When Microsoft announced that Xbox Series X users would be able to use their Xbox One controllers for the new system, everyone naturally assumed that their chief rival, Sony, would be following suit for the upcoming PlayStation 5.
That does not seem to be the case.
There will be some limited support for PlayStation 4 controllers on the PlayStation 5, but it’s far from universal.
Some officially licensed gear such as racing wheels, flight sticks, and arcade sticks will work with PlayStation 5 games and all supported PlayStation 4 games. It was also confirmed that Platinum and Gold headsets that connect through a USB port or audio jack will also work. Third party headsets should also work similarly.
DualShock 4 wireless controllers and officially licensed third-party game pads will still work, but only for supported PlayStation 4 titles. That means your PlayStation 4 controller will still work if you’re playing a PlayStation 4 game, but it’s not going to work on any PlayStation 5 games.
VR specific controllers like the PS Move and VR Aim will work with the PlayStation 5 for supported VR titles.
“Please note, not all PlayStation officially licensed or third-party peripherals/accessories may work on PlayStation 5,” Sony said. However, they offered no specifics as to which peripherals and accessories they were referring to.
Its fascinating how in almost every console generation, Sony and Microsoft seem to trade off on who “gets it.”
Sony won the first console war, when the PlayStation 2 went up against the original Xbox. Microsoft was new to the game and the PlayStation 2 is the single most successful console of all time.
When the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were about to be released, Sony came out with a laughable $600 price, while Microsoft and the Nintendo’s Wii were much more moderately priced. You could buy a Wii and a 360 for less than the PlayStation 3 and still have money left over for games.
Then, when the Xbox One debuted against the PlayStation 4, it seemed like the two companies had swapped brains when it came to connecting with what gamers want.
Microsoft debuted the Xbox One at E3, but barely focused on gaming. Instead, they talked at length about the Xbox as an all-in-one entertainment center, where users could watch TV, listen to music, play games, and more, all with voice activated Kinect functionality.
Sony talked about gaming.
While Microsoft tried to right the ship in later years, abandoning their “Star Trek Living Room” approach for a more game-centric focus, they never recovered from that original miscalculation.
Now, as we head into a new console generation, it seems like Microsoft is once again more in touch with gamer motivations. The Xbox Series X is fully backwards compatible back to the original Xbox, you can use your old controllers, and you can stream Xbox games to your PC.
Sony’s backwards compatibility begins and ends with certain PlayStation 4 titles and classic gear compatibility is limited.
