PlayStation 5's Limited Backwards Compatibility is Disappointing

Gamerheadquarters; "With the full specs reveal of the PlayStation 5, details on the backwards compatibility were also revealed and honestly they are rather disappointing."

[NecrumOddBoy]

This was about the technology. Cerny didn't say what was or wasn't coming nor was it about BC; it was about how SSD is associated with PS4 games played on PS5. I really am shocked that the gaming media decided this next generation was Playstation's turn to be sh*t in and lied about.

[darthv72]

I was at least hoping he would address PS1 compatibility with all the digital games currently on the store. I know I hate having to use my PS3 to play some of those games but I gotta do what I gotta do. To have the PS5 offer up similar upscaling to PS1 what the X does with og games... that would have been flippen sweet.

[L7CHAPEL]

Well I think it would have suited them better to have someone else present as well, to talk about the gaming side as far as giving some answers about backwards compatibility,
is it only going to be the PS4?
if so go ahead and say it, let your people know ahead of time.
they've got all the momentum in the world behind them, (100 million units plus)
If you're not going to have PS3 PS2 PS1 it be a good time to bring it up,
Maybe they're saving it for a big blow out, but it seems odd that they would only mention what was pretty much a given, as far as most PS4 games being backwards compatible.
People want to know about PS2 and in particular PS3.
I think that's the Biggie...

[Nitrowolf2]

I mean, the whole PS4 library won't even be supported, how in the world do you expect to see PS, PS2, and PS1 emulation if the system can't even handle all the games from the same family?

I think it was pretty clear it won't have them, i get it wasn't a fuill blown reveal so it could still happen, but he worded it as if AMD was working mostly to get this solution running for PS4/PS5 and that they weren't gonna go the route of adding the chipset to the PS5 baord like they did with the PS3

[Imalwaysright]

You have got to be joking. At this point even a toaster would be able to run PS1 and PS2 emulators.

[NealGamby]

@imalwaysright

Then play on a toaster and quit your whining.

[scofios]

The whole ps5 is diappoitment .

[NealGamby]

Not as disappointing as your spelling.

[TKCMuzzer]

You were probably so impressed with yourself at trying to be funny you forgot to check what you had typed. Whats even worse is that a red line would have appeared under the word and yet you still missed it.

[crazyCoconuts]

Right, I'm guessing Cerny is just being honest about the reality of how backwards compatibility works. MS I'm sure has the same situation but it's glossing over the details for PR. Games need to be tested and configs might need to be tweaked here and there. They haven't announced anything with PS3 compat yet, so everyone should hold off on judging yet...

[neutralgamer1992]

What's people don't understand is this was supposed to be a game developer conference kind of presentation it was not meant to be like a gamer's conference where the show games and talk about the futures and stuff like that

They already said more than 100 games from PlayStation 4 will be compatible with PlayStation 5 and that's at launch let's not act like when Microsoft brought backwards compatibility that every game was compatible from day one

At lunch PlayStation 5 will have more than 100 of the best PlayStation 4 games compatible with PS5 and moving forward they will add more and there will be PlayStation 3 backwards compatibility of some sorts

People need to relax

[Chumdiddy]

This is true.

That talk said very little in the way of what PS5 would or wouldn't do and the media is spitting a bunch of BS because.....I guess it's their turn?

All he said was PS4 BC was absolutely a thing and while it worked with basically every top-100 PS4 title, it'll be put to devs to make sure it's BC.

I see zero issue with that as the alternative is the wacky world of software emulation that has to be done with the older gens.

Due to architecture it should take a dev like EA. EPIC or Ubisoft all of a day to make their PS4 games perfectly BC (if it requires any work at all, as Cerny mentioned most won't). Those that do will usually only need a patch for higher clock speeds on PS5.

[TKCMuzzer]

I've never been big on BC. There are loads to download on gamepass, which I have done. They are good for 5 minutes but then I just quit and delete.
Admittedly Sony should have most of the PS4 library working on the PS5 and it would be disappointing if they don't. I imagine most will work, their tentative approach is probably to avoid backlash if they say ' all games will work' then some don't.
Outside of TLOU2, God Of War, Horizon, i'm not really sure what I would want to play through again. I also imagine these games will probably be patched to add extra features for the PS5.
I am intrigued by load times, I get easily put off by games that have long loading, made worse if you die and it loads again.
Time will tell. People do need to remember that the presentation was originally for game developers and demonstrating the new hardware features not necessarily general features of the console.
I assume us tech noobs will get a more down to earth presentation soon showing things working, a demonstration of no load times (admit it, we all want to see if this actually works)

[TreMillz]

Yawn! Xbox has been adding games to BC all generation no one complains, Sony says they'll start with 100 games at launch and add more and it's disappointing. Unpopular Opinion: small percentage of gamers care about last Gen games. Nobody is buying a PS5 to look forward to playing ps4 games.

[IRetrouk]

Please go back and watch the bc part of the presentation, the ps5 has a ps4 native mode and a ps4 pro native mode, it runs all ps4 and pro games as is at their relative performance, he then talks about a boost feature, ie running said ps4/pro games at ps5s clocks, that's where the top 100 titles come into play..still not as good as ms approach, but much better than the bull people are trying to spread.

[mechlord]

Don't fool yourself. PS5 cant even play every ps4 game from the get-go. Do you think that if it would emulate the other consoles Cerny wouldn't even say something about it?

