It has come to light that PlayStation 5 games aren't the only ones effectively stranded on your internal storage. The next-gen console doesn't allow saves to be transferred onto a USB stick so they can be easily brought over to another console. You will still be able to upload them to cloud storage with a PlayStation Plus membership and then transfer them between systems from there, but there's no longer a way of doing it physically at launch. This is a feature present on PlayStation 4 but isn't available on PS5 at the time of writing.
To clarify, the ability to transfer your PS4 saves onto a PS5 system via USB still exists. As Polygon reveals, an option in the Settings menu lists "USB Drive" as a way of accessing your save data for PS4 titles, but it is nowhere to be seen within the PS5 tab of the very same nature. Therefore, the only way to transfer saves between PS5 consoles right now is to do it through cloud storage with an active PS Plus subscription.
Are you disappointed this feature no longer exists on PS5? Do you hope support is patched in sooner rather than later? Create space in your cloud storage in the comments below.
[source polygon.com]
Comments 71
I have no problem since I have psplus, but I hope ps5 will support "save to usb-drive" for its save games file like ps4. Or if there's free cloud save like steam or xbox (I heard xbox cloud save is free).
This will be patched, right?
I'm not sure how many of these findings are 'as designed' for retail units or simply missing on the review units.
I think this is all definitely part of a firmware update that will be available possibly by the end of the year.
@ThaBEN This is the same operating system that will be available at launch later this week.
I think most people read it wrong here:
#1 You can import your Savegames from USB - PS4 to PS5
#2 You cannot export your Savegame from PS5 - PS5 to USB
I’m annoyed in theory because I don’t plan on keeping an active PS Plus sub (I’ll be having PS Now as it’s a far better value service). However, in practice, I never used the USB save function on PS4 so I don’t see I’ll need it on the PS5 either. It’s just the principle of currently locking the save behind a cloud paywall. I’m sure there’s a technical or time reason, and am hopeful USB transfer will be added to PS5 like it was belatedly added to PS4.
I'm excited to get my PS5 next week but there really are a few things they could well learn from Xbox about being user friendly. Things such as this and not even being able to store PS5 games on a hard drive and the automatic transfer of save files between PS4 to PS5 upgrades.
Hopefully they'll look at these things and add support, especially as it seemingly doesn't support VRR and 8K out of the box even though the latter is on the box
The idea that we are supposed to accept new systems have far less features so they can celebrate when they reintroduce them is getting really boring
Yeah this is very weird, it's either a very basic oversight or an active decision to be anti-user friendly when the infrastructure is clearly there. I'm used to these sorts of things being a lifelong nintendo fan, but it doesn't make them any less frustrating!
I’m sure this will be added pretty promptly. The firmware that we’ve had access to for review still isn’t final to be fair.
As long as the ps5 doesn’t delete the save files off the system like when you uninstall a game on the Xbox One I can live with it.
It seems Sony has prepared a list of "silly little things that'll annoy the user base" and is working their way through them to erode away the good will they earned last gen after the clusterf*** that was the original XBOne launch
The lack of clarity and forthright communication (when compared to MS) is frustrating to say the least - yet it always seems to happen to companies when they rest on their laurels following a successful generation - Sega MegaDrive/Genesis to Saturn, PS2 to PS3, X360 to XBOne, Wii to WiiU - it seems like no-one wants to keep their user base happy or takes it for granted that that all the people who bought last gen will naturally buy the next gen console too.
Hey Push Square, is there an option to transfer your entire PS4 contents via LAN to PS5? Including PS4 save games?
Well, except for PT lol
This will definitely be added later. You could bet your house on it.
If you are unlucky you can get a faulty SSD; you send it back in warranty, you get a formatted SSD, your saves are gone just because you don't have PS+.
Nice.
Not a huge deal but something I definitely expected to be there. I'm sure it'll be patched in soon enough.
They really don’t want any PS5 related data on anything other than the SSD soldered to a PS5’s motherboard or Sony is own servers. I suspect it’s to keep data miners away from their games and save data.
One does get the feeling this wouldn't be the case if the Xbox had sold more than the PS4. Come on Sony... I don't want to bring out the "arrogant" word too early but this is pretty poor at the least.
I don't see a scenario where that will bother me. I mean once I've manage to move saves on PS5 for a PS4 title. Why would I go back?
@God_of_Nowt Cool, thanks. I have my games all on an external SSD so I was planning on doing a network transfer for save files and remaining few leftover small things.
@God_of_Nowt I rarely back up saves to USB pendrive especially since I forget to do it unless the HDD clicks, but if my HDD dies today I'd lose progress about the games played in the last 2/3 months, not all my saves of the last 5 years!
@deathaxe There's also a very low chance that your car could catch fire while driving it, but it happened to me last year 😂
On the box says you can do it through your network ?? Saves and settings don't transfer ?? Just games ??
