PS5 Backwards Compatibility Will Play Overwhelming Majority of All PS4 Games, Improved Framerates and Higher Resolutions on PlayStation 5

Happy they clarified this!

Awesome! I guess this'll require a massive patch for each game with updated textures and the like. That hard drive is gonna fill quickly.

No word of PS1, PS2, PS3 compatibility yet

Some good news from the UK government and now this.

Obviously nowhere near as important but this announcement should settle some people's nerves.

Well done Sony!

👍

@Dr_Derp I doubt any will be updated, it sounds more like they'll simply run at the top end of whatever dynamic resolution they were already employing

I have been putting off another go around of The Witcher 3 for this reason. I can't wait to play it on PS5!

This is what I expected to be honest, it was clear to me what Cerny meant but it was easy to see why some people were confused. They have to be careful in case some games just break with the new chipset. It might also create unwanted work for devs who then have to quickly make patches for games that don't work.

Them being mum on PS3, PS2, and PS1 backwards compatability is still not a good look. They are so long overdue on doing that natively that it's just sad at this point.

@Dr_Derp No updated texture, just higher frame rate and resolution.

Phew!

@Octane that's a relief. Thanks

good news

now Sony PLEASE work on your communication will you, no more confusing messages OK

Geez, glad that's over. Can't wait to not play my PS4 games ever again when I get a PS5

This was pretty much how I interpreted it originally but glad they have come out and made it totally clear to everyone. I'm just curious where we stand with things like Cyberpunk 2077. Will the PS5 get an automatic update like the Series X to a superior version?

Enhancements are nice. But what we want to be sure of is that if you put any PS4 disk into any PS5. Regardless of whether or not it had an Internet connection. The game would play. What they’ve clarified is that they’re checking lots of titles rather than just a few.

@RBMango IF they can, the older PlayStations all used propitiatory chip sets so it might not be possible, they actually explained it in the Deep Dive but the reason the old systems were always so expensive is because the systems included the old chip sets in them

they tried emulation in the past on the PS3 for PS1 games and even that had trouble running some of them

i imagine it's something they are looking into but probably holding off on saying anything until they can either confirm if they can or can't do it

Nice. Now I just need to know a couple of things. Are we going be able to transfer our digital library to the PS5 once it launches? Can I play multiplayer PS4 games on a PS5 with players using a PS4? If both are affirmative, that would seal the deal for me.

@Ryall For some reason I'm unsure it will work that way. Same with Xbox. Heck even now with the One S I have to be connected to download a patch or else it won't play my 360 games

I wonder what happens when i insert a PS4 game disc of game which Sony didn't test yet. Does it mean that the game from PS4 wont work until Sony test it or PS5 just try it and play the game or not?

Quote :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.

Key word is We’re expecting

It offers no guarantee all games will be running at a higher framerate . Although I would love it to happen , I do not expect the likes of Bloodborne to be running at a stable 60 fps . If games are designed behind a locked framerate , undoing that results into more glitches and problems for said game .

It still seems to me with BC Sony is focusing on a console generation while Microsoft is prepping for the future with Xbox Game Pass.

If Sony is serious about Playstation Now it needs to add Ps1, Ps2 support

Not too bothered about PS1,PS2 or PS3 but I have a huge backlog of Ps4 games so having this finally confirmed is great news! Then again we don't have a GAME here anymore so I won't be part exchanging the old console for the new anyway..

I already know nearly all ps4 games will be playable on ps5 since sony already said it a couple of month before. What I'm hoping is sony update their 1st party games to higher fps, I want to play some games like days gone on more smoother framerate.

This isn’t what he said at all. They’ve realised what a mistake it was and thrown more resources at it

This should have been stated from the beginning. Sony really needs to work on their delivery as the communication for the PS5 has been terrible.

@Wazeddie22 haven't had a GAME in my town since they went bankrupt back in 2012

the nearest video game store to me is 25 miles away, that's why i order all my games online, no where in my town sells them anymore

Well then, it's as I figured. People were flipping out for no good reason. People were so certain he meant the PS4 will be BC with only 100 games at launch. Seriously, people panic way too quickly. Now the BC is looking good and to have the titles play better than ever before. It should have been much clearer yes, but the reaction was crazy.

