Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 5 will be backwards compatible with PlayStation 4 games, but that's all we know right now. Rumours have been swirling for months that the next-gen console -- set to launch later this year -- will also be able to play old PS3, PS2, and PSone titles as well, but there's very little evidence to solidify these whispers.
And so, we're here to ask you: how much does backwards compatibility really matter? If the PS5 can't run older PlayStation games, would you still buy the system? Vote in our polls, and then feed us an honest opinion in the comments section below.
Do you care about playing old games on your new console? (18,749 votes)
Yes, all consoles should have full backwards compatibility62%
Yeah, I like going back to older games on my new console25%
Backwards compatibility is nice to have, but I don't really care11%
Nah, I'd rather just play new games1%
No, I don't give a damn about playing old games2%
Would you still buy a PS5 if it was only backwards compatible with PS4 games? (13,469 votes)
Yes, of course I'd still buy it30%
Yeah, I'd be fine playing just PS5 and PS4 games17%
I'd be disappointed, but I'd still buy a PS538%
No, I won't buy a PS5 without full backwards compatibility14%
Robert (or Rob if you're lazy) has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, he's played 'em all — a little too much, some might say.
I don’t think it would influence me on whether I buy one, more like when. Rarely does a new console ever release with a game I definitely have to play and it could be 1-2 years before I decide to buy (4 years for the PS4). But if it had full backwards compatibility, I’d seriously consider a Day 1 buy just to clear up some of the consoles beneath the telly as there are still plenty of PS1/2/3 games I like to play.
Matters for ps4 for me but anything before that not really. Probably won't be seeking out old ps1/2 games, perhaps a handful if they're on the ps store. Too many new games coming out that I don't have time for but want to play. Though I know it's important to some people so hopefully the rumors end up true for those folks.
Backwards compatibility is important to me, but not enough to sway me not to buy a console.
I can totally understand not having capabilities to play pre-PS4 physical discs on PS5, but I don't think there is any excuse to not bring back the PSOne and PS2 Classics on PSN.
It's a nice selling point to people who heavily invested in the previous generation but don't want to have all the clutter of collecting consoles. TV's and A/V Receivers only have so many Inputs.
I think this is a classic case of "guess we can't re-seal that can of worms now" for Sony, and they'll be working hard to implement it because of the strength and passion behind these inescapable rumours (if not at launch, then at some early point of the PS5's life cycle).
I don't see us buying a PS5 until a year after release, but if it somehow could miraculously play all of the PS2 discs that I have, (but no PS2) I'd be mighty tempted at launch. Stupid trade-in.
I'd definitely be interested if the PS5 has backward compatibility with all 4 previous PlayStation generations, but it's not a make or break for me. I'd like to replay some games I had on PS1 and PS2. I never had a PS3, so there are some games that were never remastered for PS4 that I'd like to try out. The main draw of PS5 for me is the anticipated leap in graphical fidelity over what we have now.
Backwards compatibility is a feature people like to have more than they like to use. It's nice to have the peace of mind that you can play all your games on one device, but more often than not, I'm willing to pay a little extra for an remade or enhanced version of them.
Backwards compatibility would very much help encourage me to grab a PS5. However, it's not the most important thing for me. Factories such as cost and new exclusives are the the most important things for me.
I don't really buy consoles at launch. I'm still gonna get PS5 whenever I can afford it, but if it has PS4 BC, then I'm going to try a little harder to get it earlier so I can smoothly transition my PS4 backlog to ps5 while waiting for next gen only games to pop up.
If it has BC all the way to ps1, which I still very much doubt. Then it's a must buy day 1 for me lol.
Already had the chance to play those games for the last 7/15/20 years... if they're still in my backlog then I guess I'm never getting round to them. Chances are, if I fork out for a day one console then I'm playing ps5 games and never looking back. Only thing I'd go back to play is bloodborne, but I won't need that seeing as I'll be on demon souls remake day one 😀
While it would be awesome to play, and I have a massive PS collection, on my PS5 it's not a deal or no deal situation, PS5 is still a day one, would be cool though to boot up the old Bloody Roar for some old skool fun.
PS4 back-compatibility is a must (I just don’t have the room for a third PlayStation under my tv!). PS3 would be wonderful but I’m pretty much convinced that’s a no. Not bothered about PS2 or PS1 b/c as any PS1 I can play on my PS3 and I’m not bothered about PS2 games as I don’t have any.
It'd be a bigger draw for me, although I still own my PS2, so I don't really NEED it as a feature for anything other than my PS4 games. It's always nice to have at the start of a generation.
I'm more concerned about features and games for the next-gen device, though. That is ULTIMATELY why I'll be upgrading, after all.
It's not a deal breaker however BC is and would be a great feature.
Given the size of the ps4 Pro it means no clutter and unplugging etc when you want to go back to earlier games. Thankfully with the architecture standardising somewhat then it shouldn't be a problem going forward.
I understand the ps3 is hard and potentially impossible to emulate at this time due to the architecture and power required to accurately emulate but there's no real reason why we can't play ps1, 2, 4 and 5 on the new system.
Thats why we buy in the ecosystem for a bit of continuity and familiarity.
The biggest thing here is support. The likelihood that people still own PS1 games is fairly small. I consider myself to be a pretty big Sony fan, but my PS1 collection is fairly small.
But if they are able to emulate these games and sell them at an acceptable price (like 20 games for $10) - backward compatibility will be much more worthy of being called a selling point. If it is only available for those who have the discs still, I don't think it actually matters much.
For me personally I'm not too bothered if it has it. I'm personally more concerned with what the new games on the system will be like.
However, if they did pull it off, I think that would be good for the console. It would certainly grab headlines and would certainly make the system more appealing.
If it has backwards compatibility I will pass on my PS4 pro to someone who would appreciate it. If not then my PS4 will continue alongside the PlayStation 5 to allow me to play PlayStation 4 games.
BC is pivotal for early adoption, but pointless 2+ years in and even then it's only helpful for the previous generation. As someone who went all digital in the last two years I'd love to be able to access those titles on the newer hardware, but since I also have 2 PS4s and don't ever get rid of my old consoles (PS3 is boxed up in the closet for example), I find it not being used most of the time. What I really want is to be able to finally access my PS3 digital content on PS5, as the PS3 is rather... Weighty... When it comes to operation. Running through the MGS Legacy or Mass Effect/Dead Space trilogy again would be great, if I didn't have to struggle with the OS.
