UPDATE (2:45pm EST): We’re aware of the confusion concerning Cerny’s discussion of backwards compatibility. Some online are suggesting he specifically referred to “boost mode” when making note of the top 100 PS4 games. However, this simply does not appear to be the case. A PlayStation Blog post from Senior VP of Platform Planning & Management, Hideaki Nishino, notes the following,
…we’re excited to confirm that the backwards compatibility features are working well. We recently took a look at the top 100 PS4 titles as ranked by play time, and we’re expecting almost all of them to be playable at launch on PS5. With more than 4000 games published on PS4, we will continue the testing process and expand backwards compatibility coverage over time.
Nishino’s statement implies what we initially reported–about 100 PS4 titles will be backwards compatible at PS5’s launch, while Sony aims to add to the catalogue as time goes on. Clearly, uncertainty pervades this part of the PS5 discussion. We’ll be sure to update our readers as soon as Sony issues a clarification.
ORIGINAL STORY: During his PlayStation 5 talk, Lead System Architect Mark Cerny confirmed a few simple details about backwards compatibility. Most notably, “almost” all of the top 100 PlayStation 4 games will be backwards compatible on PlayStation 5 at launch. According to Cerny, those top 100 games were chosen based on play time alone.
Sony has yet to confirm the exact number of games that will work in this manner. The corporation also remains silent on which games specifically will be backwards compatible. Such news is bound to surface closer to the PlayStation 5’s holiday 2020 launch.
Cerny went on to explain that the PS5 runs far too fast for some PS4 experiences; thus, backwards compatible PS4 games will necessitate plenty of adjustments. As a consequence, decisions on this front will have to be made on a case by case basis.
Naturally, this additionally raises question about the possibilities of backwards compatibility with regards to PlayStation’s other legacy consoles. At the time of writing, rumors concerning PS1, PS2, and PS3 functionality remain merely that–rumors.
Cerny’s discussion focused solely on the PlayStation 5’s internals and architecture, meaning tech talk dominated the discussion. However, it’s worth remembering that this particular presentation was originally designed with Game Developers Conference (GDC) in mind. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO and President Jim Ryan confirmed as much when introducing Cerny at the start of this morning’s PS5 presentation.
Unfortunately, it is unknown when exactly Sony intends to share further details, such as the console’s design, the DualShock 5, and the overall price of the hardware.
[Source via Shinobi602 on Twitter]