@skaarj217 its not coming for awhile if at all. Its clear legacy supoort just isn't a priority at Sony. They would rather sell you remakes and remasters.

I still play a lot of PS3 games. We love the 4 players on 1 screen Zombie missions on COD. Do it at parties all the time. Unless they add PS3 compatibility I may jump to XBox and buy the few of the old games we still love since XBox plays them all. I am tired of losing access to great games when a new console comes out.

This is how they should have saying it from the beginning instead of that ambiguous "almost all of 100 will work".

Anyways, a late clarification is better than nothing.

Damage control at its best...

i m sure they has covered ALL of PS4 titles until PS5 launch... also it s interesting that AMD's helping them for BC on PS5!

I’d really like to see what they can do with HZD and god of war on the PS five!

@FullbringIchigo ours dissapeared without notice in December or january...no warning at all,it just closed down.I know a lot of people slagged them off but I always found the guys in there extremely helpful.My first purchase there was Sonic 3 for the megadrive:)
Guess it's buying everything online and digital for me.too..

Well, at least PS4 games will get higher FPS and resolution, tho it is dissapointing Sony only stopped at that.

Many more things could be added.

That's excellent news, that was the statement they should have said in the first place. Hopefully, ps1 and ps2 follow suit.

Glad for the clarification but to be fair Ps4 compatibility is probably the bare minimum people would expect.

Still haven't given up hope for ps 1, 2 & 3

Waiting on those improvements 😏

Why not just state that from the start?? They almost fumbled the ball Microsoft style with their indecisiveness.

@Quintumply It Could Happen After They Get Things With The PS4 Settled I Want Them To Add PSP And Vita Support For Digital Games

Look I'd love to play Parasite Eve again but I'd much rather pay Square to remaster it. Same as and I'm gonna kill the name Sudoken the rpg with 100 plus characters, I went back and played it blagh remake it please. I'm 45 do I like all the changes done to ff7? No but which would I play the new one kids. Yes I own my old games but seeing the pixels I loved become lifelike yes please. This bc thing cracks me up really. My Xbone is my 4k player that's it.

@Dr_Derp Not if you get yourself a NVmE chip, which I plan on doing as soon as I get mine.

Can see PS1 PS2 PS3 via PS Now streamed only

@nessisonett @BearsEatBeets Me too, that is one of the things I understood from what I saw. They are also testing games so as not break any of them when playing them on PS5.

Also, I've said this before, people that are excepting games before PS4 need to get thier expectations in check. It ain't happening, so you just need to accept that and deal with it. IF it does happen, well then you will be pleasantly surprised.

Cool! For me as some1 who only bought a PS4 Slim last September, having a library with so many titles I still want to buy and play carry over to PS5 is the only news I need to eventually make the jump to PS5! May take some time tho, Even just PS Plus is keeping me more than busy these days, hehe...

So this was all a big nothing burger then.

nessisonett It seems to me that Sony and Microsoft have the same approach to BC, it's just Microsoft got a headstart due to already having a backwards compatibility team in place for a good chunk of this gen, so they had the resources to make sure Series X had full BC with X1 games (and the already emulated selections from 360 and OGX1), whereas Sony has to catch up.

People may remember MS stopped adding new 360 and OGX1 games about a year ago so they could focus on ensuring Series X would play everything. It's not like it just magically all worked for them.

@FullbringIchigo exactly. Sony were flawless in revealing the PS4 and continuing good communication throughout the generation, not to mention great games. So far with PS5 it’s been like a different company. I hope the old arrogant market leading ways aren’t creeping back in. Maybe this is a sign of different things to come after a lot of the top execs left in recent years? Hope not...

@Dr_Derp Unfortunately, it is very likely most games will just run at PS4/PS4PRO settings, so there won't be any updated textures/patch updates unless a developer does it.

ok, this is much more reassuring. nice to see sony is listening to feedback again.

