Ubisoft has confirmed that PS5 will only be compatible with PS4 games, which means that games from previous consoles, PS3, PS2 and PS1, will not work on Sony’s next-generation console. It is surprising, since the Japanese company had opted from the beginning on a much more limited strategy in this regard compared to Microsoft’s with Xbox Series X.
Sony confirms the compatibility of PS4 games on PS5, but they say it will be limited. This means that not all PS4 games will work on PS5, and the degree of backward compatibility may end up being quite limited in the end.
By contrast, Microsoft has opted for almost universal backward compatibility. Xbox Series X will be backward compatible with Xbox One games, as well as most Xbox 360 games. The same will happen with the games of the original Xbox, although in this case the backward compatibility could be somewhat more limited, as already happened at the time with Xbox 36 and Xbox One.
We still don’t quite realize the value that Microsoft’s next-generation console will offer in terms of compatibility. Keeping that in mind, to match this, PS5 should have to be compatible with PS3 and PS2 games. Awesome, right? But unfortunately, it will not be, in fact Sony wants to accelerate the transition to PS5, and has confirmed that not all its games will have to be compatible with PS4.
PS5 will be a key product for Sony’s future
And I’m not saying it, the Japanese company itself has recognized it by publishing the image that we accompany just above these lines. In it you can see that the PlayStation division, both in terms of products (consoles, games, etc.) and services (PS Plus, PS Now, etc.) represents an important part of Sony’s annual income.
For example, during fiscal year 2019, PS4 accounted for 24% of Sony’s total revenue. Not impressed? Well it should, as this equates to $ 18.1 billion.
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PS5 will be compatible with PS4 games, but not with PS3, PS2 and PS1 games. With this in mind it is easy to understand why Sony has taken such care of everything related to the ecosystem that surrounds its PlayStation division, and why it has invested so much in studios and exclusive projects. I know what you are thinking, if exclusives are so important, why are they going to bring them to PC? Well, very simple, to cushion the growing development costs that the arrival of the new generation consoles will entail.
The launch of PS5 will occur sometime this month of November. We do not yet have a specific date, but everything seems to indicate that it will be between 13 and 20 of that month . Xbox Series X will also arrive in November, and both consoles are expected to have an approximate price of $499.