At the end of the day though, I'm buying new hardware for new games and sometimes older games are best left in the past no matter how good they are/were.
That depends. I would of been fine with PS4 compatibility, although 1, 2 and 3 would be brilliant. However, if there is any weight to the idea that Sony plan on releasing first-party exclusives on to PC a few years after they launch, then the PS5 would need to be compatible with PS1-4 including disc support for me to seriously want to buy it. Unfortunately, I do not know how feasible this is.
Only PS4 backwards compatibility matters to me of course it would be cool and a nice bonus for full backwards compatibility but not essential, I just hope some recent PS4 games will get enhanced for ps5 with higher FPS and resolution but that would also be a bonus not essential.
I feel how Sony vaguely announced this and have said nothing since is setting themselves up for a PR failure here, I really want ps3 compatibility as there are some great games on the system but at this point if it isn’t compatible with C64 people will be disappointed
PS5 has two things that will get me to be a buyer. Amazing exclusive launch titles that won't go to PC, or full backwards compatibility. I love my old PS2 and PS3 systems but I'd be fine cutting down on that shelf space they take up too.
The older I get, the more I realize that BC is probably my #1 feature. I still have my older consoles, but the ease of just sticking a ps2 game into a new system that’s already set up is very desirable.
I have a PS2 for PS1/2 games, so if it can play PS3/4 atleast, it will definitely be a day 1 purchase(especially if it can play all 5 generations). With that being said would BC take away from better graphics from ps5 games? I assume not but I'm not sure if were sacrificing anything for it?
Voting shows that plenty of people don’t comment but want full BC. Don’t let the loud few that constantly comment fool you that BC doesn’t matter to people - it matters greatly to many.
I think it'd be awesome if it was fully backward compatible, but I don't care either way. It's definitely fun to go back and play old games sometimes, but for me I know I wouldn't use it that often for playing them and would pretty much only play the new stuff that comes out. Totally can see why many people want it though.
I really don't care about ps5 at this point anyway. Sony's treatment to the loyal fans just made me switch to Nintendo. Exclusives heading to pc and other platforms there is no need to even purchase a ps5. Sony will fail next generation..
I think this next generation BC matters the most to me since deep down I know physical games are dead now (thanks to excessive DLC season passes and day 1 patches) so digital it's the best way to go, so I becoming really picky on what game I buy now, this is the generation that I bought the least amount of games because I don't feel like I own them like I do with PS1 or PS2 so if I'm buying digital I rather go PC and PS now
It matters for ps4 games for me but not for anything else. I dont own any ps1 ps2 or ps3 games anymore and i really dont believe people would care if the ps5 isnt fully backwards compatable with those systems.
Not sure how much I would use it, but I still have all of my games from ps1-ps4, so it would be kind of awesome to be able to throw any disc into the new console whenever I wanted too.
@keihtg I recently moved and with the increased space I have, I have an entire cabinet for consoles haha. Top shelf is PS1/2/3/4/mini and Vita (really annoys me that when standing up the PS4 faces the opposite way as the 2 and 3)
Then I filled up the other shelves with the XBONE, GC, Wii, SNES and a crap ton of controllers....there’s way too much sitting there!!
I've never understood the necessity of backwards compatibility for old console games. I don't understand why I would purchase a new gen console just to play old games. This is why you don't throw away old consoles. You keep them for a collection and for when you want to go back and play old games. I've kept them all, from ps1 to n64, ps2, ps3 etc. Why am I purchasing a brand new console to play old games on? Dosen't make sense to me
It'd be lovely if PS5 had PS4 backwards compatibility and upgraded all PS4 games into PS5-enhanced. It'd be an early adopter just so I could continue playing my ps4 games. However if it wasn't backwards compatible I'd probably wait a year or two before purchasing one this time around. I have too many games and just not enough time
I have all the consoles, from the PS to the Pro all lined up and connected, so for me it's no issue either way. I seriously wonder how many people are going to be digging out those older games though.
I’m quite surprised how many people consider it a vital feature (currently over half of voters). I must be in the minority that pretty much just needs new games from a new consoles. So many good games come out I very rarely have time to go back and play old games. I brought a SNES mini but I’ve yet to take it out of the box.
Ideally...a modern day version of the PS3/4 combined, has all physical and digital options there to cater for all tastes. Wouldn't even mind if you had to pay a bit extra to access physical media capabilities.
i like playing some 360 games on my xbox x. but i think we arent going see the great leaps between generations as we once did so I think its more important now.
Doesnt bother me too much, all my gen-7 games were on 360 anyway so I will play them on Series X anyway. As long as it plays the ps4 games I have, then I will be happy.
I'm not bothered about it playing PS4 games as I wont be wasting the hard drive space on them but PS1 and PS2 games would be a huge selling point for me
Well.. If I can't play all my ps4 games on the ps5. Then I won't buy a ps5 before I am done with my ps4 games. And I won't buy any ps4 games you can play on ps5
I have such a large backlog to see me through another year or two. So between sales etc i dont need to buy a ps5 day one.
However if it has backwards compatibility a day one purchase could be worth it, i dont own a ps4 pro so I could finally utilise my 4k tv and still paly old ps4 games.
If it had ps3 then it will definitely be a day one purchase.
I'm interested if the PS4 BC will be equivalent to PS4 Pro boost mode, or will it be PS5 boost mode, to improve frame rate for example. Has anyone heard anything from their little birds?
I never really understood this. Adding in backwwrsa compatibility in previous generations almost always meant tacking on a handsome sum to the overall cost of the new console. I would much rather not have it and keep the price down. You can always grab an older/used console at your local flea market or pawn shop for fairly cheap and play those games the way they were designed to be played....not emulated onto a new system with wonky controller schemes and color bleed. UGH
A good amount of yes votes. But probably none of those people will skip PS5 if it has no BC whatsoever. Anyway, it’s unimportant to me personally. If it’s there I might use it. If not, no biggie. I’ve only played one game using the BC feature on a console: God Of War II. I played it on my PS3 way back when. Outside of that I’ve never bothered with BC.