@makina TBF, he never said that. That's what some websites spun it into and ran with it. He was talking about boost mode for PS4 games, so a higher frame rate and resolution, which may cause some problems in games theoretically. They tested games and out of the 100 most played PS4 games, most worked better than expected. TL;DR ''we're testing as many games as we can, it works better than expected, but we haven't tested all of them, most of the popular games work at least''.

@Octane Yeah but, i saw the stream, and my idea was, ok they tested the 100 most played games and almost all work with boost...
But what about the rest? What about without boost mode? Should i expect every PS4 game to work? At launch? Eventually? Do we need to wait for Sony to whitelist a game in order to run? Man, it was vague.

Hideaki Nishino statement is lot more clear.

I generally don’t really care, but if I can get a higher resolution on HZD and some other games through BC for 4K, I would definitely jump in another time.

@makina Yeah, but they already said so last year: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-games-will-play-on-playstation-5-sony-says/1100-6466282/

@Octane it honestly sounded like they were planning on rolling out 100 games at launch with the plan being to release a curated list thereafter with no timeline as to when the entire collection would be available. it sounded bleak as hell to most people. true, it was early to say anything definitive, but it was not reassuring in the least. it was poor communication and never should have happened.

@Dr_Derp Pretty unlikely. I'm not certain, but I don't think that's how the Xbox BC works - and this seems largely to be mirroring that.
The testing and 'improvements' will more likely to ensure that the game is running on the new hardware configuration properly, since unlike PC - console games (apart from recent Pro/X ones) really aren't designed for scalability, just the spexific, unchanging platform. Improvements will be stuff like framerates, load times and display/maybe rendering resolutions made available by small patches informing the OS how to handle each specific title.

@nessisonett Have to agree. As soon as he said it, it was clear what he was implying.

@Porco I don't know. I didn't panic when he said that, that's the way I understood it. So it seemed pretty clear to me at least.

Will ps4 games sound better on ps5 🤔

Still don't by it. Sony has lied about alot of things so if they pop up and said the ps5 won't keep the promises then I'm not surprised.

I'm buying a ps5 to play ps5 games. I've never EVER bought a new console and thought, 'I wish I could play some old generation games on my new machine'. This is unlikely to change my opinion.

That's a lot better. I'm still worried about that "overwhelming majority" though, there's still risk that some of my favourites might not be supported.

"We’re currently evaluating games on a title-by-title basis to spot any issues that need adjustment from the original software developers."

Why does this make me really nervous?

MS just also hit us with the “overwhelming majority” jargon. Everyone was thinking every XBOX game would be available and now they’ve clarified that that’s the goal but not the current really; just like PS4 🤷🏾‍♂️

Yeah, that seemed pretty much in line with what was said at the deep dive.

No HDR like Series X? And no previous generations like PS1 - PS3?

I'll be getting the PlayStation 5 regardless, but Microsoft are sounding more and more appealing.

@skaarj217 Good luck with that. Anyone who is honestly expecting that, has really high expectations.

From what I'm reading from certain comments, is that they have unrealistic expectations. That's the internet for you. Best to wait until everything is revealed before giving a final judgement.

Now can we all stfu about bc most people buy new consoles for new games not old games.

@InsertUsername it's not unrealistic expectations tbh, pal. Look at Xbox Series X, it's b/c with every single Xbox console.

@Jay767 no, we won't "stfu" about it. I'm sooo sorry you don't like people having different requests to you, but a lot of people are asking for this. Why does it bother you so much people asking for something? Are they not allowed to?

@oldschool1987 because not that many people will actually use this feature people just want something new to complain about on the internet.

Sony marketing departement really screw up this time, yes maybe what cerny says in that video is a little confusing but there's no way explanation on psblog after this video should be that confusing.

@Jay767 citation needed.

Because its very popular on the Xbox One. And even if it wasn't a massively popular feature, why does it upset you so much that people are asking for it? Just don't use the feature...