[Aenea]

Emulation is software, PS1-3 BC can be done thru emulation on the PS5 if they want to.

It would be an OS feature, not something you talk about in a hardware deep dive which this was.
What other OS features have we seen? PS5 has no share option anymore people, Cerny did not talk about that so it's not in there, what a shame! /s

So assuming already that it won't be there because Cerny did not mention it is rather silly.
Also the 100 PS4 games thing is ripped out of context, they tested 100 games on the PS5's BOOST MODE and most worked without issues. In PS4 and Pro modes they will work as is...

[Starman69]

No it isn't. Ps1, 2,and 3 games are crap now 😂. If u really want games for those systems, u can get a second hand console for lyk £20. Big deal!

[SlagWolf]

I was really hoping for BC from the PS1 on up. Sony has so many great classics they are sitting on that I could see my self easily spending 100s of dollars on games like Star Ocean 2, Xenogears, Legend of Legia , Breath of Fire 3 , Legend of the Dragoon, Wild Arms, The list goes on and on. There would be plenty of people who would buy these games digitally if they offered them.

[FallenAngel1984]

Extremely disappointing. I was hoping PS1-3 functionality but I knew it’d be a pipe dream, but limited PS4 titles is a big downer

[Fist4achin]

Optimistically thinking, maybe it is something they are still working on and something can come down the pike. Still have a little while and updates can be developed and released.

[darthv72]

What's really to work on. They've had a proper PS1 emulator for years. It can't really be that hard to make it work on the PS5 (it prob would even work on the 4). PS2 games have already been getting the PS4 treatment so those are on a game by game basis but I understand if PS3 is still a work in progress.

[Kavorklestein]

True. Maybe they'll figure out that they gotta start pioneering features not just 1st party IPs. MS is not messing around this time, and Sony can only go so far with 1st party. You gotta be well rounded. Ms is missing a strong 1st party. Sony is not.
BUT-
Sony is missing EVERYTHING ELSE. MS is not. Ms is King of everything else. Hands down.

[L7CHAPEL]

Part of me says that should be the case, as well.
maybe it's something they're still working on/ getting together,
and it's something that's going to be brought out further down the road.
but the other part of me says they've had eight years to do anything at all, as far as the PS3,
and that's where the big gap is,
with a lot of people:
they want the PS3 games.
PS2 ones and PS One games not so much, but a lot of people clamoring for that.
there's a lot of great PS3 games people would love to have access to, that still would look really good and play really well, just like the 360 Games do, I think not having anything available from that entire generation will hurt, maybe not so much sales, but their reputation.
everyone talks about what a genius piece of architecture that cell processor was...
They seem to forget especially in the first 2 to 3 years, it was a nightmare to develop for when they first made it, third-party developers absolutely hated it,
and now it's a problem for them, apparently, in backwards compatibility.
and I think if they'd accomplished something they would have talked about it.
Hopefully I'm wrong about that,
But at this point I just don't think so.

[ShadowWolf712]

@darth That would be software, correct? This was more about hardware features.

It's quite possible that might be in the pipeline, but that also wasn't the topic of this talk.

[pwnmaster3000]

Yeah same.. don’t really care about the specs, all I care is about the games and not having full BC is super disappointing.
I think Sony dropped the ball with the whole BC thing and it’s looking like I won’t buy PS5 at launch.

[IRetrouk]

You need to go back and rewatch the bc part of the presentation, the ps5 has the ps4 and pro logic built in, it can run all ps4/pro games in their native clocks, the top 100 comment is about boost mode, ie running those ps4/pro games at ps5 clocks.

[NealGamby]

@idiotmaster3000
Dude. Gtfoh. You’re so full of $#!+. You’re going to skip getting a PS5 because you can’t play crappy ps1, ps2 & ps3 games? I call bs. You were never going to buy one anyway, then.

[Cobra951]

PS1-2 are no big trick to emulate at full speed on modern hardware. PS3 is another matter entirely. I would have been shocked to see support for it on the PS5 out of the starting gate.

[D3athc3ll]

I might finally buy a xbox instead of Playstation.... But damn I can't just because... you know... .GOD OF WAR!!

[brrdat]

https://www.usgamer.net/art...

[I_am_Batman]

The whole presentation was about the system architecture. The PS5 has built in PS4 bc on the hardware level, which is why it was part of the presentation. If PS5 has PS1-3 compatibility it's gonna be software based emulation. This is completely unrelated to the system architecture so the fact that it wasn't mentioned in the presentation doesn't mean it won't have that feature.

I'm still optimistic that Sony is trying to achieve full PS compatibility, but man Sony needs to work on their messaging. There is so much misinformation going around after the presentation.

[ginsunuva]

They're probably waiting to make more reveals down the line.
Gotta hold back some of the surprises.

[Blu3_Berry]

Agreed. From what they told us so far for PS5, the BC is extremely disappointing to say the least especially in comparison to Microsoft's BC with Series X which offers a far more robust BC system that also patches the games to make them even better. That is really damn cool of Microsoft to do that and shows they care about players being able to play older games right now.

[isarai]

Was never a make or break feature for me, but it is a bit of a bummer. Interested to see how this advances as time goes on though.

[toddybad]

Could not give a **** about playing PS2 games on a PS5.

