Gamers have been clamoring for PS4 backwards compatibility and Xbox One backwards compatibility since both systems launched late last year. Citing the new consoles’ different system architecture, Sony and Microsoft said backwards compatibility for previous-generation games just posed too many technical issues to tackle. Streaming games seemed to be an option, but both companies have remained mum on the topic.
Fortunately for PS4 owners, an insider who’s historically pretty reliable with console rumors says PS4 backwards compatibility may be closer than we previously thought. In fact, Xbox One owners may not only be out of luck with their last-gen games, but completely left in the dust by Sony.
According to a Twitter user named Ahsan Rasheed, PS4 backwards compatibility is not only in the testing phases but will include support for games all the way back to the PlayStation 2 and PS1.
Be excited:
1. Local PS2 / PS1 support on PS4 w/ native 1080p rendering for select titles.
2. Bluray+Media Player updates
— Ahsan Rasheed (@thuway) March 25, 2014
Based on Rasheed’s info, 1080p rendering for select titles would be part of the PS4 backwards compatibility package. That’s an impressive feat for games published before high-definition technology and HDTVs were mainstream.
The biggest problem, he says in a later tweet, is that “the emulation experience ranges from absolutely amazing 1080p to terribly buggy single FPS garbage.” What we can learn from that comment is that you won’t be inserting your PS2 or PS1 disc into a PS4. It’ll all be streamed or downloaded in some capacity instead, with details still to come.
More timely perhaps, at least for those who have 3D TVs, is the revelation that Sony’s testing the PS4 backwards compatibility support alongside Blu-ray player updates. Could we finally see one of the next-gen systems get Blu-ray 3D support? It wouldn’t be strange to see the PS4 Blu-ray 3D support before the Xbox One gets 3D Blu-ray functionality; Sony does owns the technology, after all.
The PS4 getting 3D support would also open-up possibilities for Sony’s new Morpheus VR technology unveiled at the Game Developers Conference. Virtual reality and 3D are a match made in Heaven, so could Sony be cooking up something special, even if the VR integration is a long way out?
Perhaps not coincidentally, Rasheed later tweeted that the PS4 backwards compatibility may launch alongside Sony’s PlayStation Now service. PlayStation Now will reportedly allow PS4 owners to stream PS3 games. If this rumor is true, though, it may support a lot more PS4 backwards compatibility than just PS3 titles. What PS2 and PS1 games would you most like to play on your PS4, if the rumor is true? Let us know in the comments below.