But is it really all that popular on Xbox? If I want to play KotOR. I'd much rather do it on mobile because on my xbox mine has these head ripping sound screeches. I tried a couple of my favorite titles and all seemed to have little issues. That's why after my 6 year old lost interest it became my new disc player. I have a pro and a 1Tb ps4 so when Gamestop takes preorders I'll just hang on to my pro for abit longer just incase. Besides I want to see what games like Division and Avengers plan on doing.

@Darthrau very popular

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gamespot.com/amp-articles/xbox-one-backwards-compatibility-is-super-popular-/1100-6458692/

@1_W1NG3D_4NG3L you probably could argue that 😂

That’s actually very good news!
Now I wish they could tell us if newer games like TLOU2 and Ghost of Tsushima will get a treatment similar to Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One (which will get a free upgrade to Series X) or not.
I’m talking not about a simple boost in framerate and resolution like it’ll probably be, but a real upgrade that will take advantage of all PS5 bells and whistles.

More importantly will our digital purchases from ps4 transfer over to ps5 without repurchase

@wiiware
𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖇𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊 😋

@BLOB I don't have hope for bloodborne, sony didn't patch it even for ps4 pro 😞

@wiiware
I think 𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖇𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊 FPS is not locked.
(while we turn Boost On / the game run smoothly /
Or maybe each game will receive patch.
We'll see. 🍺

@Jaz007
Nope, not crazy at all, Sony certainly has earned the benefit of the doubt. And I still want to know what games won't be backwards compatible or have to be 're-worked' so the puritans will be ok with them being on the bc list.

@Gamer83 Dude, stop with the puritan stuff. There is no evidence that Sony will intentionally blacklist any game or require an update to censor something. That creates extra work for Sony and just invites bad PR in a whole new way. If Sony wants something toned down it'll be at launch or not at all. Games will run better for the most part, a few might have trouble in the same way boosted games on the PS4 Pro did but for the most part it was a non-problem.
For your earlier example, by all evidence we have Sony had nothing to do with insignificant bit of DMC5 "censorship" you had to be told was there in the first place. That was probably just Capcom, especially because they removed the ray of light, and none of the other games we know Sony had censored in a small way had such an update. There is nothing to go on for that puritan BC theory. There would be more censorship by now if your theories about this were right. Heck, the Atlus localization team has proved far worse than Sony.
Now, wanting to see what games might not work is reasonable. I imagine it'll be a small number, or they might work with a few errors. I'm also assuming there will be a non-boost mode if a dev doesn't want to help with the boost mode as well. Though, some might still not work and who knows, it could be a favorite so a reasonable concern. I'm still planning on keeping my PS4. Heck, I might need to keep it for the hard drive and just put games I want boosted on my PS5.

@skaarj217 yeah, that's just going to happen for them. No money in it. The PS4 proved that.

@oldschool1987 it's really not all that popular. The problem here ultimately is that the reason we don't want is because we already have those systems. Just keep them if you want to play. It literally costs them money to develop that capability, for zero ROI. We'd rather they spend the money on larger drive space or higher quality components such as better controller batteries.

@ChipBoundary it's very popular

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gamespot.com/amp-articles/xbox-one-backwards-compatibility-is-super-popular-/1100-6458692/

And who's "we"? Sounds like you're speaking on behalf of all gamers. The backwards compatibility statistics don't align with your assertions.

I doubt it will allow ps3 games. They haven't yet sold all those titles again for the ps4. How can they say that the ps4 can't operate ps3 games yet you can if you play thru the psnow subscription. I believe a civil case should be brought forward for the obvious greed Sony continues to exhibit.

The players deserve backwards compatibility with ps 1.2.3 games on the ps5 instead you'll probably have to use the same (ps-now service) on the ps5 which really makes it clear that Sony isn't for the players after all that's why I've left ps4 in the first place because I wanted to play older games so I went to xbox and I've never been so happy backwards compatibility on xbox so Sony its Time for you to pull your finger out and give the players what they want and stop being stingy about it

@Jaz007
I know you're a censorship supporter so you'll call stuff insignificant which is fine, my stance is censorship is bad and it's all significant if it involves adult characters in appropriately rated games. DMC 5 had no reason to be censored to start with and it was only the PS4 version that was hit with it, the patch that rolled it back was for the U.S. release and last I knew it was still censored it Europe. Doubt that's a Capcom thing. Regardless, it's a concern and Sony doesn't seem too bothered by bad PR given how the company has acted as a whole in regards to communication since Jim Ryan rose to power. All I ask at this point is clarity on what games I can and can't carry over. I'm keeping my PS4 regardless as it's one of the great consoles of all time but there's only so much space in the entertainment center when I add new consoles.

