PlayStation 5 will offer backwards compatibility but unlike the Xbox Series X, their library will not span across generations.
It was previously touched on that the PlayStation 5 would only go as far back as PS4, a point that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan drove home during a recent interview.
Speaking with Famitsu, Ryan clarified that the PlayStation 5 will offer backwards compatibility but the focus on that will be for the PS4 generation, not the eras before that.
The reasoning for this, according to Ryan, is that the focus for developing the PS5 remained on its new technologies, especially concerning the system’s SSD. It was because of this primary objective that Sony says it couldn’t make older titles fully functional on the newest console.
According to the CEO, “We keep in mind the engineering specialized for the PS5, as we produced the device. In the midst of that, the PS4 already has 100 million players; we thought they ought to want to play PS4 titles on the PS5 as well indeed, so we included compatibility with the PS4. While implementing that, we also focused our efforts on taking in the high-speed SSD and the new controller DualSense at the same time. So, unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the implementation of such compatibilities.”
While this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the limited backwards compatibility, with the first time being back in August due to a Sony Austrialian support site, this statement does clarify confusion regarding what will be available for PS5 players when looking back at previous generations.
Xbox’s own backwards compatibility currently features Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, though the latter is a much smaller list due to optimization constraints.
[Source: Famitsu via Siliconera]