Sony has given its strongest indication yet that it may be looking at PS3 backwards compatibility for the PS5, with the format holder filing a patent titled, Backward Compatibility Testing of Software in a Mode That Attempts to Induce Skew.”

The patent describes a device, which hypothetically could be the PS5, can run a “timing testing mode” designed to implement skew, which is for creating timing variations that may cause issues with how software runs. It’s a type of stress test for legacy games, ensuring they are able to handle a new system environment.

PS3 backwards compatibility is something that a lot of PS5 owners have called for, as currently the only way to play titles from that system is via PS Plus Premium, and those can only be streamed.

The patent is just one of a number of hints that Sony is actively looking at PS3 backwards compatibility, as only last week Nick Baker and Jeff Grubb had stated that the have heard the feature is being looked into for PS5. However, it has been suggested that this may only be for ‘select’ PS3 titles, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The PS3 was notoriously tricky to develop for due to its Cell processors, which has been cited as the reason why PS4 and PS5 are not able to play PS3 titles out of the box.

Posted: Jul 05, 2024 2:15 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://www.psu.com/news/sony-fuels-rumours-on-ps3-backwards-compatibility-on-ps5-with-new-patent-filing/