[PyroMessiah86]

Classics are classic forever and many are better than today's games. BC is a huge deal. Xbox do it very well and out so much time and effort into bro going games forward with patches and improvements

[TFJWM]

BC is nice but come on it is not a "huge deal".

[TKCMuzzer]

Surely if a classic is a classic forever, it can only ever be that classic if its played on the original hardware it was released on. I would assume its not just the game but the experience that makes it a classic.

[Kavorklestein]

Unless they charge you $20+ for a remaster, then you're not interested I take it?

[unjust75]

Exactly

[King_Noctis]

But you can’t argue that I’d be nice to be able to play every games from the PS1, PS2, PS3 (!), and PS4 on the PS5 console.

The PS5 would have been the ultimate gaming console.

[xander70769]

I agree, but with extra emphasis on PS4 games. Many of current gen games are going to age extremely well imo, and the idea that many may never work on PS5 is kind of ridiculous. I can understand PS1-3 taking extra work and perhaps being lower priority, but I really just can’t understand why full PS4 backwards compatibility isn’t integrated in the machine. I play a lot of niche games and it sucks knowing they might never work on PS5.

[SyntheticForm]

Am I wrong or naive for expecting exactly that?

I thought that would be the case - full backward compatibility with some added visual and technical sweeteners for old games.

[IRetrouk]

Did anyone actually watch the bc part of the presentation? The ps5 has the ps4/pro logic built into it, it can run all ps4/pro games at their respective clocks, the top 100 comment is in relation to a boost mode, ie running those games at much higher clocks....

[NealGamby]

Neither do any of these fake outrage idiots. They’re Just looking for something to rag on.

[King_Noctis]

So Sony actually have a full backward-compatibility solution in the work?

Please enlighten us with your insider knowledge wisdom, so us “idiots” would stop the “fake” outrage.

[IRetrouk]

It definitely has full ps4/pro bc, go back and watch the presentation, heres a clue on where people are getting mixed up, native modes and boost.

[MadLad]

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

[NealGamby]

Exactly. No one else does either. They’re just latching onto something so they can complain about it on the internet. Spoiled little immature brats.

[timotim]

Microsoft is outclassing them on the BC front plain and simple.

I honestly expected EVERY PS4 game to just work at least...thought that was a given.

[GaboonViper]

MS have outclassed them on everything.

[timotim]

A console worrier is going to come in a say "everything but the games"...and that person will be right. However, with XGS's 15 studios under there belt and all the talent they are grabbing lately, I'm confident they will at least be in the same ballpark this go round for sure.

[CaptainCook]

Microsoft had a dedicated team for backwards compatible that was working on Xbox 360 and Original Xbox Emulator on Xbox One, now 2 to 3 years ago they've moved onto Xbox Series X to work on backwards compatibility.

[IRetrouk]

Every ps4/pro game will work, I would say go watch the bc part but I can explain it easy enough.
The ps5 has the ps4/pro logic built into it, it can run all games at their respective clocks as is, where people are getting confused is with the boost mode, ie running said games at ps5 clocks, that's where the top 100 came into it.
Ms still have the better bc, but sonys solution is better than what most are saying.

[RazzerRedux]

Well if this is true then they need to clarify and make it clear what is going on with BC.

Geez.....the messaging from Sony is really pathetic.

[IRetrouk]

It seemed pretty clear to me to be honest, he talked about bc modes and how they are built into the system and then mentioned the boost mode along with the 100 titles comment, sonys messaging hasnt even started yet to be honest, it was a dive into the tech, nothing more or less.

[RazzerRedux]

@IRetrouk

I watched it again and you are right. The 100 titles is only for "boosted" games using higher speeds. Sheesh....more nonsense about nothing.

Sony still needs to clarify as so many had this wrong, including me.

[IRetrouk]

Fair comment man, I have noticed how many are confused as I've looked into more of the comments, I can only assume sony will be clearer in messaging once they begin the actual promo for next gen, exciting times ahead, for both sets of fans.

[TKCMuzzer]

This is the problem when you release a tech speech made for devs to the general public. I read one comment were a guy was complaining that the PS5 didn't even have VRR to support newer TV's. I did point out just because it wasn't mentioned doesnt mean its not there, this was not a console overview, it was about the new tech for devs.
And would you know it, sitting on the PS BLog is this (Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)
People will read what they want and run with it, me, I just want to see some games running.

[IRetrouk]

Agree 100% tkc

[Xavi4K]

Yeah so disappointed Ps5 wont run every ps4 over that we cannot play psx ps2 and ps3 games...

[Vx_]

I’m sure you didn’t play 100 ps4 only games... that is if you even have a ps4

[Xavi4K]

well I’m sorry to disappoint you but in total I have more than 100 games between ps3 , ps4 and vita =)

[Vx_]

So you didn’t play 100 ps4 exclusives... thx for telling

[Xavi4K]

Ps4 doesn’t have 100 exclusive that I’m interested in but my point is I own these games why not allow me to play it like your main competitor do ?!

[Vx_]

No one forcing you to jump on the ps5, I see no one complaining about the Switch!... the ps5 will have its own unique exclusives games with the privilege to play older PlayStation games.

[TeamIcoFan]

so much for x86 architecture meaning full ps4 bc.

[Cmv38]

I swear, y'all can't comprehend. It will be way more than 100 games playable at launch. But they are making sure the most popular games are working from the start.

[timotim]

I think the point that some are conveying is that why aren't they ALL just working at launch from the start???

