Image: Push Square
Where Microsoft has stumbled, Sony’s got a lot of things right over the last couple of console generations — but one area where PlayStation fans would love to see an improvement is backwards compatibility.
Funnily enough, backwards compatibility and general game preservation are something that Xbox has been excelling at for years. In particular, the ability to play hundreds of original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles on Microsoft’s modern hardware has been a real boon for the Team in Green.
From a PlayStation perspective, then, it’s a bit frustrating to hear that Xbox is gearing up to invest yet more resources into its backwards compatibility program.
As spotted by our friends over at Pure Xbox, a fresh job listing at Microsoft is calling for a principal software engineer who’ll help develop “the next evolution in Xbox Game Compatibility”.
The role description continues: “You will work with other experienced emulation engineers to deliver high quality solutions that not only protect game content but also improve the experience of installing compatible games. You will be a key contributor to the technology solutions developed to emulate legacy games on modern platforms.”
Meanwhile, over here on the PlayStation side of the fence, many would argue that Sony’s done the bare minimum in getting old games to run on PS5 and PS4. While the introduction of PS Plus Premium has opened the gates for PS1 and PS2 classics, the drip-fed selection is pitiable when you consider the sheer weight of the brand’s back catalogue.
Of course, it’s near impossible to speak of backwards compatibility without mentioning the PS3 — a console that’s on the brink of being lost to time thanks to the fact that its complicated architecture throws up all kinds of problems when trying to emulate its games on current hardware.
Still, it’s hard not to feel as though Sony’s had more than enough time to figure out some kind of solution. The bottom line here is that there’s a truly gigantic, decades-spanning list of old PlayStation games just waiting to be slapped onto the PS Store — and that’s difficult to justify from the outside looking in.
How do you feel about backwards compatibility on PlayStation these days? Never stop waiting in the comments section below.
Should Sony be doing more for backwards compatibility on PS5? (284 votes)
- Yes, there’s absolutely no excuse70%
- Yeah, more needs to be done20%
- Maybe, but we don’t really know the full story4%
- Nah, backwards compatibility is overrated anyway4%
- No, I don’t give a damn about playing old games2%
[source purexbox.com]
Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.