PS4 Backwards Compatibility is a No Go, They’re Not Microsoft

Okay so the head of PlayStation Europe has confirmed they are good without PS4 backwards compatibility unlike Xbox One.

The biggest roar that I heard from the crowd at E3 2015 was when Phil Spencer announced backwards compatibility for Xbox One. The thought of getting all those loved titles on Microsoft’s latest console was definitely overwhelming.

However, Sony thinks they are good without it.

If you were hoping that Microsoft’s announcement would make Sony budge and announce PS4 backwards compatibility, you were wrong. The head of PlayStation Europe, Jim Ryan has confirmed that they are “taking a different path.”

We are just taking two different approaches. Unfortunately there are just not sufficient enough software engineers in the world for everyone to do everything. Each platform holder has to make their choices, we made one and they made another. Their choice is entirely legitimate, and I think our choice is legitimate, too. In some ways it is quite nice to have points of difference between the two platforms, and people will decide which approach suits them best.

Ryan also added that he was not sure if he fully understood the announcement made by Phil Spencer since it was complicated and that “there might be a few twists in that particular tale.”

While he agreed that PS4 backwards compatibility and the approach of Sony both were legitimate, he is not so sure about the usability of the former.

Oh and in Ryan’s opinion, backwards compatibility is actually “not so greatly used.”

Well, looking at the tons of games that could now become playable on Xbox One, and the huge network of players it would bring since cross-platform multiplayer is in the bag too, I don’t think it will be used less. What do you think?

Also, since PS4 backwards compatibility is a no go, do you think Sony’s approach on the same front iis equally viable?

Sarmad is our Senior Editor, and is also one of the more refined and cultured among us. He's 25, a finance major, and having the time of his life writing about videogames.