I've got a preference for new games, but my ps4 library is extensive. Bc is the difference between early purchase and a mid gen purchase. As it stands, theres nothing that stands out as a killer app must purchase for ps5
This would offer more sales if the console played all previous ps games. I dont mind if I could just play ps4 as I dont mind digging out all of my old consoles just nice to have those memories of the actual console being played on not just the games themself, also the controllers, I still own an original ps1 controller before the dualshock came into play no analog sticks and still works amazingly well so to use that just still brings back alot of great things I dont know if I'd like using a ds5 for a ps1 game which would feel different but there is always room to adapt or change to prefer it.
I’m getting a ps5 regardless and just PS4 BC is going to be awesome enough. BUT- the mere thoughts of playing psone, 2 & 3 games on ps5 makes my palms all sweaty!! 🤣🤣
I'd still buy the PS5 without ANY Back compatibility as I will still have my PS4 Pro anyway. BC only really matters to me if the old games benefit from the newer hardware - ie run at a locked frame rate and don't drop in resolution as a bare minimum.
I see little point in playing games that look and/or run just like they did on the original hardware. I rarely go back to old games unless I have a good reason to - better performance and/or visual quality is a good reason. I buy remasters for that reason too...
@JohnnyShoulder lol If you’re being serious just grab all 3 Atari flashback discs and you’re golden..yea they don’t have the Activision 2600 games on them but at least it has all the original Atari Arcade games! Then you can run them on PS5. 👍😊
As long I can play in ps5 the games in my ps4 backlog I will buy it day one. If not, I'm just gonna wait, but I will buy it for sure. Dont care about other generations.
Given recent events, I expect going forward that PlayStation 'exclusives' will be on PC, so full backwards compatibility will be the difference between me getting or not getting a PS5. If I can't play all generations of PS games on it, I'll just stick to PS4 and get a PC for the future PS5 and Xbox Series X games. Done spending large amounts of money for multiple consoles (which are outdated on launch these days anyway) when for a little bit more I can get far superior hardware and not miss anything.
I enjoy remakes much more and it gives me a reason to replay old games. Medievil, Crash, and Ratchet & Clank are good examples. They were brought to life again by being updated! I would have never played even if free or purchased them without the update.
The main issue for me is backwards compatibility with my PSN purchases. I can't trade them in and I don't want to keep the PS4 plugged in just to replay some of my favourites.
@Stocksy actually it's the other way around. The loud are the ones who frequent gaming sites. The average ps owner, couldn't care less about it. The more time you spend on forums, the more you lose touch with reality.
@Creative_Native - if you was a game collector with a huge game collection you would understand. its much better having a modern system that plays them all, than trying to keep your 30 year old ps1 alive.
I only really want PS4 & PS5 games. I don't have the time to go back and play all the older games that I missed. That said, I've always been one that buys consoles as soon as they're out, but I think I'll be happy to sit the PS5 out for a year. Buy it when they release a 2TB version or whatever the post-release update will be.
PS4: Confirmed to some degree, hopefully fully complete. Great for me because I've never owned a PS4 and it means I can skip a generation and still buy the games. PS3: would also be good as its still blu ray disks, has a good library and it's my main console right now - online services is starting to die so would be a good replacement. PS2 next to it could then cater for PS1 and PS2, but then I lose digital games (including Vandal Hearts 3) that never came out on anything else. PS2: would be great, it's dvds which presumably is still going to be playable on ps5 unless they intend to make it blu ray only. Digital ps2 games seem to be fine even though ps3's emulation of it was poor, so how hard can it be to read the same data from a disk? PS1: if it went this far back, it's a day 1 purchase, bearing in mind I've never bought a console brand new before. It's extremely unlikely as I doubt anyone is keen to bring back suitable lazers to play CD disks.
The other issue is, the more backwards compatibility, the higher the prices is going to be for games. I've had to slowly buy everything my entire life, increased demand for physical copies will destroy my attempts to buy games cheap and second hand. Oh well.
@naruball seriously look at the votes - then read comments. Comments mostly say “not interested” which I see a lot here and other places... and then the votes thousands says it’s vital. They aren’t ones posting.
Many underestimate how much people want it even if they then don’t use it much. Sales of the classic consoles proved this.
Well if the PS5 had Full disc B/C I would buy it DAY 1 for £499.99. But if it's £499.99 and hasn't got it then I would probably wait a year or so to buy the PS5 at a cheaper price. So I guess B/C is one of the things I would LOVE the PS5 to have But I can't see it having all that tho
I'm not planning on buying a PS5 unless it can do everything the PS4 can and has at least 5 games for it that I'm interested in (which is less likely that what one might imagine these days but that's a whole other rant). That said, if PS5 was fully backwards compatible I would be more likely to buy one due to convenience factors. I don't care what anyone else says; I would rather have less things plugged into my TV. It's bad enough as it is.
@Mr_Grumps I agree, I don't think i would have the time to go back to old legacy consoles anyway, ps4 bc is good enough for me, I hardly touch my ps3 as it is these days.
@Mikebloke yeah the fact that older physical games will be expensive anyway I don't think a lot of people will invest money into that, digital bc with ps3, ps2, ps1 would be OK and keep the cost down of the console.
I guess it would be OK if you have the discs already for legacy bc then that would be a different matter.
If it played my ps4 games at a higher res and framerates then maybe but I really dont care. I wanna play ps5 games in my ps5 not so much my older ps4 games that I've played already
With the digital side really ramping up this gen, PS4 backwards compatibility is a must, the rest I can take Or leave..
Played around with the PS now trial and to be fair there isn't masses I'm bothered about.. Prefer dusting off my Dreamcast or Saturn for a nostalgia hit
nice to have but not bothered about it personally. in fact, even no PS4 BC wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. i'm not overly bothered about playing PS4 games again, and i have no backlog, don't really buy much stuff on psn, and i won't be getting rid of my PS4 pro anyway. i never had a PS1 or PS2, and just can't see me wanting to play games from those unless they were completely remade (not just remastered) for PS5. i have a lot PS3 games (far more than I do for PS4) so i'd find BC for that far more attractive, but unless it was improving performance of those games, i probably wouldn't use it much either. i still don't think it's at all possible that sony will be able to do PS3 backwards compatibility through emulation.. though the gaikai solution they have for PS3 games on PSNow is probably not sustainable for the long term.