[rainslacker]

Because there are timing issues which some games have because they're designed around the PS4's timing cycle. This was explained by Cerny as well, although in a somewhat abstract way with his Galaga example.

[ginsunuva]

Maybe some have CPU-speed-locked physics, or maybe some use the Ps4 motion controllers or accessories heavily and need to be readjusted.

[Petebloodyonion]

Then why not say that the majority of the game will work on Ps4 or about 90% of the games will work on the ps4?
The fact that Cerny mentioned that the majority of the top 100 would be playable and that each game was a case by case doesn't boost confidence.
Personally, the majority of my digital purchases consist of PSVR games, I would be really mad if I couldn't import them because the PSVR is quite a hassle to disconnect and reconnect.

[XxSPIDEYxX]

Doesn't bother me since I still use all the previous Playstations still. Saves a ton of SSD space too. It's the top 100 games at launch, more will be added over time.

[rainslacker]

Doesn't bother me either. Phat PS3 does PS1-3. PS4 I may retire if the PS5 does most games at some point. I can't say that I wouldn't want BC, as I'm a retro gamer that would probably use this more than many, but I'll be OK without. I have lots of consoles, and Sony is the first company that tried to make BC a standard, to which they found not many really cared.

[XxExacutionerxX]

Series X will have more games (Xbox Original, Xbox 360, Xbox One with 4k HDR support, and series X games) I'm going with Microsoft on this one. Microsoft is already preparing to have lots of exclusive first party games.
I didn't mind the 2 TFOLPs less than Xbox. I have alot of games over three Microsoft consoles and they all will play on Series X.
I also have a alot of games on ps3 and ps4. I bet 10 percent of those games will play on the ps5. What a letdown.

[jznrpg]

Between all of those consoles only 3 games I’ve ever went and played again. Blue Dragon Lost Odyssey and Magna Carta 2 . All 360 games .

[Gameplayer1]

How? When Xbox doesn't have any top games but 2?

[KwietStorm_BLM]

I'm just hoping it wasn't a focus today and it's still coming later, because as it is, it's not even worth mentioning. To think they would let Microsoft get so much praise for building an ecosystem moving forward, when they're the ones with such a longer and richer history in the industry..sad and inexcusable at this point.

[rainslacker]

If this was originally their presentation for GDC, I doubt this was even included in the original presentation. Devs don't need to know this stuff as its not relevant to them in the least. The graphics for that part of the presentation were different than the style of the rest of the presentation, which leads me to believe this was added in because they were making this available to the consumer. It also seemed like some things weren't explained well compared to the rest of the presentation which was well crafted for what it was.

[unjust75]

Why do people care so much about backwards compatibility? Seriously you buy new system to play next gen if you want to play old games don’t buy a new console. I didn’t buy a 4k tv to watch 720p. Complain about something else or don’t buy it. Not to mention ps1 games now look horrible

[MatrixxGT]

Well if your investing in digital media one would assume everything you Previously bought to work on the new hardware. Kinda like a PC, Galaxy, IPhone, Xbox. I mean for some that could be over $1000 worth of games no longer able to use once you buy the company’s newest model.
Sure you could just hold onto the ps4 but that really shouldn’t be needed in 2020.

[ginsunuva]

Well, technically most of your software on your phone and PC won't work after enough OS upgrades.

[Petebloodyonion]

How about the PSVR? Don't really want to have to keep a PS4 plugged just to be able to play PSVR games.
If it's half of the game it's still the same problem because is a hassle to remove from the console.

And as the game is related just remember that lots of ppl buy: remaster or retro indy games

[NeoGamer232]

So you don't have any backlog of games that you may want to play or trophies you might want to go back in on some games and get?

[uGLYmE]

They’ve done the research. People buy new systems to play new games. I’d rather Sony keeps focusing on the future instead of looking backwards like the competition.

[nevin1]

Here's a scenario:

Will you buy Last of Us 2 for PS5 even though you just bought the PS4 version?

[northpaws]

I sure that is part of the top 100 games

[King_Noctis]

You know the funny thing about your comment is, MS had actually shown their next gen games in Hellblade 2, Halo Infinite, and to a lesser extent, Project Mara. Sony on the other hand has shown zero next gen game.

[Auron]

We both know that Rare title will be next gen too
So..
xbox:4
Sony: 0

[Petebloodyonion]

Just a reminder:)
https://twitter.com/noobde/...

[XxExacutionerxX]

Just be quiet and quit defending bad decisions. You and everyother PS Fandom know that you would rip Microsoft if they pulled this Sony move.

[JimmyDM90]

I’ve seen a lot of misinformation about PS5 only being able to play 100 PS4 games at launch but that’s not what Cerny said. He said that they tested the top 100 games and that many of them worked and almost all have them will work at launch.

What does this mean for the other 1000s of games on PS4? We don’t know for sure but it seems likely that if the majority of games (hypothetically 60%) they tested worked on PS5 without any tweaks required we can extrapolate that a similar percent will likely work on PS5 at launch with no tweaks required.

[Kavorklestein]

No that is not what he said.

[JimmyDM90]

https://n4g.com/news/233381...

Yes it was

[Kavorklestein]

Sony Had to come in and clarify after the fact, but that does not mean we were told clearly in the 1st instance. You are wrong, he did not say that.
You hoped it meant more, and extrapolated. Yes you were right that more games were in the pipeline, but that doesn't change the fact that it was unclear thanks to Cerny.

