Should the PS5 be backwards compatible with PS4 games?

[MrVorhees]

All my PS4 games are digital. Half of them PS+ games.
This makes me think about the PS5 and if it will be backwards compatible with PS4 games.
I want to be able to carry my PS4 digital game collection to the PS5. Being able to play PS4 games on a PS5 would be a massive advantage. I don't want my digital collection to become useless because let's face it, once you own a PS5, you barely use your PS4. At least that's what happened to the PS3 after i got a PS4. But now that digital game collections are increasing, backwards compatibility should be a priority. On a technical level, this shouldn't be a problem at all, considering PS4's hardware architecture.

What do you think? What do you want?

[Alhlan Ain Ajeeba]

Correct me if im wrong. Even the xbox one which is backwards compatible,but doesn't that apply to the discs only,and not your digital collection?

[Alhlan Ain Ajeeba]

And yes,I would love if it were backwards compatible.

[Batman90]

I think it should be there’s no excuse as to why the new console shouldn’t be able to play the past consoles games.

[Mandalorian]

Absolutely, in my opinion. My fatty PS3 of roughly 8 years just started giving me the blinking red light this summer, so I know it's on its last leg. It takes way too many tries to get it to stay on, so I boxed it and put it away. But, it's a bummer that I can't play my handful of remaining PS3 games. I don't want that to happen down the line with my PS4 games, so I hope the next console is backwards compatible. I'm not holding my breath, though.

edit: I should add, before someone brings up the obvious "buy another PS3", it's very difficult to find a brand new PS3 nowadays, let alone for a decent price, and I don't buy refurbished or used electronics.

[Galactus]

There's no reason why the PS5 can't play every PlayStation game from 1 to 4. Bite the freakin' bullet and do it and you will make a crap ton more money Sony.

We can have VR but are not able to play all past systems games? C'mon man!

[Jameswarren]

Thanks for sharing.

[BroncoBuster]

In a perfect world, the PS5 would be fully compatible with all PS1-4 discs and offer PSP and Vita games as downloads (or let you transfer downloaded games from the handhelds). With how Sony is now, however, I expect we'll probably just get PS4 games through streaming on PS Now.

[dyne]

Originally Posted by Alhlan Ain Ajeeba

Correct me if im wrong. Even the xbox one which is backwards compatible,but doesn't that apply to the discs only,and not your digital collection?

Discs and digital.

[captainsolo]

Yes 100%!
The removal of backwards compatibility is the dumbest move on Sony's part (even worse than not having UHD playback in the PS4) and alienates many fans and has all of us trying to keep old hardware going. I've had to already track down a new PS2 since my old one finally died simply to play my handful of cherished games that aren't available on any other platform. And of course I've gone through PS3s already until finally getting a good slim that is still my workhorse and used as my regular BD player since the PS4 is much more cumbersome and IMO less efficient for playback.
Microsoft has gained much ground by providing compatibility updates and striving to at least add more titles back on a consistent basis on each platform.

[x7q3]

PS5 should be able to play all PlayStation games, rather from PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, etc. And it should sell all PlayStation games ever made on its online service as digital downloads.

Too many good games are gone, and too much money is wasted on the customer's part, if they can't play their old games.

I have a ton of Xbox 360 games that I could not imagine getting rid of. I could not imagine not playing them ever again.

The PlayStation brand has games like the Metal Gear Solid series, Twisted Metal series, Resident Evil series, Grand Theft Auto series, Silent Hill series, etc, people should be able to play these forever.

[SethRex]

A friend told me that he heard that the intention is for PS5 to be able to play ALL generations. If that's the case, that's great.

[tigertron]

I can't see why the PS5 wouldn't be backwards compatible with PS1/2/4 games if they keep the same sort of architecture as the PS4.

The reason why we don't have BC on the PS4 is because of the Cell's architecture in the PS3. Sony probably doesn't consider it cost effective to come up with some sort of emulator like what the XB1 does with 360 games.

[NARMAK]

X86 = NO EXCUSES SONY!

Sick of hearing stupid 'technical barriers' as an excuse to nickel and dime. They need to let fsns play older game and stay invested in their platforms.

[Canada]

Every disc/digital download console should be backwards compatible.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

X86 = NO EXCUSES SONY!

Sick of hearing stupid 'technical barriers' as an excuse to nickel and dime. They need to let fsns play older game and stay invested in their platforms.

This right here! If the PS5 uses AMD processors like the PS4, it should at the very least be 1 generation BC, if not more.

I'd be okay with: BC with PS4 straight out of the box, with resolution and frame rate boosts similar to but more effective than that of a Pro PS4, and Optional BC with PS1-2-3 via a "Retro Card" containing a PS3 and outward facing controller and memory card ports for PS1-2. To do this, the PS5 board would need an expansion slot, but I don't think an empty slot would add much to the price.

[Wingman1977]

It's not going to happen because of 1 reason:





Playstation Now.

[dyne]

If there's no back compat on PS5 I'll be waiting on a price drop unless there's an absolutely killer exclusive I must have.

[CrowKiller]

It damn better well be. Pro is for ps4, but not a full gen leap. I can kind of understand why ps3 isn't with ps4, but there's literally no reason why ps2 and ps1 shouldn't be, at the very least the stuff that's still available digitally for ps3. Sony even admitted that ps3 emulation was technically possible in ps4, but it would be a massive and costly undertaking and felt it wasn't worth the cost and effort vs interest. Orginally stating it wasn't possible. Most likely the real reason is to try to get more people on PS Now.

Between all these companies holding back their classics, and the growing debate of roms/ISOs, I have nothing against anyone "bootlegging" an older game no longer avalible to buy at a decent price in any form. Buying from eBay or second hand shops aren't putting money in the pockets of the creators. If I want something and a company doesn't want my money.... who's fault is that?

So many classics just rotting away unless you jailbreak and "illegally" put them on your system to get true backwards compatibly. Hell, the damn ps4 has a ps2 emulator just sitting on it, basically just rotting there. So stupid.

[partridge]

I hope it will be, the more PC architecture on the PS4 suggests it should be possible. But, even if it isn't I'll still be picking one up on day one. A new console is about new games and a new generation of graphics and interactive experiences.