As much as I’d love to go back to all the amazing PS1-3 games I loved back in the day, my time is just too limited. I’d much rather spend my gaming time on new experiences with current technology. But I totally get why people want it so bad. And I definitely wouldn’t mind replaying Xenogears 👍🏼
@Stocksy first of all, the psmini didn't do well, so it doesn't prove anything. People buy things for all sorts of reasons, in many cases because it's a trend, hence why the nes mini did so well. Plus Ninty fans buy Ninty products like crazy. But just like wii, it was a console that did well at launch and the constant shortages made people feel like they should have one. It doesn't prove people want BC. If you really want to know if people are interested, you should ask the millions who simply buy consoles to play GTA, COD or Fifa. You could also keep in mind that Ps4 offered no BC (not even with ps1 games, unlike ps3) and did incredibly well. Most people don't care.
Second, (and I'm trying not to laugh here), are you saying that people who voted here don't visit gaming sites? What even...?
It's the only reason I might get the thing. I have FAR too many unfinished or never started games for the PS. I'd like to play them on a fast system with an occasional new buy, but if I can't I'll wait till they're played. Most of them are great games I'm looking forward to playing so Im not gonna be writing them off for the newer PS5 games just yet or for a while.
Id be happy enough if we got access to all games that had been purchased through psn. If you had ps plus from early on with ps3/4 and vita then thats too many games to count for me
No intention of buying one at this stage. I have a maddening amount of titles to catch up on. I have a cheaper alternative for non PS5 exclusives and (unless theres some serious price drop and absolute must have titles) really just can't justify shelling out for yet another minutely iterative device. I am officially done. They've taken the piss one time too many. We have a better option now.
Don't think I've seen a poll on here get so many votes (currently over 14k). Find it interesting that almost a third cared enough to vote but not enough to scroll down and do the second question. Considering how many thought it definitely should have it I would be curious to see if Sony did 2 models, one with BC, one without but slightly cheaper, which would sell more.
The second poll does not have an appropriate answer for my opinions on it. I would probably buy the PS5 eventually, but maybe not at launch if it didn't have at least PS1 and PS2 BC. I've had to keep my PS2 hooked up for so much longer than I normally have old consoles because of how limited BC has been for so long. I would understand if PS3 is still too hard for them to do though.
If they have all generations, including some PSP and Vita support, then it would be a guaranteed day-1 purchase at up to $600. It would be SO nice to be able to take 4 separate consoles off my wall and replace them with a single one. Would be a great improvement for the layout of my systems. (I currently have 8 consoles on the wall, with 4 of them being Sony because they've been getting worse and worse about BC.)
not much, it would be great if PS5 played all generations of Playstation but I buy new machines to play new games not old ones. It's the reason I dont buy consoles at launch unless theres something I feel like I must play (which often there isn't) I'm happy with my current set up
I still have my PS2 and PS3 and kept them for the sole purpose of being able to play my games from those consoles.
I'm also keeping my PS4 just in case Sony changes their mind about the BC as they did early on with the PS3.
For me, it's the nostalgia that I enjoy when playing games from older consoles plus I have some PS3 and PS4 games that I haven't finished that I plan on finishing so while having BC with the PS5 would be nice, it's not a deal breaker for me.
No reason to purchase a PlayStation 5 without full backwards compatibility could just wait for 3-4 years and buy it dirt cheap since they won't invest in the older generation games to keep them alive. Just getting harder and harder to support consoles in general if they just abandon the previous generation games.
I would buy a PS5 as long as it has ps4 backward compatibility (which it does, apparently), but am not bothered about PS3 and older console games really.
I would rather have better framerates, visuals, games and compatibility with PS4 titles alone that focus on playing old games that you can play by just simply buying the older systems.
PS4 backwards compatibility is imperative. I haven't spent several thousand pounds worse of digital sales, for it all to be left on an old gen console.
I would like to have one console, and access to my library across generations moving forward, like Steam.
Older stuff prior to PS4, not so fussed, because it was still very much a physical age of media, and people can still retain their collections on disc etc, or sell them.
I'm in the minority on this one; I'm too 'stuck' in the old mindset of 'new console won't play old games' from Sony. The fuel for that is if I want to play PS4 games and own a PS4, why am I rushing out to buy some very expensive hardware to continue to play the games I already have?
To me I'm just tired of when a new sony console comes out all the games i bought from the last one are basically garbage after that. These consoles can only last for so long then when all of them are done your games are worthless after that so basically your just wasting money. Ps Now had a good idea with bring all the previous games onto there but theres no PS1 games on there like Sony said and there is only a handful of PS2 games on there and they are not adding anymore but if you buy a Xbox all previous consoles work on the Xbox one and soon Xbox Series X. I've never owned a Xbox but it is definitely looking like the better option for the next gen. Sony isn't really putting as much effort into their consoles like they should.
Comments 115
I don’t think it would influence me on whether I buy one, more like when. Rarely does a new console ever release with a game I definitely have to play and it could be 1-2 years before I decide to buy (4 years for the PS4). But if it had full backwards compatibility, I’d seriously consider a Day 1 buy just to clear up some of the consoles beneath the telly as there are still plenty of PS1/2/3 games I like to play.
Matters for ps4 for me but anything before that not really. Probably won't be seeking out old ps1/2 games, perhaps a handful if they're on the ps store. Too many new games coming out that I don't have time for but want to play. Though I know it's important to some people so hopefully the rumors end up true for those folks.
while it's a handy feature it's not a system seller for me, i keep my old consoles so i can still play any of my old games
Backwards compatibility is important to me, but not enough to sway me not to buy a console.
I can totally understand not having capabilities to play pre-PS4 physical discs on PS5, but I don't think there is any excuse to not bring back the PSOne and PS2 Classics on PSN.
It's a nice selling point to people who heavily invested in the previous generation but don't want to have all the clutter of collecting consoles. TV's and A/V Receivers only have so many Inputs.
I think this is a classic case of "guess we can't re-seal that can of worms now" for Sony, and they'll be working hard to implement it because of the strength and passion behind these inescapable rumours (if not at launch, then at some early point of the PS5's life cycle).
I don't see us buying a PS5 until a year after release, but if it somehow could miraculously play all of the PS2 discs that I have, (but no PS2) I'd be mighty tempted at launch. Stupid trade-in.