It won't affect me massively but does seem like it's an unnecessary oversight in Sony's part.
Ridiculous. Currently me and the misses share 2 PS4 consoles in 1 house as we like to play different games at the same time. Obviously we can both play the free monthly games along with the online features, no point paying for the same stuff twice. She currently usb transfers her saves between the 2 PS4's because that's only for the primary Plus account.. Fair enough, usb transfer works.
So on PS5 both me and her will have to buy separate PS Plus subscriptions for 1 household if we get a second PS5, just so both of us can move saves from one console to the other.... It's like we are being punished for buying second consoles for one house. Very disappointed.
It’s a bad look. Not the end of the world but Sony really seem to love making decisions that reflect poorly on them.
This has long been a vector for cheating in games like Borderlands where offline play allows you to gain items for use online, as people would export their save to a USB drive, plug that into a PC where you can edit the save file, and then reimport it on the console. I would also strongly suspect this is why games like the new Hitman trilogy have required you to always be online to unlock weapons etc which can help you get places on leaderboards.
I don't care too much about leaderboards and cheaters, but if this means I can play more of my games offline it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. There's something infuriating about sitting down to play a single player game and finding out the server is down.
This is a problem for me. I don't have PS Plus, and I do like to occasionally back up my PS4 saves on to a USB drive. Hopefully they patch in support for backing PS5 games soon.
Every generation we go through something like this, obviously certain features we not be available at launch just like PS3/PS4 etc. Over the coming weeks, months and years Sony will add a whole host of features to the PS5, so this isn't a surprise or doesn't bother me.
I knew this day would come a long time ago, eventually it was going to be taken away sooner or later 😏😏😏
@Medic_Alert and you know the crazy thing about it, PS4 was the only console that let you transfer saves to usb, Xbox and switch didn't have this option!
@godscoper the ps3 was notorious regarding this matter, there were copy protected saves that were locked to the system and the only way to retrieve them was to transfer them via backup utility between consoles, I lost a whole load of saves because of ylod on the original 60gb consoles so it's basically the same situation now but with all saves on ps5 that can be lost if the console dies!
@wiiware You are correct, cloud saves are 100% free on Xbox. I really wish Sony (and Nintendo) would follow suit.
There is something nice about never worrying about my save files....ever, no matter what - for free.
@Medic_Alert At least with Nintendo, you can actually use the argument that Nintendo consoles are different enough to make save transfers hard, but Sony has no excuse, the PS4 and 5 are similar enough where you should be able to transfer via usb.
@GamingFan4Lyf Nintendo is the worst of the bunch, not only the saves are locked to their online service, but I can't even extend my nintendo subs because I don't have switch right now (waiting for the rumored switch pro early next year).
I heard nintendo saves are deleted after 6 month, I want to extend the subs so my saves in nintendo cloud won't be deleted 😓
Never done this in my life with any ps, whats the benefit ?
@wiiware Wow, that is dumb that Nintendo locks purchasing a membership behind the actual hardware. I had mine set to auto-renew, so I just forget about it. $20/yr is kind of easy to forget about.
For as much love as I have for Nintendo, it makes some really bizarre decisions.
I mean who’s got two PlayStation 5s anyway
@nessisonett I suspect the majority didn't even know it existed anyway or why they would want to in the first place
What the bleep???
PS4 was missing a ton of features at launch (this is no excuse for Sony though.) I suspect this is something to be patched in later.
@CKFilms Can I still watch videos via USB?
This is DREADFUL NEWS :-/ My PS4 got stuck twice before and luckily I save all my game saves to USB stick or I would of lost all my saves + my PS3 died to once but luckily I had my PS3 saves on USB to. COME ON SONY!!! Let me back-up my saves to USB!?!? Hmm, I don't get why not for MEGA- DISAPPOINTED
Sonydoes what Nintendoes.
...Again.
https://youtu.be/V8cmLeFQBT0
End of the video confirms USB save transfer.
@Optimusprime706 It's not about 2 PS5s. It's about transferring PS4 saves to a PS4 from a PS5 - and about backing up save data for PS5 games without paying a monthly fee to Sony for the permission to do so.
This all worked nicely on PS4. And PS3. And Vita. And the WiiU, and 3DS.
Then Nintendo locked out all local save backup/copy functionality to force you to pay for their monthly/annual service and generate revenue by holding your save data hostage to a subscription service.
And now Sony has decided to copy Nintendo with one of their most obviously exploitative policies.
@NEStalgia who doesn’t have ps plus at this point that’s kind of on you then
This headline is just pure clickbait. It should say between PS5 consoles. It’s a needless scare headline because most will assume it means between PS4 and PS5. Shameful PushSquare.
