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How PlayStation 5 Will Run Older Games Even Better
PlayStation 4 games will run even faster on PlayStation 5 than on their native system. Although rumors began about the next-generation PlayStation console including backward compatibility several years ago, recent patents filed suggest that backward compatibility was a no-brainer for the PS5. Sony has since confirmed that the new system will have this feature.
One of Sony's most significant bragging points to date has been about the super-fast PS5 loading speeds, something that players are especially particular about. In an investor meeting, Sony showed a level from Marvel's Spider-Man loaded on both the PS4 and the PS5. That demonstration showed the level taking nearly eight seconds to load on the PS4, but less than a second on the PS5. The PS5 also boasts support for 8K TVs and 3D audio.
As if all that isn't impressive enough, the PS5 will also make backward compatibility even more gratifying, both for players and developers. According to Twisted Voxel, Sony updated the patent for backward compatibility to make it even better. The patent explains how developers can provide backward compatibility for their games with faster performances without having to do any serious work on the game's code. The idea is that the PS5's hardware will emulate the game the same as the PS4, but also do that while optimizing the game's performance. The patent reads:
“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.
This process may be repeated until the operating parameters are set optimally for the application on the new system. To further optimize, one can adjust the execution of the new hardware to see if the application can be run faster on the new hardware without causing it to fail.”
Although the PS4 isn't dead just yet, Sony has successfully positioned itself to compete in the next generation of console wars. Future plans also include a partnership with Microsoft for work with Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service. That's not to say that Sony won't still compete with Microsoft's next-generation Xbox, though. Providing backward compatibility will put the PS5 on equal footing with the next Xbox, especially since Microsoft announced the feature for Xbox One in 2015 and has since added hundreds of Xbox 360 titles to play on that system.
What will really put the PS5 ahead of its competitors, though, is its speed, particularly when it comes to loading both PS4 and PS5 games, and that is all due to its impressive hardware, including a GPU that uses RDNA architecture developed by AMD. Gamers can potentially expect the new system to launch in 2020, although an official release date won't get announced until later. Sony is skipping this year's E3 conference, perhaps because it knows it will have bigger news later in the year concerning the PS5, its technology and its games.
