hold off buying apps for 3-6 months every other year as they wait to upgrade their phones, which is a sizeable chunk of time. Combining this with the fact most of the mobile market works on the freemium gaming model, it makes little sense to not ensure compatibility between models.

I am also looking at the way Microsoft are handling backwards compatibility this generation, basically drip feeding content for the platform, but not allowing everything to be played. I'd make a guess they probably have to get the consent of 3rd parties to allow their games to be put through the process, especially since remasters seem to be such a lucrative business nowadays. The Switch also doesn't have any kind of backwards compatibility (which all Ninty's other recent consoles did) and is pushing out Wii U remasters at an alarming rate.

As I say, I hope they do take the high ground and make the PS5 backwards compatible with, at very least, the PS4. Consumer friendly initiatives like crossbuy for the Vita show that they may go this way, but I have enough doubt that I won't get my hopes up to have them dashed by (maybe) next year's E3 presentation.