Sony‘s upcoming fifth iteration of its iconic flagship video game console is going to be a huge watershed for those who choose to play their games on it, primarily because of the fact that the PS5 supports backwards compatibility for PS4 titles.
But how exactly does it do that, some of you might wonder? Recently, a US patent for the PS5’s inner workings has been dug up, with further interpretation thanks to Twisted Voxel.
The patent sports a curious line. It states:
“The performance of an application on a new device may be closely matched to the performance of that same application on the legacy device by tuning the operating parameters of the new device.”
In lay man’s terms, what this means is that the PS5 has the ability to adapt its hardware and firmware to ape that of said “legacy device”, which in this case is the PS4. As such, this gives gamers the opportunity to play older games on the PS5 without modifying the game’s original digital imprint.
Of course, before this can go live in the hands of the public, Sony would have to run several tests to ensure that “the operating parameters are set optimally for the application on the new system” — or, that old games run smoothly on the PS5.
This will no doubt be a boon for those who choose to make the transition to the PS5 right at the launch phase (which will definitely not be anytime before April 2020) and want to play the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with their PS4 peers.
Coupled with increased load speeds, the PS5 is certainly shaping up to be a heavy hitter when it launches.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
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