I'd definitely be interested if the PS5 has backward compatibility with all 4 previous PlayStation generations, but it's not a make or break for me. I'd like to replay some games I had on PS1 and PS2. I never had a PS3, so there are some games that were never remastered for PS4 that I'd like to try out. The main draw of PS5 for me is the anticipated leap in graphical fidelity over what we have now.
Backwards compatibility is a feature people like to have more than they like to use. It's nice to have the peace of mind that you can play all your games on one device, but more often than not, I'm willing to pay a little extra for an remade or enhanced version of them.
Backwards compatibility would very much help encourage me to grab a PS5. However, it's not the most important thing for me. Factories such as cost and new exclusives are the the most important things for me.
Total PS4 compatibility would be a must for me I'd say, since at this point I'll probably only buy a 5 if and when the 4 slopes off to silicon heaven.
If it hasn't got PS1/PS2/PS3 backwards compatibility then I'm gonna throw a tantrum and put pictures of Jim Ryan and Mark Cerny up on my dartboard.
I don't really buy consoles at launch. I'm still gonna get PS5 whenever I can afford it, but if it has PS4 BC, then I'm going to try a little harder to get it earlier so I can smoothly transition my PS4 backlog to ps5 while waiting for next gen only games to pop up.
If it has BC all the way to ps1, which I still very much doubt. Then it's a must buy day 1 for me lol.
Already had the chance to play those games for the last 7/15/20 years... if they're still in my backlog then I guess I'm never getting round to them.
Chances are, if I fork out for a day one console then I'm playing ps5 games and never looking back.
Only thing I'd go back to play is bloodborne, but I won't need that seeing as I'll be on demon souls remake day one 😀
I only care about "native" PS4 BC.
PS3/PS2/PS1 doesn't make me change my mind on buying or not buying a PS5 at all.
Full backwards compatibility would be an absolute dream for people like me.
Never even mind about PS5, I'd spend a few hundred quid on a console that could play PS1 to PS4.
While it would be awesome to play, and I have a massive PS collection, on my PS5 it's not a deal or no deal situation, PS5 is still a day one, would be cool though to boot up the old Bloody Roar for some old skool fun.
PS4 back-compatibility is a must (I just don’t have the room for a third PlayStation under my tv!). PS3 would be wonderful but I’m pretty much convinced that’s a no. Not bothered about PS2 or PS1 b/c as any PS1 I can play on my PS3 and I’m not bothered about PS2 games as I don’t have any.
It'd be a bigger draw for me, although I still own my PS2, so I don't really NEED it as a feature for anything other than my PS4 games. It's always nice to have at the start of a generation.
I'm more concerned about features and games for the next-gen device, though. That is ULTIMATELY why I'll be upgrading, after all.
It's not a deal breaker however BC is and would be a great feature.
Given the size of the ps4 Pro it means no clutter and unplugging etc when you want to go back to earlier games. Thankfully with the architecture standardising somewhat then it shouldn't be a problem going forward.
I understand the ps3 is hard and potentially impossible to emulate at this time due to the architecture and power required to accurately emulate but there's no real reason why we can't play ps1, 2, 4 and 5 on the new system.
Thats why we buy in the ecosystem for a bit of continuity and familiarity.
The biggest thing here is support. The likelihood that people still own PS1 games is fairly small. I consider myself to be a pretty big Sony fan, but my PS1 collection is fairly small.
But if they are able to emulate these games and sell them at an acceptable price (like 20 games for $10) - backward compatibility will be much more worthy of being called a selling point. If it is only available for those who have the discs still, I don't think it actually matters much.
For me personally I'm not too bothered if it has it. I'm personally more concerned with what the new games on the system will be like.
However, if they did pull it off, I think that would be good for the console. It would certainly grab headlines and would certainly make the system more appealing.
If it supports atleast ps3 discs I’ll buy it day 1. If not it will depend on if I can afford a big expense at the end of 2020.
I don't care about backwards compatibility with PS3 and below. But with PS4 I very much care and will definitely use it
If it has backwards compatibility I will pass on my PS4 pro to someone who would appreciate it. If not then my PS4 will continue alongside the PlayStation 5 to allow me to play PlayStation 4 games.
BC is pivotal for early adoption, but pointless 2+ years in and even then it's only helpful for the previous generation. As someone who went all digital in the last two years I'd love to be able to access those titles on the newer hardware, but since I also have 2 PS4s and don't ever get rid of my old consoles (PS3 is boxed up in the closet for example), I find it not being used most of the time. What I really want is to be able to finally access my PS3 digital content on PS5, as the PS3 is rather... Weighty... When it comes to operation. Running through the MGS Legacy or Mass Effect/Dead Space trilogy again would be great, if I didn't have to struggle with the OS.
At the end of the day though, I'm buying new hardware for new games and sometimes older games are best left in the past no matter how good they are/were.
That depends. I would of been fine with PS4 compatibility, although 1, 2 and 3 would be brilliant. However, if there is any weight to the idea that Sony plan on releasing first-party exclusives on to PC a few years after they launch, then the PS5 would need to be compatible with PS1-4 including disc support for me to seriously want to buy it. Unfortunately, I do not know how feasible this is.
Its definitely gonna have all the. Consoles thats a fact.word up son
I only care about BC if they have trophies added to the older games. If not I could careless beyond PS4.
Only PS4 backwards compatibility matters to me of course it would be cool and a nice bonus for full backwards compatibility but not essential, I just hope some recent PS4 games will get enhanced for ps5 with higher FPS and resolution but that would also be a bonus not essential.
I feel how Sony vaguely announced this and have said nothing since is setting themselves up for a PR failure here, I really want ps3 compatibility as there are some great games on the system but at this point if it isn’t compatible with C64 people will be disappointed
I would love for the PS5 to be able to play PS1-PS4 games, but it's not a deal breaker.
I'll just be happy if it played PS4 games. Told myself I would replay a few PS4 games on the improved hardware.
PS5 has two things that will get me to be a buyer. Amazing exclusive launch titles that won't go to PC, or full backwards compatibility. I love my old PS2 and PS3 systems but I'd be fine cutting down on that shelf space they take up too.
