A newly updated patent for backwards compatibility has PlayStation Fans thinking that older PS1, PS2 & PS3 games might soon be playable on PS5 and PS4.
The patent by Lead PS4 & PS5 System Architect Mark Cerny is called “Backward Compatibility Through Use Of Spoof Clock And Fine Grain Frequency Control.” I have no idea what this means but the abstract for the patent reads as follows:
The patent was updated on the 6th of January 2022. Suggesting that it is possibly something that Sony is working on.
Then again, companies patent things all the time and a lot of them never see the light of day in any practical sense. So it could be something or it could be nothing.
In fact, Mark Cerny has several different patents that relate to Backwards Compatability.
Rumours and speculation of PS1, PS2 and PS3 games coming to PS4 and PS5 are nothing new. A patent discovered last year suggested a way to bring Trophies to old games without having to modify the original game.
There is also speculation that PlayStation will merge the PS Plus and PS Now services which could lead to older generations games being available to stream or download.
The ability to play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games on PS5 would certainly be fantastic. I still have my PS3 so I can play that if I want. But, I no longer have my PS1 or PS2 and there are a few games I would love to play again.
Ultimately, the patent does not necessarily mean that older PlayStation games will be playable on PS4 or PS5. However, we can only hope that Sony does make this a reality one day.