@oldschool1987 well then, let's analyze those statistics. Over a billion hours sure sounds like a lot, admittedly. But with approximately 47 million consoles sold....that puts average usage at about 21 hours per console. Yeah, compare that to total hours using the actual Xbox for any reason at all, that's not super popular.

Numbers taken out of context can seem impressive, but when you break it down, it's not.

@ChipBoundary a lot of mental gymnastics here, that was pretty impressive lol.

Fact is it seems this is a feature a lot of people actually want and you in fact do not speak for all gamers.

I wont believe it until I buy it and see if its true.

@oldschool1987 It's quite unrealistic, pal. Even Xbox doesn't have it fully. Lol. Also, it's not necessary. As long as it has PS4 b/c, no one is really going to complain but the minority of those who want beyond that. The rest, are simply going to be looking towards the future instead of the past.

@oldschool1987 You in fact, don't as well. No one really has to. All you have to do is look at the numbers, and that says it all. At this point, it's just beating the dead horse. Numbers don't lie, but people sure can. Which is why I'm done arguing with someone who chooses to ignore them. Good luck.

@PaulDanby156 No offense, but I don't think Sony is really going to be bothered much with the minority of gamers who want it. There will always be someone to take your place or anyones for that matter in buying a PS5. If b/c is such a huge deal for you, then perhaps maybe you should buy a Series X. The majority are going to be looking towards the future rather than the past.

@Jay767 They won't. People always like complaining about something. If Sony gave it to them, they'll find something new to argue about.

@InsertUsername lol, ain't you a passive aggressive little child. It's like you saw the demonstrable statistics I posted and realised you lost the argument instantly, and went "iM nOt aRgUiNg" lol. I love how you're attacking and insulting everyone for wanting a feature that for some reason triggers you 😂

And where did I claim I speak for all gamers? I didn't and I don't... do you usually lie? I speak for myself and used some statistics to back up that a lot of gamers enjoy this feature, which they do. I'm sorry this upsets you.

I bet you still reply even after claiming you're done. I know you types well, you can't handle being proven wrong and even after saying you're done, you'll keep coming back. Go ahead, prove me right. Like I've been right about everything else.

@oldschool1987 didn't realize fourth grade math was mental gymnastics. It wasn't that much of a leap to average those hours out over all the consoles that have been sold. I would even say that would be the first comparison almost any sane and moderately intelligent person would make. Sure, there are some out there that never use it, and others that use it religiously, but it's not anything I would call "very popular" by any stretch.

Perhaps my comment came across a bit snarky, but you're going to have to try harder than that to convince me and the rest of the gaming world that 21 hours of usage total per console, over all the years the Xbox One has been in operation, makes something very popular.

@ChipBoundary we've both been snarky, it's ok lol. But is b/c is very popular. You can't spread the play time amongst every single console sold, many Xbox consoles are dead, many gamers probably didn't even try it. It's probably much less than half of the current owners who even bother with b/c, but they're putting a lot of hours into an older library. There's interest there.

There's a reason the mini SNES machines consistently sold out. People like to look back at old games in between the wait for new games.
A lot of people want this feature in their console... not all... Probably not even most. But when the competition is giving their players full b/c of all previous consoles, then Sony should at least take a more serious look at it. Maybe they'll roll it out at a later date?

If only 10 people want this feature, why would it bother anyone that people ask for this? They won't know unless we ask, right? I'm not demanding it, I'll get a PS5 regardless, but it would be a consumer friendly thing to do. I thought tv functionality in the Xbox was stupid, but some people loved it, which is fine. I'm glad they enjoyed that feature.