The older I get, the more I realize that BC is probably my #1 feature. I still have my older consoles, but the ease of just sticking a ps2 game into a new system that’s already set up is very desirable.
I have a PS2 for PS1/2 games, so if it can play PS3/4 atleast, it will definitely be a day 1 purchase(especially if it can play all 5 generations). With that being said would BC take away from better graphics from ps5 games? I assume not but I'm not sure if were sacrificing anything for it?
Voting shows that plenty of people don’t comment but want full BC. Don’t let the loud few that constantly comment fool you that BC doesn’t matter to people - it matters greatly to many.
@Stragen8 Yeah! No one wants a bunch of consoles cluttering up the media cabinet! I already have a PS4, Switch, and SNES Mini eating up space.
I think it'd be awesome if it was fully backward compatible, but I don't care either way. It's definitely fun to go back and play old games sometimes, but for me I know I wouldn't use it that often for playing them and would pretty much only play the new stuff that comes out. Totally can see why many people want it though.
I really don't care about ps5 at this point anyway. Sony's treatment to the loyal fans just made me switch to Nintendo. Exclusives heading to pc and other platforms there is no need to even purchase a ps5. Sony will fail next generation..
I think this next generation BC matters the most to me since deep down I know physical games are dead now (thanks to excessive DLC season passes and day 1 patches) so digital it's the best way to go, so I becoming really picky on what game I buy now, this is the generation that I bought the least amount of games because I don't feel like I own them like I do with PS1 or PS2 so if I'm buying digital I rather go PC and PS now
It matters for ps4 games for me but not for anything else. I dont own any ps1 ps2 or ps3 games anymore and i really dont believe people would care if the ps5 isnt fully backwards compatable with those systems.
Not sure how much I would use it, but I still have all of my games from ps1-ps4, so it would be kind of awesome to be able to throw any disc into the new console whenever I wanted too.
PS4 a little. Anything else I can go to xbox/PC and play
@keihtg I recently moved and with the increased space I have, I have an entire cabinet for consoles haha. Top shelf is PS1/2/3/4/mini and Vita (really annoys me that when standing up the PS4 faces the opposite way as the 2 and 3)
Then I filled up the other shelves with the XBONE, GC, Wii, SNES and a crap ton of controllers....there’s way too much sitting there!!
I've never understood the necessity of backwards compatibility for old console games. I don't understand why I would purchase a new gen console just to play old games. This is why you don't throw away old consoles. You keep them for a collection and for when you want to go back and play old games. I've kept them all, from ps1 to n64, ps2, ps3 etc. Why am I purchasing a brand new console to play old games on? Dosen't make sense to me
I want ps5 to play Atari 2600 games at least or I'm throwing my ps4 in the bin and getting an Xbox SeX.
It'd be lovely if PS5 had PS4 backwards compatibility and upgraded all PS4 games into PS5-enhanced. It'd be an early adopter just so I could continue playing my ps4 games. However if it wasn't backwards compatible I'd probably wait a year or two before purchasing one this time around. I have too many games and just not enough time
I have all the consoles, from the PS to the Pro all lined up and connected, so for me it's no issue either way. I seriously wonder how many people are going to be digging out those older games though.
I’m quite surprised how many people consider it a vital feature (currently over half of voters). I must be in the minority that pretty much just needs new games from a new consoles. So many good games come out I very rarely have time to go back and play old games. I brought a SNES mini but I’ve yet to take it out of the box.
I dont care too much about BWC mind you i WOULD very much like it if all of the purchased digital games etc from ps4 will be available on ps5
Ideally...a modern day version of the PS3/4 combined, has all physical and digital options there to cater for all tastes. Wouldn't even mind if you had to pay a bit extra to access physical media capabilities.
i like playing some 360 games on my xbox x. but i think we arent going see the great leaps between generations as we once did so I think its more important now.
If I can finally finish my PS3 copy of Puppeteer. That would be great.
But care more about new games.
Doesnt bother me too much, all my gen-7 games were on 360 anyway so I will play them on Series X anyway. As long as it plays the ps4 games I have, then I will be happy.
I'm not bothered about it playing PS4 games as I wont be wasting the hard drive space on them but PS1 and PS2 games would be a huge selling point for me
100% irrelevant as far as I'm concerned.
I'd love to have my own little PlayStation Legacy machine. But if it didn't have it, then I wouldn't think any less of it
Well.. If I can't play all my ps4 games on the ps5. Then I won't buy a ps5 before I am done with my ps4 games. And I won't buy any ps4 games you can play on ps5
I want a PS4 that is forward compatible and lets me play PS5 games in 4K/60fps
I have such a large backlog to see me through another year or two. So between sales etc i dont need to buy a ps5 day one.
However if it has backwards compatibility a day one purchase could be worth it, i dont own a ps4 pro so I could finally utilise my 4k tv and still paly old ps4 games.
If it had ps3 then it will definitely be a day one purchase.
I'm interested if the PS4 BC will be equivalent to PS4 Pro boost mode, or will it be PS5 boost mode, to improve frame rate for example.
Has anyone heard anything from their little birds?
i dont care about ps1 and ps2 bc, but ps3 and ps4 bc is a must have.
I never really understood this. Adding in backwwrsa compatibility in previous generations almost always meant tacking on a handsome sum to the overall cost of the new console. I would much rather not have it and keep the price down. You can always grab an older/used console at your local flea market or pawn shop for fairly cheap and play those games the way they were designed to be played....not emulated onto a new system with wonky controller schemes and color bleed. UGH
A good amount of yes votes. But probably none of those people will skip PS5 if it has no BC whatsoever. Anyway, it’s unimportant to me personally. If it’s there I might use it. If not, no biggie. I’ve only played one game using the BC feature on a console: God Of War II. I played it on my PS3 way back when. Outside of that I’ve never bothered with BC.
@Arugula someone gave your comment a thumb down because apparently they’re upset that you don’t care as much as they do lol.
I've got a preference for new games, but my ps4 library is extensive. Bc is the difference between early purchase and a mid gen purchase. As it stands, theres nothing that stands out as a killer app must purchase for ps5
As long as it plays PS4 games, I'm good. If it doesn't, I'm 100% out.
