It appears that more evidence has been found that supports the idea that the PS5 will have backwards compatibility with other devices.
It’s great news for PS4 gamers but it also raises the question of how a new feature like this could affect the price of the new gaming machine, expected to be announced in 2020.
Fans believe they have found another patent filed by Sony PlayStation that supports the theory that the PS5 release date announcement will also include news of backwards compatibility with the PS4.
Earlier this month saw a new patent discovered that was registered under Mark Cerny’s name, a key member of the PlayStation 4 development team.
And now another has been found which appears to be a continuation, this time mentioning Backwards Compatibility (via GearNuke).
The title of the newly found patent reads: “Simulation of legacy bus operation for backward compatibility” and looks to emulate the communications of legacy systems.
According to an excerpt from the new patent posted online: “In order to deal with a problem caused by a bus operation difference when executing a legacy application with a new device, a new device emulates the bus operation of the legacy device and executes the legacy application You can adjust the bus performance when you do.
No legacy systems are named, so it’s hard to work out if this is something to be used with consoles that predate the PS4, or include the most recent Sony system.
It should also be noted that patents such as these get filed by companies all the time and are not always used.
But with the fan support of such a BC feature being introduced and now more evidence that the process now exists for Sony consoles, it seems things are looking up.
The only question is how this might affect the price point of the PlayStation 5?
Sony already has services that look to monetise old games, such as PlayStation Now.
It’s fair to say that this could be expanded to feature something different, perhaps offering fans the chance to play PS5 games without a console, an unlikely prospect.
Or perhaps Sony is hoping to make games from the PS3 era backwards compatibility while keeping PS4 games exclusive to PS Now?
If Sony were to offer fully-fledged PS4 backwards compatibility for the PlayStation 5, would they need to reflect that in the price of the new system?
It would be a question of whether Sony would be looking at taking a loss in some areas so that they could resecure the console market top spot for themselves.
Some analysts and industry experts are already trying to guess just how Sony will price their new console.
Ace Research Institute Analyst Hideki Yasuda – via Gamingbolt – believes the PS5 will have a late 2020 release date and will cost less than $500, or at least on par with the PS4 at launch.
The price is particularly interesting because it reflects what’s under the hood of the new system.
If Sony wants to ensure the PS5 is more powerful than the next Xbox, then it will need to spend more money on the best parts.
A sub-$500 price point suggests that the PlayStation 5 won’t be quite the powerhouse we’re hoping for.
Either that or Sony is prepared to make a loss on the console, knowing that its games and services will cover the costs.