PS5 Backwards Compatibility: Sony Explains How It Works
Paolo Sirio
In a recently updated patent, Sony has shared more intel about the way it plans on making PS4 games compatible with PS5. Backwards compatibility is a huge step forward for the company moving to the next generation console, and something that will instantly make it different from PlayStation 4.
The steps are very simple. First comes the tracking of performances of the original game on the hardware it was originally meant to be played. So, a PS4 game is run on the PlayStation 4 hardware, in order to understand how it should work by design.
Second, comes the game in question being played on PlayStation 5. This is, of course, aiming to see how the new console handles the game and how different performances from the first step are; the target in the first place is to have it running the same way on both the consoles.
Finally, and this is the most interesting piece of the patent, there’s the opportunity for Sony to take advantage of the new hardware and make performance better on PS5 in comparison with the original release. Testing on this will be conducted until the game breaks, which means that the engineering team will push as far as it is possible.
This is something that is already happening on Xbox One and Xbox One X, but it’s good to learn that the Japanese platform owner plans on doing the same on PlayStation, since we didn’t know whether backwards compatibility would’ve been done right away or with some “magic” from the engineering team.
Recently, Rainbow Six Siege brand director has said that the game will be moved onto the next generation and that, instead of new copy, they could simply take advantage of BC; in doing so, they’d be careful of having the same performance between the two platforms. It’ll be interesting to see how it’ll work in such cases.
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