PlayStation 5 Won’t Support PS3, PS2, Or PS1 Games
Published
If you’re one of the many people who rushed to pre-order the PlayStation 5 yesterday, I hope you’re prepared to splash the cash on some new games too because the new console won’t support PS3, PS2, or PS1 games.
Despite earlier rumours suggesting the contrary, with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot previously promising the Xbox Series X and PS5 would ‘be running almost all the back catalogue of the previous consoles’, it now appears this isn’t the case at all.
In fact, gamers can kiss most of their back catalogues goodbye because Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO Jim Ryan has confirmed the PS5 will not support PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, or original PlayStation games via backwards compatibility.
Ryan made the announcement in a recent interview with Japanese gaming mag Famitsu, translated via Siliconera, where he was asked specifically about the console’s backwards compatibility feature with older consoles to clear up any confusion.
And although the CEO confirmed the PlayStation 5 will have a 99% compatibility with all PlayStation 4 titles, he went on to explain that the PS5 development team did not have enough time to work on compatibility for the older consoles.
‘We keep in mind the engineering specialised for the PS5, as we produced the device,’ Ryan explained. ‘In the midst of that, the PS4 already has 100 million players; we thought they ought to want to play PS4 titles on the PS5 as well indeed, so we included compatibility with the PS4.’
However, he went on to add:
While implementing that, we also focused our efforts on taking in the high-speed SSD and the new controller DualSense at the same time. So, unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the implementation of such compatibilities.
His reveal comes after Ubisoft updated the support page on its website with a note that seemed to confirm Sony’s stance on playing its older titles earlier this month, with the website saying backwards compatibility would be available for supported PlayStation 4 titles only.
The now-deleted details read:
PlayStation offer a number of features designed to help you move from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5. PlayStation 4 players will be able to join multiplayer games with PlayStation 5 players.
PlayStation 4 players will be able to join multiplayer games with PlayStation 5 players. Backwards compatibility will be available for supported PlayStation 4 titles, but will not be possible for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, or PlayStation games.
Regardless, it seems the PS5 is a hit already, with the console selling out completely within just hours of its pre-sale opening yesterday, September 17, and scalpers selling them online for thousands in the aftermath.
The PS5 will be available to buy on November 12 in the US, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, before being available across the rest of the world on November 19.
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