By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
thismeintiel on 23 February 2019
Edit Thread
Nate4Drake said:
PS5 Backwards Compatibility Speculation Begins Again as Sony Files Another Patent

""Sony has filed another patent for a backwards compatibility system, in theory allowing the inevitable PS5 to play games from previous console generations. At the beginning of the month, a patent registered under Mark Cerny's name was discovered, supposedly pointing to a method of backwards compatibility that would, again, in theory, let the PS5 run PSone, PS2, PS3, and PS4 titles.

The patent sparked a lot of speculation, but as we mentioned, patents don't necessarily mean that the proposed technology is going to be used. Sometimes, companies simply patent something so that the idea is safeguarded from the competition.

However, the fact that Sony has filed another patent -- published just yesterday and again, authored by PS4 system architect Mark Cerny -- lends a lot of weight to the aforementioned speculation. Just like the last patent, this one devises a system that essentially "tricks" old games into thinking that they're running on their original platforms. It certainly seems to fall in line with what's already been uncovered.""

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/02/ps5_backwards_compatibility_speculation_begins_again_as_sony_files_another_patent

Please Sony !

Yes, please.  If the PS5 can play all 4 previous consoles at launch, that will be a big point in its favor.

Biggerboat1 said:
thismeintiel said:

If you said average consumer, you would have been right.  However, your average gamer, who also are part of the early adopters, are more informed than they ever have been.  They visit gaming and tech sites/forums to look up info on their purchases.  Wikipedia is also a great source to look up tech info on devices.  You think the average gamer even knew what powered the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube when they were buying them?  Hell no.  Now, all of that info is just a click away.

Not being able to tell the difference is hyperbole.  There are going to be more cutbacks on a GPU that is only ~1/3 the power of another than just resolution, which people can tell the difference on screens much smaller than 65".  There's going to be less draw distance, lower quality assets, fewer effects, etc.  Gamers can look up what the differences are between the games on the sites I mentioned, and we also have a handy tool called Youtube where people can actually watch videos of games before they buy.

@ bold, not sure what you mean here, early adopters are a small subset of consumer within any sector, for them to be distinctive as 'early' it means that the majority have to be late(r). If everyone is an 'early' adopter then no-one is... Also, look at pretty much any console's sales curve and tell me where your evidence is for the average gamer = early adopter theory...

Also, just because people can look up tech info at the click of a button doesn't mean that they're interested in doing so. If everybody was obsessed with tech specs they'd own a PC or XB1X & Pro would be outselling the base models...

Finally, the PS4 base model has a GPU not far off of 1/3 the power of the Pro - you think games look that different across the two? I mean, the PS4/Pro example is the perfect comparison - they're essentially the same system except ram & GPU... Same proposition as these 2 XB skus & yet you're somehow concluding that there will be little interest in the cheaper/less powerful sku...?

Maybe I should have been more clear.  I meant partly make up early adopters.  And this gen, those that were early adopters, i.e. who bought it at $399, were a huge crowd.  For the PS4 that was ~30M, nearly 1/3 of its current sales.

Like I keep saying, there is a HUGE difference between a launch console and a mid-gen upgrade.  The upgrade is naturally going to sell to less people, as there will be plenty of people who will just wait another 3 years or so and just spend that money on a next gen system.  Others are budget buyers who wait for the PS4 to drop to $199.  Gamers do look these things up, especially at launch.  Why do you think the PS4 continued to outsell the XBO, even though MS got the price to equal less than 7 months after launch and had many sales to make it $50+ less than the PS4.  The perceived value was still too low at that price for many, as the PS4 was just more powerful.

The PS4 base model is much closer to 1/2 the power of the Pro than it is 1/3.  Also, games on the Pro are not made only targeting that HW.  It is made so that it runs well on the base model, then a few bells and whistles (usually just higher res and/or framerate) are added to the game to take advantage of the Pro.  If the games were made using only Pro HW, you can bet they would look better.  There will be little interest in the lower powered XB2 because the early adopters will be looking for a real jump in performance, not another half step.  And given that it will probably still be $299, early adopters would rather spend the extra $100 to buy a system that is 3x the power and a real jump.  If it was $199, those budget gamers might come into play.  Of course, they may just choose to wait a 2-3 of years and wait for the $199 BF deals for the other consoles, to also get a real jump.