@Optimusprime706 Personally I have it, but I think you massively overestimate the amount of people that subscribe. Less than half of the PS4's huge install base subscribes to Plus. And that number is partially boosted by the lockdowns this year.....the natural number has been sitting close to 1/3.
That's a lot of people being left out in the cold or forced to subscribe to backup or restore their own data.... PS Plus (and Nintendo Switch Online) should be a value added service, not ransomware.
Man, Sony's decisions the last two years are godawfully stupid. I am so disappointed but not surprised. The bully is back.
@GamingFan4Lyf I rather have the USB option works way better. Its alao doesnt require me too be online too back up my saves.
well, this article was worded very poorly and can easily give the wrong impression. i think the jist of it is:
importing/exporting ps4 saves to/from ps5 via usb WORKS
exporting ps5 saves via usb DOES NOT WORK
that said, if this is a tactic to force people to upgrade to ps+ it is pretty sad. this is how nintendo handles saves on the switch and its an anti consumer pain in the ass that is guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. hopefully it is a feature that will be updated down the line along with other "must have" features missing. not being able to move ps5 install data to an external HDD for storage is also a big problem since it would alleviate needing to re-download the game(s) from scratch. sony really needs to address this soon.
Seems like a feature that would have most significance specifically at launch if anything, so it's just baffling to me. I'm not even suggesting it's a shady move designed to attract more PS Plus members, it just seems lazy and inconsiderate.
Too bad...
@Xiovanni Would you hate me if I said I already have a PS5 pre-ordered for launch day? 😬
Really Sony? REALLY?!
The PS4 in its current feature state should be the basis of the launch of a PS5, it's not that hard to build on what you ready have!
You remove a feature and expect to sell the solution through PS+ when there are millions of people who aren't subscribers?
You've done so well the last couple of years and now it's starting to look like you took a knock to the head the last few months. So many bad decisions while Microsoft are gaining so much traction. What is going on over there?
Don't get arrogant! Don't expect people to be brand loyalists while doing the bare minimum.
And at the moment it worries me that Microsoft look to be buying up the industry from right under your nose while you have yet to respond in kind, it just looks like you're sitting on your hands here.
I don't want to seem so negative but these niggles gave been on my mind for months.
@Flaming_Kaiser Why not both options? I mean, it doesn't have to be an either/or scenario.
I would love it if my external hard drives could be used for both save files and game installation. Seems odd that neither console lets you do both.
Even still, I can't think of a time when my dedicated home consoles wouldn't be connected to the internet. Granted, I live in North American suburbs where internet connectivity is about as normal and as reliable as having running water.
Now that is going backwards. Only option should not be behind a PayWall
@GamingFan4Lyf Exactly, should be both.
@Xiovanni ❤️❤️❤️
@Medic_Alert My guess? Sony has been trying to shut down save editing for many years. This allows them to do it.
@Medic_Alert Yeah I agree with a lot of the things you said; I still consider myself a Nintendo fan, but I'm willing to criticize them to Kingdom Kome (Is that the saying?).
Microsoft is the only consumer friendly of the big three, and too be fair that's mostly because gaming isn't their main way of making revenue, unlike Nintendo and Sony, but I still want Sony and Nintendo to be more like Microsoft.
So if the PS5 needs to be replaced, then you need PS+ to transfer your saves to the replacement?
The instructional videos they put out say it's possible so this is probably another instance of a a feature not available until launch day
Hopefully this will be patched soon. Just hit the arbitrary 1000 save item limit on online saves (still have 95gb space remaining😂) if everything goes on line this needs sorting out ASAP
My PS4 save backups on usb drives has been easy as i had the drives with music to play with the media player. Overall i like control of my saves with usb copies, turning off in game auto save, and selecting manually what saves i send to psn.
@GamingFan4Lyf I agree but i want the option too backup my saves the most. I had a PS3 die on me with more then two years worth of saves. And i dont have any games on a external harddisk so i would love both but i need backup saves the most.
It's honestly pretty annoying that it takes both Sony and Nintendo seemingly forever to add features their previous hardware had, to their new consoles when they launch. You'd think those things would just carry over automatically.
@godscoper Well, Sony cares. Every major PS4 patch included new ways to try and stop save editing. They don’t want their garden walled MP environment messed up by people using cheats. Now, I’ve been using cheats since the various Game Genie, the various Game Sharks, and now the various Save Wizards. I’m bummed that on PS5 I won’t be able to play single player games that I’ve purchased the way I choose to play them. I hope that they reverse course on this decision, which they may eventually do, according to an article I just saw on another site. Fingers crossed.
@Shepherd_Tallon nope, unfortunately it's still the same and it's never going away, it's there to gate your save data to a subscription service, it's very anti consumer and wrong!
@get2sammyb
We are still waiting...
@Optimusprime706
Well someone has never played a game where you only get one save slot...
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