After revealing more information on the PS5 release date and specifications, it appears that the extent of PS5’s backwards compatibility for PS4 games is yet to be ascertained. Earlier in the year when Sony announced the PS5 it stated that it would run PS4 games. Now it seems that the company is unsure to what degree it would be supported.
“Currently, the dev team is putting all power on verifying whether they can secure a complete compatibility. Please wait for more information,” reads a statement from Sony to Famitsu according to a translation from Twitter user BK2128.
Considering that PS2 and PS3 backwards compatibility wasn’t a complete 100 percent either, what with some games being unplayable on both consoles, it appears that Sony wants to iron out the kinks before committing to it. A safe move given how ridiculously popular the PS4 has been and Sony may want a smooth transition to the next-generation PS5, ensuring it has a firm idea of how backwards compatibility will work before announcing exact details.
The PS5 or PlayStation 5 as it is now officially known has a definite release window. Sony has revealed that the PS5 release date is slated for Holiday 2020 or Winter 2020 as it is also called. No surprise since Sony has traditionally targeted a November release date with the PS3 and PS4. Safe to say the PS5 will follow suit.
In addition to announcing its official name and release date, PS5 architect Mark Cerny detailed what we can expect in way of specifications in conversation with Wired.
PS5 specifications include an optical drive that doubles as a 4K Blu-ray player and PS5 games will be on 100GB Blu-ray discs. Game installs will be mandatory given the speed differences between the included solid state drive and the optical drive.
Furthermore, the controller, which doesn’t have an official name yet though given past history, should be called DualShock 5 is a tad heavier, sports adaptive triggers, uses USB Type C, and has haptic feedback with highly programmable voice-coil actuators on its left and right grips. The PS5’s UI will be revamped as well and ray-tracing acceleration will be present on its GPU hardware.
