A lack of backwards compatibility is one of the largest complaints levied against the current generation of consoles. When the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles launched, neither was capable of playing game from generations past.
Microsoft eventually addressed this issue, rolling out backwards compatibility for a number of games. The PlayStation 4, however, offered no such concession.
Of course, that’s not to call the PlayStation 4 a failure by any means. It is the second highest selling gaming console of all time and, despite eventually coming around to offer some backwards compatibility, the Xbox One was completely outsold by it.
However, as the next console generation dawns on us all, Sony might be seeking to remedy its most common complaint.
Rumor has it that the PlayStation 5 will be fully backward compatible.
That means you can play all of your PlayStation 4 games on this new device. However, it doesn’t end there. If these rumors are to be believed, gamers will play their old PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 1 games on the new console.
That’s huge and would make the PlayStation 5 the single most inclusive system to ever exist. The ability to play games from five different console generations is completely unheard of, and would certainly turn several heads.
While the PlayStation 4 had no backwards compatibility whatsoever, the PlayStation 3 had the ability to play PlayStation 1 games. However, no Sony console has ever included backwards compatibility for the PlayStation 2, which is the highest selling video game console of all time. The PlayStation 2 also played PlayStation 1 games.
Bear in mind, Sony has not confirmed this rumor yet, but the entire gaming world seems to be talking about it.
According to a YouTube user named HipHopGamer, Sony is working on a remastering engine which will allow gamers to play their older titles while also enhancing their graphics in the process.
If Sony is going to be offering PlayStation backward compatibility on the new console, it gives the PS5 a serious head start over the Xbox Series X. It could be the factor that swings momentum into Sony’s camp early in this new console war.
That advantage is in large part to the PlayStation 4’s past success. If gamers have a PlayStation 4 with a lot of games, they will likely choose the PlayStation 5 as their next console because it can play everything. And considering how dominant the PlayStation 4 has been over the Xbox One, this could create an immediate gap that Microsoft would have a hard time closing.