[jairusmonillas]

Team Xbox always attack with misinformations. It's nothing new.

[TheGamez100]

Quite so. Only a select few at launch and no ps1-3 mentioned. Hopefully maybe down the line I guess.

[SegaSaturn669]

I'd pay for a more expensive model to play my entire library.

[Kumakai]

lol. we're going to come full circle.

ps users: "nobody plays old games"
ms: actually our data shows lots of ppl do
ps users: *hears ps5 will be backwards compatible* "man its gonna be so cool to go thru my catalog of games"
ms base "agreed!"
ps4 users: *hear its only 1 gen of partial backward compatibility* "nobody plays old games anyway"

Joking aside, real talk: I'm glad ps5 has BC. is it the BC I wanted? No. Is it better than nothing? Absolutely. I pretty much only use my ps4 pro for ps4 exclusives and I'm sure those will make it to ps5 BC. still... would have been cool to play psOne and 2 games tho cuz they aren't really offered on streaming either.

[EasilyTheBest]

It would be funny if Microsoft announced next month that the Xbox Series X will play all your PS1, PS2 & PS3 games.. This site would go into melt down.
Funny all the same..

[Ulf]

That would be the greatest day... ever.

[CaptainCook]

They would still defend Sony somehow

[Smokehouse]

Not for me. As long as it plays my PS4 library then I don’t care. I have ps2 games on PS4. Corny also said that PS4 games can play off of a regular HDD if I’m not mistaken. My current 4TB is cool for that and it won’t burden my new system. That degree of separation of PS4 and ps5 content was expected honestly. I’m getting a PS5 for the new games, it’s not a question.

Getting a new Xbox is questionable for me but they are making a strong case so far. Not the hardware as much as the services and acquisitions. It’s not a matter of “which one” for me. It’s a “do I want both right now”. I think it depends on the custom Xbox’s at launch. I waited and bought that gears of war Xbox one slim and it’s awesome looking.

[gamer7804]

ugh this is disappointing, they have some amazing first party studios but are dropping the ball with compatibility.

[Imalwaysright]

Better than nothing but I do hope that down the line they install their working PS1 and PS2 emulators and allow us to at the very least play the games that were bought from the PS store.

[Xaevi]

Except it isn't. If you find this disappointing then you must find it disappointing on the XBOX as well. Cerny explained the difference between BC with older hardware implemented and through emulation. Not all 360 games are compatible and it's taken Microsoft some time to add to the BC library, and you can expect the same with the new Xbox. Just look at the development for all emulators on PC. For as old as PS2 is, the best emulator still has issues with some games

[RookieMonsterLives]

BUT ALL XB1 games will be BC on day one on XSX...

[Kavorklestein]

Yep. AND the previous two gens of Xbox have support. Sure it's not the whole library, but it's there.

Sony: How about nearly 100 ps4 games? And no TBA for anything else?

[Ulf]

There are literally hundreds of 360 and Xbox games available as BC (AND at 4K and with HDR!), and every XB1 game is BC... the comparison is not even close. Sony dropped the ball, and then basically walked off the court.

[Xaevi]

I'm not defending them, all I'm saying is emulation takes time. MS took their time and so they're much more prepared for next gen. But just mindlessly hating on SONY doesn't do anything. Be vocal, but most here are just going full stupid instead

[BrainSyphoned]

It says they “looked”at them and most of them worked. Not that they had to work on them to get them functioning. Huge difference. Now where does it state that PS1-4 won’t work?

[arkard]

I don't understand this infatuation with playing decade old games. I buy a new console to play new games. I barely find the time to play new games, let alone stuff I have played before.

[Kavorklestein]

So you wouldn't like to play Automatically HDR enabled PS1, 2, AND 3 Games you already own?
Sony didn't announce it, and barely has the tiniest bunch of PS4 games announced. Based on the small progress they made on Ps4 titles thus far, why would they suddenly have magical Ps1, 2, and 3 support but NOT say something about it if it was an option?
Either they made a poor decision to Not announce it, or they made an even worse decision to not care about it at all.... which IS what is happening.
Don't kid yourself.

[arkard]

If you think hdr is going to make ff7 ps1 look so much more amazing, you are sorely mistaken. And no i don't care if hdr is added or I can play old games at 1k fps. Give me new games, new experiences.

[TKCMuzzer]

Its not real HDR, real HDR is designed into the process of creating the game (unless its RDR2). Software can learn but it's not real HDR, in fact it may actually ruin some games if you have it switched on.

[ginsunuva]

Lmao the game has to be designed using HDR. Can't just slap it onto anything

[TKCMuzzer]

Whats funny about the whole thing is this, all these people are moaning about not being able to play their whole PS4 library, yet they can play them now on their PS4. Yet they are all over commenting how they can't play them going forward.
That's right, you can play that catalogue of PS4 games right now.......so go , live for the now.

[beanplant]

Can I just say that the best CPUs to emulate ps3 on PC happen to be Ryzen amd. There is a good chance that ps3 bc might be possible if they decide to do it that is.

[GamingSinceForever]

Doesn’t effect most because most looking to get the PS5 will be looking for new experiences hence why we are shelling out $$$ on a new console. BC is an option but damn sure isn’t a deciding factor. Stats show that most don’t use it anyway.

