Renowned Sony engineer Mark Cerny has reportedly filed a patent that would seemingly allow the PS5 to play older games via backward compatibility. Specifically, the patent describes a method to change the clock frequency of a console’s hardware. This would allow the newer system to run an application that is meant for an older version of the system by synchronizing the processor’s operations, potentially making the PS5 backwards compatible with the PS3, PS2, and original PS One.
How PS5 backwards compatibility could be improved with patent
While the patent doesn’t mention PlayStation consoles by name, it’s worth noting that Sony has been lacking in the classic games department compared to its competitors at Microsoft. While services like PlayStation Now and Plus do offer some older games via emulation, you’re out of luck when it comes to most PlayStation 2 and PSX-era games. Comparatively, Xbox head Phil Spencer has been outspoken about the importance of game preservation and emulation.
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There are a lot of difficulties associated with backward compatibility for modern PlayStation consoles, of course. In the case of games from the PS3 era, it’s to do with the actual architecture of the console’s hardware — namely the PS3’s infamous cell processor. For PS2 and earlier consoles, however, emulation seems to be the easiest route. If rumors of Sony’s new PlayStation subscription service are true, we may get to see more classic PlayStation games on the PS4 and PS5 sometime soon.
In other news, Sony revealed that it will continue to make over 1 million PS4s in 2022 amid a shortage oif PS5s. It’s also rumored that the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will feature God of War-like combat instead of its previous turn-based combat.
