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SIE CEO Jim Ryan Confirms PS5 Will Not Be Backward Compatible With PS1-3 Titles
posted on by Adriana Hazra
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan confirmed in an interview with Famitsu on Thursday that the PlayStation 5 console will not have backward compatibility for the PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 console games. He had revealed in an interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday that "99 percent" of PlayStation 4 games will be backward compatible with the upcoming PS5.
The CEO stated that Sony took into consideration that the PS4 currently has 100 million players, and directed resources toward adding backward compatibility of PS4 games to the PS5. He added that Sony also had to devote resources to developing a high-speed SSD and the new controller DualSense, and as a result the company could not add backward compatibility for the three previous generations of consoles to the PS5.
In similar news, the official English PlayStation account apologized on Saturday regarding the rollout of PS5 pre-orders, stating the rollout "could have been a lot smoother." Sony said it will release more PS5 consoles for pre-order over the next few days, and will make more PS5s available through the end of 2020.
The console will also have a PlayStation Plus Collection for PlayStation Plus subscribers. The collection will include PS4 games that will be playable for subscribers, with 18 titles available immediately on launch. The games include Bloodborne, Monster Hunter World, Final Fantasy XV, The Last Guardian, Persona 5, and Resident Evil VII: biohazard.
PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny stated during "The Road to PS5" livestream presentation on March 18 that "almost all" PS4 titles will be playable on the PS5 at launch. The company expects that the top 100 PS4 titles as ranked by play time will be playable. Sony also previously announced that the "overwhelming majority" of over 4,000 PS4 titles will be playable on the PS5. The company stated that backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5, which may result in higher or more stable frame rates and higher resolutions. The company has evaluated and tested hundreds of games to find issues that need adjustment, and it is planning to test thousands more before the console's launch.
The PS5 will launch on November 12 in the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. The console will launch in the rest of the world on November 19. The PS5 will retail for US$499.99, and the PS5 Digital Edition (which does not include the disc slot) will retail for US$399.99.
Sources: Famitsu (Nishikawa-kun), PlayStation's Twitter account via Siliconera