[marquisray]

Sounds to me like they might just have to all pay for a remastered copy, it's worked so far for you all lol

[TKCMuzzer]

I'm getting deja vu with your comment.

[No Way]

Bummer.

[Lexreborn2]

This is the same response people had when MS announced BC and they only had 100 games available from 360. Now everyone’s praising MS about the range of (still limited) BC games on xbone which translate over to series X. And it’s all “disappointing” at least the New consoles are doing BC and have room for improvement not just through emulation but down to the very hardware components they are built on.

[NealGamby]

Omg you people are losers! Who the F cares that a brand new cutting edge console in 2020 won’t play shitty games from 25 years ago. Stop whining. If you want to play those old games, get a PS classic and stfu.

[NeoGamer232]

Ya, I would agree with you but I have a 3 HDMI ports in my TV. The first one is XBO X, second my TV provider, 3rd is hooked up to a 5 HDMI port add-on... Port 1 = PS4 Pro, Port 2 = Nintendo Switch, Port 3 = Xbox 360 (Still trying to finish some non-BC games), Port 4 = PS3, Port 5 = Nintendo Wii U... Not to mention the shelving space taken up by all those consoles.

Which port am I going to plug a XSX or PS5 into? BC reduces the number of ports I require. The better the BC, the less ports I will need.

[arkard]

They make hdmi switches for pretty cheap.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Calling people losers after going on a rant for opinions completely unrelated to you on the internet haha

[marquisray]

Why buy an old system when the new one can play all of your games you paid for? It's nice not to switch back and forth to play a game when you want to.

[AK91]

Clearly you weren’t around when MS first implemented BC it had far less games at launch and OG Xbox BC wasn’t available until years after the announcement.

[xander70769]

You can tell by comment sections everywhere that
Sony screwed up on this. BC is a huge deal to many gamers. There are lots of gamers out there who play niche titles, not just the “most popular” games. Frankly I want the PS5 to be a direct upgrade over PS4 in every way, and that’s not what we are getting.

If I get a PS5 and my PS4 dies, for some strange reason I have to consider still replacing my PS4, even though I will own a PS5 and PS4 could be out of production, all because there are games on it I’ll still want to play that won’t be available for PS5.

Furthermore, this kind of emulation usually doesn’t work 100%, even for games that technically “work.” New bugs that weren’t present on previous console rear their heads because of issues with the emulation etc. All in all this is just a poor choice by Sony, I am very disappointed and also just confused on why they decided to go this route.

[MetroidFREAK21]

The fact the full library isn't going to be supported while the next Xbox will allow you to carry over your entire Xbox One library and currently owned already BC legacy content is the main reason why I won't be upgrading to a PS5 at launch. That personally is a serious misstep in my opinion. It's not the fact I buy a new console to play older games, it's the fact that my purchases won't carry over until they decide to get it working is baffling

[Chumdiddy]

Yeah but to be fair this wasn't anything more than a talk to devs. It's them saying at this point that BC *WAS* a priority and it'll be up to them to ensure that their games are BC.

Basically, PS5 supports it and even helps with it but it'll be up to the devs to guarantee it works with their games. I see no problem with that.

What I'd like to hear when they show PS5 (likely this Summer) is that other generations are supported natively via software. It's as easy as adding any of the major open-source emulators to the PS5. It's not hard. To not at least have PS1-2 emulation at launch via software would be very lazy. PS3 I could see as a later addition as RPCS3 isn't incredibly stable on any machine at this point. It runs PS3 games but one will work perfectly while another will run at 10fps with major glitches.

Any handheld emulation would be great but unlikely to happen officially, at launch or ever.

[TheHan]

No matter the news, for a PS2 to have backward compatibility and none of their newer consoles sense hasn't. Is another reason I’ve never been as interested in the PlayStation as I’ve been for the Xbox.

[ApocalypseShadow]

It's going to be interesting what they announce for games, developers they purchased and what's going to be BC along with the PS5 "actual" showing.

[REDGUM]

I understand this was more of a technological meeting, press release and although i have no intention on buying a system to play games from a previous gen, i gotta say I'm a little disappointed. I'm certainly not tech savy but it can't be all that difficult to have an emulator/program that can run in the backround that can allow ypu to play previous gen. Even if it's not upscaled etc and jyst the exact same experience it shouldn't be that hard to accomplish.

With that said, it seems that Sony are really listening to the devs out there and making it easier to develop on thier brand which is really smart and warranted if you want to boast the games slogan.

I do haveva question for anyone who wants to answer it through.... should Sony & Microsoft release a console thos year or both postpone it till the following year?
It seems silly when you 1st think about it but the pro outweigh the cons i think.

Cheaper components, more time for developers, quality games are still on the horizon for current gen, more time to save up etc etc.

The cons, sales will be at an alltime low i recon, there are so many more important things going on in the world right now, basically the world is recession and will t ske months if not years to recover from this.
Tje scrutiny from the press if it doesn't sell well too will also deflate the release.

I dunno about your part of the world but hete in Australia we have really only skimmed the surface of the damn virus, or whatever you choose it to be, its the economic downfall whislt and afterwards that is doing tje biggest destruction here, jobs, businesses, sickness, supplys etc etc. $500 worth of toilet paper is more important at the moment than.a $500 ps5 isn't it?

Don't get me wrong, if ive got some coin left over after this aftermath then I'll probably get it, my business has to survive 1st though to be able to afford it in the 1st place.