This would offer more sales if the console played all previous ps games. I dont mind if I could just play ps4 as I dont mind digging out all of my old consoles just nice to have those memories of the actual console being played on not just the games themself, also the controllers, I still own an original ps1 controller before the dualshock came into play no analog sticks and still works amazingly well so to use that just still brings back alot of great things I dont know if I'd like using a ds5 for a ps1 game which would feel different but there is always room to adapt or change to prefer it.
I’m getting a ps5 regardless and just PS4 BC is going to be awesome enough. BUT- the mere thoughts of playing psone, 2 & 3 games on ps5 makes my palms all sweaty!! 🤣🤣
I'd still buy the PS5 without ANY Back compatibility as I will still have my PS4 Pro anyway. BC only really matters to me if the old games benefit from the newer hardware - ie run at a locked frame rate and don't drop in resolution as a bare minimum.
I see little point in playing games that look and/or run just like they did on the original hardware. I rarely go back to old games unless I have a good reason to - better performance and/or visual quality is a good reason. I buy remasters for that reason too...
It will be nice to have all playstation console bc on ps5, but ps4 bc is enough for me.
@JohnnyShoulder lol If you’re being serious just grab all 3 Atari flashback discs and you’re golden..yea they don’t have the Activision 2600 games on them but at least it has all the original Atari Arcade games! Then you can run them on PS5. 👍😊
Since I still own a PS3, I'll be using for the PS5 games and PS4 games I missed since I sold my PS4.
As long I can play in ps5 the games in my ps4 backlog I will buy it day one. If not, I'm just gonna wait, but I will buy it for sure. Dont care about other generations.
If YOU can already play PS4 games why would it be important at all?
Its only important if you plan is to sell your PS4 to buy a PS5!
If you sell your PS4 you become the reason you cant play PS4 games.
Given recent events, I expect going forward that PlayStation 'exclusives' will be on PC, so full backwards compatibility will be the difference between me getting or not getting a PS5. If I can't play all generations of PS games on it, I'll just stick to PS4 and get a PC for the future PS5 and Xbox Series X games. Done spending large amounts of money for multiple consoles (which are outdated on launch these days anyway) when for a little bit more I can get far superior hardware and not miss anything.
We know they could emulate PS1 & PS2 now.
PS3 might be eventually workable later on...
If Sony chooses not to, due to wanting to sell old games, I'll be disappointed.
Many people with large collections don't want to rebuy everything.
You guys don’t have my answer on the survey for the second question:
I would not buy the console at launch (and likely not year one) if it does not have BC stretching at least to PS3.
I’m taking for granted backwards compatibility with PS4. If that is not there, I’m getting an XBox SX
I only care that it plays PS4 games. I really can’t see me wanting to play older games from older systems.
I enjoy remakes much more and it gives me a reason to replay old games. Medievil, Crash, and Ratchet & Clank are good examples. They were brought to life again by being updated! I would have never played even if free or purchased them without the update.
The main issue for me is backwards compatibility with my PSN purchases. I can't trade them in and I don't want to keep the PS4 plugged in just to replay some of my favourites.
@Stocksy actually it's the other way around. The loud are the ones who frequent gaming sites. The average ps owner, couldn't care less about it. The more time you spend on forums, the more you lose touch with reality.
@JohnKarnes limited space
@Creative_Native - if you was a game collector with a huge game collection you would understand. its much better having a modern system that plays them all, than trying to keep your 30 year old ps1 alive.
I only really want PS4 & PS5 games. I don't have the time to go back and play all the older games that I missed. That said, I've always been one that buys consoles as soon as they're out, but I think I'll be happy to sit the PS5 out for a year. Buy it when they release a 2TB version or whatever the post-release update will be.
PS4: Confirmed to some degree, hopefully fully complete. Great for me because I've never owned a PS4 and it means I can skip a generation and still buy the games.
PS3: would also be good as its still blu ray disks, has a good library and it's my main console right now - online services is starting to die so would be a good replacement. PS2 next to it could then cater for PS1 and PS2, but then I lose digital games (including Vandal Hearts 3) that never came out on anything else.
PS2: would be great, it's dvds which presumably is still going to be playable on ps5 unless they intend to make it blu ray only. Digital ps2 games seem to be fine even though ps3's emulation of it was poor, so how hard can it be to read the same data from a disk?
PS1: if it went this far back, it's a day 1 purchase, bearing in mind I've never bought a console brand new before. It's extremely unlikely as I doubt anyone is keen to bring back suitable lazers to play CD disks.
The other issue is, the more backwards compatibility, the higher the prices is going to be for games. I've had to slowly buy everything my entire life, increased demand for physical copies will destroy my attempts to buy games cheap and second hand. Oh well.
@naruball seriously look at the votes - then read comments. Comments mostly say “not interested” which I see a lot here and other places... and then the votes thousands says it’s vital. They aren’t ones posting.
Many underestimate how much people want it even if they then don’t use it much. Sales of the classic consoles proved this.
I want full backwards compatible With ps5 I would sell my old dusty ps1 ps2 ps3 PS4 pro
If It did
If no backwards with all 3 generations on PS5 I will be diapointed I just use my Xbox series x more
Well if the PS5 had Full disc B/C I would buy it DAY 1 for £499.99. But if it's £499.99 and hasn't got it then I would probably wait a year or so to buy the PS5 at a cheaper price. So I guess B/C is one of the things I would LOVE the PS5 to have But I can't see it having all that tho
I'm not planning on buying a PS5 unless it can do everything the PS4 can and has at least 5 games for it that I'm interested in (which is less likely that what one might imagine these days but that's a whole other rant). That said, if PS5 was fully backwards compatible I would be more likely to buy one due to convenience factors. I don't care what anyone else says; I would rather have less things plugged into my TV. It's bad enough as it is.
@Mr_Grumps I agree, I don't think i would have the time to go back to old legacy consoles anyway, ps4 bc is good enough for me, I hardly touch my ps3 as it is these days.
@Mikebloke yeah the fact that older physical games will be expensive anyway I don't think a lot of people will invest money into that, digital bc with ps3, ps2, ps1 would be OK and keep the cost down of the console.
I guess it would be OK if you have the discs already for legacy bc then that would be a different matter.
Oh to be able to switch it up and play tiger Woods 2004 (PS2) and blur (PS3) when I get bored of the latest "live services" dross on offer 😎
As long as it plays PS4 & PS5 games i am happy.
