Ever since Microsoft announced it was buying Activision Blizzard in the biggest gaming deal ever, Sony fans have been desperate to see the PS5-maker respond in some way, as if the console giant had “big news” stored in a t-shirt cannon ready to be blasted out into the ravenous crowd at the drop of a hat. But the signs have certainly begun to align around some sort of announcement, seemingly around backward compatibility, and PS4 and PS5 owners are ready to believe.
The speculation began earlier this month with a new patent filing by Sony about backward compatibility and exploded over the weekend when the company’s Japanese Twitter account teased a reveal of something potentially big, with the simple clue “1.23”. The most out-there fans interpreted this to mean “PS1, PS2, PS3”. Despite some gaming sites hyping up expectations, it turned out to just be the reveal of…an ad featuring pop star Kenshi Yonezu.
Things might have cooled down after that, but then last night PS4 trophies were briefly replaced with PS3 trophies, an apparent glitch in the matrix that some interpreted as a sign of Sony’s master plan for Tokyo Jungle to once again be playable on modern consoles. “Is it happening?!” wrote one fan.
Speculation about a new era of backward compatibility on PS4 and PS5 can be traced back to a Bloomberg report last month revealing that Sony was working on overhauling its PS Now service to make it into a beefier, more compelling competitor to Xbox Game Pass. Code-named Spartacus, the new subscription service would include multiple tiers, one of which would let users access “a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games.”
The signs Sony is preparing for something have been piling up ever since:
The dream of playing PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on PS4 isn’t anything new. A small selection of emulated PS2 “classics” are available to buy, and some PS3 games can be streamed via PS Now. When Sony originally revealed the streaming service, it promised it would help fill the PS4’s backward compatibility hole, but that never happened.
On the eve of the PS5’s launch, Sony announced its plans to make almost every PS4 game playable on the new hardware, but conspiracy theories still sprouted up around whether older PlayStation games would also get added to the mix because of the layout of the PowerPoint slide on which the information was announced.
In the current content wars, it seems like a good bet that Sony’s back catalog will end up natively playable on PS5 at some point. Whether that move is just around the corner or still a long ways off is the big question. Of course, fans are desperate for an answer now. Hopefully the PlayStation Twitter account gives it to them so they don’t have to go looking for it in the next PSN bug.
Not only did we get a solid release date for the next Kirby adventure today, but it’s also time to celebrate the pink puffball’s three decades of video games. The Kirby Twitter account posted about the milestone this morning. The tweet reads, “2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Kirby series! Please look forward to a …
Come on, PS4 Cyberpunk 2077, work with me here.Image: CD Projekt Red / Sony / Kotaku Cyberpunk 2077‘s next-gen version finally launched this week after months of delays. It’s pretty good if you’re on PlayStation 5, particularly because of the haptics, but the re-release also addressed myriad bugs with its massive 50 GB patch. Not …
Hot on the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hit theaters one week ago, Marvel Studios has released a teaser for its highly anticipated Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Spoilers for No Way Home below… Okay so just in case you missed that nice spoiler warning up above, I figured …
The shirt in question.Image: Public Tokyo/The Pokémon Company/Cotoh Tsumi In the past few weeks, popular artist Cotoh Tsumi has been repeatedly hit with tracing allegations. On 2ch and Twitter, critics have posted examples of what they say proves these charges, which the artist has denied. The criticism has become incessant, and now, some collab goods …
The internet is an open platform, bringing us into contact with each other like never before. But it’s not completely open. If you’re a regular mobile gamer you’ll know all about the infuriating phenomenon of region-locking, where a studio releases a game in one part of the world but almost always not, for some reason, …
Following its reveal for iOS and Android a few days ago, the Company of Heroes ($13.99) Tales of Valor expansion has finally released. The developer and publisher previously brought the game’s first expansion, Opposing Fronts, to iOS and Android as an in app purchase. If you’ve not tried Company of Heroes out on mobile yet, …
PlayStation Fans Reeling From Xbox Call Of Duty Deal Swear Something Is Afoot
Ever since Microsoft announced it was buying Activision Blizzard in the biggest gaming deal ever, Sony fans have been desperate to see the PS5-maker respond in some way, as if the console giant had “big news” stored in a t-shirt cannon ready to be blasted out into the ravenous crowd at the drop of a hat. But the signs have certainly begun to align around some sort of announcement, seemingly around backward compatibility, and PS4 and PS5 owners are ready to believe.
The speculation began earlier this month with a new patent filing by Sony about backward compatibility and exploded over the weekend when the company’s Japanese Twitter account teased a reveal of something potentially big, with the simple clue “1.23”. The most out-there fans interpreted this to mean “PS1, PS2, PS3”. Despite some gaming sites hyping up expectations, it turned out to just be the reveal of…an ad featuring pop star Kenshi Yonezu.
Things might have cooled down after that, but then last night PS4 trophies were briefly replaced with PS3 trophies, an apparent glitch in the matrix that some interpreted as a sign of Sony’s master plan for Tokyo Jungle to once again be playable on modern consoles. “Is it happening?!” wrote one fan.
Speculation about a new era of backward compatibility on PS4 and PS5 can be traced back to a Bloomberg report last month revealing that Sony was working on overhauling its PS Now service to make it into a beefier, more compelling competitor to Xbox Game Pass. Code-named Spartacus, the new subscription service would include multiple tiers, one of which would let users access “a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games.”
The signs Sony is preparing for something have been piling up ever since:
The dream of playing PS1, PS2, and PS3 games on PS4 isn’t anything new. A small selection of emulated PS2 “classics” are available to buy, and some PS3 games can be streamed via PS Now. When Sony originally revealed the streaming service, it promised it would help fill the PS4’s backward compatibility hole, but that never happened.
On the eve of the PS5’s launch, Sony announced its plans to make almost every PS4 game playable on the new hardware, but conspiracy theories still sprouted up around whether older PlayStation games would also get added to the mix because of the layout of the PowerPoint slide on which the information was announced.
In the current content wars, it seems like a good bet that Sony’s back catalog will end up natively playable on PS5 at some point. Whether that move is just around the corner or still a long ways off is the big question. Of course, fans are desperate for an answer now. Hopefully the PlayStation Twitter account gives it to them so they don’t have to go looking for it in the next PSN bug.
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