Would be keen to know your thoughts, could you hang on one more year? Does it make sence to?

[glennhkboy]

I think this has more to do with the business model of Sony + Japanese developer then technical limitation. For years, Japanese developers rely on re-make & re-master of their games. BC will be a direct challenge to this business model.

[sampsonon]

waiting for the DF video to be posted here. Funny how tech people see the ps5 as being innovative and daring. they seem more excited about it then the SX.

Novices like this article " where is the BC? :( "

[jznrpg]

Not really . I have a PS4 pro already . I will be playing PS5 games on my PS5 99% of the time anyway

[Elda]

Personally for me I don't see it being disappointing. When I buy the PS5 I want to play new games first & foremost. I highly doubt if I'll go back & play PS4 games unless they are enhanced & they are native 4k 60fps & if so it'll be only a few that I would go back & play again. It would be nice to play the first 3 generations of PS games on your console in high resolutions & frame rates but that's why Sony has PS Now & that's something they're not concerned with at this point in time. Since Sony isn't adding full BC of all generations of their games on the PS5 hopefully they'll update PS Now to stream games in higher resolutions than 720p.

[SouljAx360]

TBF, I have a 3700x and emulation isn't a big problem. Can even play PS3 games via an emulator at full speed with some of them. I'm sure Sony, if they wanted to, could have the PS5 emulate the older generation of consoles. Emulation wasn't really possible before because of the terrible CPU, but it's definitely possible with Zen 2.

[zmeatheadz]

If people are busy playing new games they won’t care.

[Nicknasty]

Wow, im really frikin bummed. Was hoping i could get rid of my PS2, PS3 and PS4. Cant keep all these consoles, cant even hook them all up. What a damn shame!

[kayoss]

Why in the world would you want to play ps1 or ps2 games on a ps5? I understand ps3 and PS4, but ps1???

[jjb1981]

Nobody really cares about backwards compatibility before PS4. PS4 BC is all that matters at this point because of all the great games still being supported going into next gen. BC on Xbox One X is a great "perk" but I never went back to play any of the older games except the Perfect Dark remaster. Nobody I know that has an Xbox really cares much about the older games and we've been gaming for 30+ years. It's more of a bragging right for the fanboy wars. The new games are what matter. Nobody bought and SNES and whined about not being able to play NES games on one box. I think the problem is that people care about BC because they want to pawn their old system to supplement the cost of the new one. So all of a sudden it matters. Gimme a break.

[snoopgg]

As a Sony fan I can admit I am disappointed that Sony can't get 100 percent compatibility with ps4 at launch. I was going to sell my pro to offset ps5 cost, but need to keep it to possibly play my ps4 backlog.

[TKCMuzzer]

I wouldn't worry, I imagine all the games you want will work. A great opportunity for Sony to stop all the crap ones from working on the PS5. There are some games that should never grace the next gen consoles, they shouldn't have even graces this gens.

[Tesal]

BC support for top 100 PS4 games only... Is worrying

I hope they push it to support all of PS1 and PS2 old digital titles.

Sony has a heritage of games... We need the PS5 on par with or better than Xbox X series when it comes to BC compatibility

[ps5fanboy]

yeah , buy a ps5 , and all you want to do is play a ps4 games, not one of the better known titles either , what a bummer...

[akaFullMetal]

Wish it was 100 percent but at least it's there. We will just have to wait while they individually add more bc titles. At least it sounded like it would be easy to setup the configurations for other games to be added.

[kopko]

Sony has a loyal customers which have build up their playstation library since many gens now. Bringing the full BC would be really rewarding for all the fans out there, but seems like a lot of technology work would have to be done. Also, in my opinion, Sony will never go full BC, emulating those systems might mean build it up from the ground to utilize all resources. And I bet, the biggest concern is piracy. Another layer means another possible back door for the hackers. PsVita also fell to hackers hands because of the flaws in the psp emulation. They wont risk it again.

[Italiano1234567]

10% of people that play care about BC. Get over it. I always buy new consoles to play games i cant play anywhere else

[TKCMuzzer]

I think the figure is even less than that.

[SeanScythe]

I don't even think I own 100 PS4 games. The ones I do own are in the top 100 i'm sure. The others are all the free PS+ games. I still own all the old PS consoles, my kids play the old slim PS3. The PS1 & 2 are never touched and remain in storage. I can say only a hand full (Just a hand full) of the old classics would I ever want to play. Socom being the big one but no online so it's pointless.

BC doesn't need to be the full PS catalog. Give me MW, FFVII, Days Gone, GOW, Horizon, and a few others. I'm buying next gen for next gen.

[Mr_Swagtastic_]

Why is BC such a big deal. I’ve never bought a new console and wanted to bring my old games with me maybe a remaster but dont really give a shit about bc.

[Mr_Swagtastic_]

And as far as the TF count is concern what does it matter if they both are pushing 4K 60 or for me I just want 60 in general

[IRetrouk]

Did nobody listen during the bc segment?

Ps4/pro logic built into the system.

Legacy modes for ps4/pro, ie, ps5 running at ps4 or pro clock speeds.

Boost mode, ie, running said ps4/pro games at ps5s native clocks.
Top 100 games tested in boost mode.

This stuff is really easy to understand and I'm one of the least technically minded around here.