Is there nothing you'd want b/c for? I'd love to replay all the Mass Effect games, but my PS3 HDMI port doesn't work, and I have to use the component cable, which isn't exactly compatible with my LG OLED C9 lol.

@oldschool1987 I keep my consoles, so if I want to play an old game I fire it up. If my console didn't work I'd either fix it myself or take it in to get repaired/replaced. A bad HDMI port is actually a very cheap thing to fix on the PS3.

My problem with backwards compatibility and people asking for it is simply this: it costs too much money. When the original release of the PS3 came out it was fully backwards compatible to PS1. When you account for inflation, the release price of that console was just shy of $800 US. That is the price of a moderate PC, which does exponentially more than a simple console.

The PS4 had zero backwards compatibility, yet outsold the XBox by over 2:1. Exclusives, reliability, and graphics power are what sell consoles and personally I would prefer the money be spent on those things over backwards compatibility.

@ChipBoundary I've still got every console, all the way back to my Commodore 😂 It's not convenient to keep having to go in my attic and grab my older PlayStation everytime I want to play an older game. I'd rather have their old library available on their new console, just like Xbox is offering.

You have a point with the price going up in having it built into the machine, but that's only if they put the old chip set into the new machine, Cerny said he didn't do that with PS5, he only added "logic"... I don't understand it, but he said his method kept the price down. And Xbox gamers asked for b/c, it was added to the Xbox One with a patch, the consoles price didn't go up. It was just implemented. There's ways of doing this without a price hike, as Xbox demonstrated, and Cerny alluded to. Nothing wrong with asking.

I never claimed that b/c is the most important thing to a console, I never claimed that's the deciding factor, at all. Of course PlayStation smashed Xbox after their disastrous reveal, and PlayStation with its focus on exclusives. But halfway through the generation Xbox started implementing consumer friendly features to gain some good will, including b/c, and now Microsoft is seen in a much better light, their sales could have been much worse, I'd bet. I wish they implemented it before I got rid of my Xbox, I waited for Quantum Break and didn't like it, so gave up on my Xbox. Then they announced b/c lol.

There's nothing wrong with asking, let people enjoy what they enjoy. I like convenience, I'd imagine a lot of people do.

@Ryall

there have been roumers a PS5 PRO might launch parallel with the PS5 .. or a Bit later (1-2 years), but not much later like the PS4 Pro did 4 years later..

and Sony has neither fully discarded nor admitted to a Pro launch Date, Sony is just silent.., Sony should really speak up and Let us know if / when a Pro will come..

MS on the other hand clearly will not bring a "Pro" Xbox anytime soon.., MS PR is way more transparent atm.., doing a Good PR von, Sony really needs to give us more clarification.

@Jaz007

I'm a HC gamer, and any "framerate" or other advatages i can get Ill gladly Pay for.., also I play FFXIV on my PS4 Pro.. and it really runs better on the Pro (some ingame areas can be very demanding on the hardware)..

I will get a PS5 PRO.., but really do not / will Not buy a PS5 at Launch just to get a PS5 PRO 1-2 years later.., that's too much and hope Sony does not Trick us into buying a PS5 and only months later announce a PS5 PRO for 2021 or 2022..., hope Sony will be honest enough and announce the PRO release before the PS5 is launched...

Sony in general needs to Step up in the PR right Now.., atm its almost as Bad PR as during the Xbox One launch

Not good enough Sony PS4 only backwards compact compared to Xbox series x u just rather us gamers waste our money on remasters and rebuy your games again and ps is a rip off and a waste of money not backward compact

@PaulDanby156 screw you Sony

@WebHead agreeed that’s why I’m buying Xbox series x for backwards compatibility

@oldschool1987 that’s why I’m buying series x over ps5

@Bistna444 what are you telling me for? I don't care, you do you. I see you're writing things like "Screw you Sony", so I'm not going to take your opinion seriously anyway.

Jog on pal your boring

@Bistna444 yes, you are boring. Next time tag me, child.

@Jay767 I disgree pal

@Bistna444 You're*