PlayStation 5 (PS5) may get legacy PlayStation 3 (PS3) features, such as backwards compatibility and emulation, soon.
Sony, like many other leading tech companies that specialise in consoles and games, is not well-known for making its consoles backwards compatible with its older models. Once a new console is released, it renders the previous consoles all but useless, with all new games only being compatible with the newer model. It’s very normal for Sony’s previously seen features to not carry over when moving your saves, or profile, from an outdated console to a new one.
Currently, games from the era of the PlayStation 3 are only able to be played on hardware via streaming associated with PlayStation Plus, a commodity that not all players have access to. However, this may change soon.
Sony’s New Patent
It was recently revealed that Sony has a new patent in the works that was filed at the end of June 2022. This patent has been titled “Systems and Methods for Converting a Legacy Code into An Updated Code”. This new patent suggests that Sony could be working on bringing back some of the more popular aspects of their older consoles, specifically the PS3, meaning that old peripherals will hopefully be compatible with the PS5 console for the purposes of emulation.
What Will Backwards Compatibility Bring Back?
Some examples of the peripherals that are thought to be included in this new compatibility are EyeToy, a Sony media remote control, previous DualShock Controllers, and a handheld platform that will most likely be the PSP Go.
The EyeToy is a PlayStation 2 peripheral that was released in 2003. It was a colour webcam that could be used to interact with games using motion and gesture recognition, colour detection, and even sound using its built-in microphone.
As far as backwards compatibility with previous DualShock Controllers, this news is an absolute relief for most PlayStation players. Many users will upgrade from one system to the latest model, but still have many of their peripherals such as a spare controller. It is hoped that now those older controllers will be compatible with new consoles, no longer rendering them useless.
The 2020s have been the era of handheld consoles, with the release of the Nintendo Switch and Lite, the Nintendo Switch OLED, and the Steam Deck. Most people forget that Sony did it first with their PSP collection — however it may have been a little ahead of its time. With this new patent, it is hoped that the PSP Go will be revived through backwards compatibility.
It looks like Sony might make it possible to play PS3 games on the PS5 natively, meaning no extra hardware or software is required.
Without any confirmation from Sony themselves, it’s hard to tell whether this development will come to fruition or not, but the patent suggests that backwards compatibility and emulation are in the works.