[Tesal]

I could have they made it clear at the BC segment

By saying " you can play all of your PS4 games on PS5, but if u want a boost to performance .... only 100~ of them at launch will get a boost mode to fully/almost fully use the PS5's Power.

Atm, I fear not all PS4 games will work even on legacy mode

" side thing" I really hope they will bring at least PS1/PS2 games to PS5

[Father__Merrin]

There's no Ps5 reveal yet. Articles all over the place acting as if last night developer talk was a Ps5 reveal. Can't wait for you all to eat your words come launch day

[MadLad]

A little p****d off here. Bought a number of games for the PS4, being told for a year now, PS5 was going to be BC with PS4 games, and now it's a cherry-picked handful of games that will be compatible, and maybe more down the road.

[SitRep_Critical]

im sure over time, they will integrate more backward compatibility. Relax.

[ocelot07]

I think they need to come out and address the compatibility soon. From what I took from it is PS4 games will work but some might have issues. But the top 100 games work fine and some might need a patch? A bit like the European PS3 consoles that relied on emulation. Where most worked fine but some had issues.

[Realms]

I told people to keep their expectations in check I never believed it would be fully BC all the way back to PS1. In any event Sony never promised that so to me it doesn't matter as long as they expand BC with the PS4 I'm ok with that.

[tigertron]

Their backwards compatibility reveal was very underwhelming. PS3 I can understand, but they should have ensured that PS1 and 2 games were compatible and ALL PS4 games at launch.

[blanka4545]

cool!

[REALAS]

I only wish the digital catalog could transfer. Not a big deal since most of my digital stuff is ps3 and below. I still have my ps3 and vita. Hopefully in the future.

[TheGamingArt]

Why, this honestly was expected due to architecture...

[ChunkyHD]

They'll both be x86 architecture right? No reason to not have full compatibility with the PS4.

[Vithar]

I agree somwhat as I still have old games :)
But I think they are thinking of there's streaming service. If every generations are palyable, who will get playstation now?

[soulrebel]

100 games at launch not enough? Could always play some ps5 games...

[Pyrofire95]

Why was it okay for Xbox to role out compatibility in waves but not PS?

[JayRyu]

So I guess the "No one buys a new system to play old games" argument is now totally irrelevant for Some fanboys now?

[brrdat]

I'll just leave this here.
https://www.usgamer.net/art...

gamers swear they want backwards compatibility, but the numbers don't back them up.

[Orpheo]

I do wish Mark Cerny would've talked more about backwards compatibility. I understand most people are excited for the upcoming games, but my #1 concern is backwards compatibility. I really want a box to natively stream all PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, PSP, & Vita games in my collection, and I want to continue adding to those collections both physically & digitally. With Cerny saying that MOST of the TOP 100 PS4 games will run, that obviously leaves out other PS4 games and games on other platforms become even more in question.

[HaVoK308]

Indeed it is disappointing. I’ll own both consoles. The question is, which one will I uses more.

[Father__Merrin]

Backwards compatibility has never ever been a deciding factor on what platform to purchase

[Jrios355]

I remember at one point, N4G was blabbering about how BC was a nice feature, but was not really needed. Now everyone suddenly turned their heads and say that Sony's limited BC was a poor choice?

[Imortus_san]

It's limited because it only works with patched games.

[PhoenixUp]

What’s extremely disappointing is what this may imply about the legacy of future PlayStation hardware moving forward. PS1-3 games will never be compatible with future systems and PS5 may not even be mostly compatible with PS6

This limited BC functionality speaks volumes

[SugarSoSweet]

The weaker Teraflops (9.2) are disappointing too.

[headshotfrosty]

It'll be interesting to see what MS does with games this go round. Sony is in the better position as of today with a higher install base. MS came out swinging but time will tell. Been running my 32gb DDR4 with GTX 970 on i7 board and it's butter but might just upgrade my gpu this gen for a while. I can get a solid 4k 45-60fps with high-ultra all settings on gears 5. Looks absolutely stunning.

[DirtyBollix]

Oh piss off. If you want backwards compatability so much keep your old consoles. This constant bickering over it is ridiculous

Bring on the hate.

[MadLad]

A lot of people look to trade in their old console to help fund the new one. It's been believed, for more than a year now, PS5 would be backwards compatible with PS4 games, at least.
Now we're seeing it's only BC with hand picked titles.

Compared to what MS is doing on this front, this was a very weak showing.

[leemo19]

Can't believe this subject is back, BC isn't the be all feature. If your buying a brand new console just to play old games, than why did buy the new console than. Sure its nice to play some of the games you may not of gotten to play, but isn't the purpose to play new titles taking full advantage of the new console. BC is a feature in the first month or less when your waiting for the new games, than overtime you stop using it and you forget about it, cause your playing the new games.
I just don't get peoples obsession over a new console needs BC every time. If you didn't get to play certain game on that console, that's on you, not Sony,MS, Nintendo...etc, for not playing it.

[PGRfox]

I actually loved the conference. It's too bad it went over most people's head. If you had gotten it, you would be PUMPED for PS5. It was designed to have no bottlenecks, and just be a speed demon. In some ways, it will have more power than the xbox. I also could care less about backwards compatibility , but that's just me.

[Father__Merrin]

lol hang your head in shame

[MAULxx]

“We’ve devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5,” said the VP. “We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5.”
- Sony’s Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Management Hideaki Nishino