If it played my ps4 games at a higher res and framerates then maybe but I really dont care. I wanna play ps5 games in my ps5 not so much my older ps4 games that I've played already
With the digital side really ramping up this gen, PS4 backwards compatibility is a must, the rest I can take Or leave..
Played around with the PS now trial and to be fair there isn't masses I'm bothered about.. Prefer dusting off my Dreamcast or Saturn for a nostalgia hit
nice to have but not bothered about it personally. in fact, even no PS4 BC wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. i'm not overly bothered about playing PS4 games again, and i have no backlog, don't really buy much stuff on psn, and i won't be getting rid of my PS4 pro anyway. i never had a PS1 or PS2, and just can't see me wanting to play games from those unless they were completely remade (not just remastered) for PS5. i have a lot PS3 games (far more than I do for PS4) so i'd find BC for that far more attractive, but unless it was improving performance of those games, i probably wouldn't use it much either. i still don't think it's at all possible that sony will be able to do PS3 backwards compatibility through emulation.. though the gaikai solution they have for PS3 games on PSNow is probably not sustainable for the long term.
As much as I’d love to go back to all the amazing PS1-3 games I loved back in the day, my time is just too limited. I’d much rather spend my gaming time on new experiences with current technology. But I totally get why people want it so bad. And I definitely wouldn’t mind replaying Xenogears 👍🏼
@Stocksy first of all, the psmini didn't do well, so it doesn't prove anything. People buy things for all sorts of reasons, in many cases because it's a trend, hence why the nes mini did so well. Plus Ninty fans buy Ninty products like crazy. But just like wii, it was a console that did well at launch and the constant shortages made people feel like they should have one. It doesn't prove people want BC. If you really want to know if people are interested, you should ask the millions who simply buy consoles to play GTA, COD or Fifa. You could also keep in mind that Ps4 offered no BC (not even with ps1 games, unlike ps3) and did incredibly well. Most people don't care.
Second, (and I'm trying not to laugh here), are you saying that people who voted here don't visit gaming sites? What even...?
It's the only reason I might get the thing. I have FAR too many unfinished or never started games for the PS. I'd like to play them on a fast system with an occasional new buy, but if I can't I'll wait till they're played. Most of them are great games I'm looking forward to playing so Im not gonna be writing them off for the newer PS5 games just yet or for a while.
Id be happy enough if we got access to all games that had been purchased through psn. If you had ps plus from early on with ps3/4 and vita then thats too many games to count for me
I would be extremely disappointed if they didn’t include BC for at least the PS4. Sony is lagging behind Microsoft in this area.
I will be buying Xbox this time, since I feel Microsoft is really going in right direction plus new Windows 11 LINUX is coming
No intention of buying one at this stage. I have a maddening amount of titles to catch up on. I have a cheaper alternative for non PS5 exclusives and (unless theres some serious price drop and absolute must have titles) really just can't justify shelling out for yet another minutely iterative device.
I am officially done.
They've taken the piss one time too many.
We have a better option now.
It's really not that important people.
Don't think I've seen a poll on here get so many votes (currently over 14k). Find it interesting that almost a third cared enough to vote but not enough to scroll down and do the second question.
Considering how many thought it definitely should have it I would be curious to see if Sony did 2 models, one with BC, one without but slightly cheaper, which would sell more.
The second poll does not have an appropriate answer for my opinions on it. I would probably buy the PS5 eventually, but maybe not at launch if it didn't have at least PS1 and PS2 BC. I've had to keep my PS2 hooked up for so much longer than I normally have old consoles because of how limited BC has been for so long. I would understand if PS3 is still too hard for them to do though.
If they have all generations, including some PSP and Vita support, then it would be a guaranteed day-1 purchase at up to $600. It would be SO nice to be able to take 4 separate consoles off my wall and replace them with a single one. Would be a great improvement for the layout of my systems. (I currently have 8 consoles on the wall, with 4 of them being Sony because they've been getting worse and worse about BC.)
not much, it would be great if PS5 played all generations of Playstation but I buy new machines to play new games not old ones. It's the reason I dont buy consoles at launch unless theres something I feel like I must play (which often there isn't) I'm happy with my current set up
I still have my PS2 and PS3 and kept them for the sole purpose of being able to play my games from those consoles.
I'm also keeping my PS4 just in case Sony changes their mind about the BC as they did early on with the PS3.
For me, it's the nostalgia that I enjoy when playing games from older consoles plus I have some PS3 and PS4 games that I haven't finished that I plan on finishing so while having BC with the PS5 would be nice, it's not a deal breaker for me.
No reason to purchase a PlayStation 5 without full backwards compatibility could just wait for 3-4 years and buy it dirt cheap since they won't invest in the older generation games to keep them alive. Just getting harder and harder to support consoles in general if they just abandon the previous generation games.
I would buy a PS5 as long as it has ps4 backward compatibility (which it does, apparently), but am not bothered about PS3 and older console games really.
I would rather have better framerates, visuals, games and compatibility with PS4 titles alone that focus on playing old games that you can play by just simply buying the older systems.
PS4 backwards compatibility is imperative. I haven't spent several thousand pounds worse of digital sales, for it all to be left on an old gen console.
I would like to have one console, and access to my library across generations moving forward, like Steam.
Older stuff prior to PS4, not so fussed, because it was still very much a physical age of media, and people can still retain their collections on disc etc, or sell them.
Having backward compatibility on the PS5 is the only reason why I'll buy it (unfinished games, PSVR, etc).
I'm in the minority on this one; I'm too 'stuck' in the old mindset of 'new console won't play old games' from Sony. The fuel for that is if I want to play PS4 games and own a PS4, why am I rushing out to buy some very expensive hardware to continue to play the games I already have?
To me I'm just tired of when a new sony console comes out all the games i bought from the last one are basically garbage after that. These consoles can only last for so long then when all of them are done your games are worthless after that so basically your just wasting money. Ps Now had a good idea with bring all the previous games onto there but theres no PS1 games on there like Sony said and there is only a handful of PS2 games on there and they are not adding anymore but if you buy a Xbox all previous consoles work on the Xbox one and soon Xbox Series X. I've never owned a Xbox but it is definitely looking like the better option for the next gen. Sony isn't really putting as much effort into their consoles like they should.
Tap here to load 115 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...