Several PlayStation 3 games were reportedly recently spotted on the PS5 store, causing speculation that the PlayStation 5 could get further backwards compatibility.
VGC reported that the PS3 game Dead or Alive 5 briefly listed a display price of £7.99, where it previously redirected users to the PlayStation Now version of the game. Additionally, other users reported similar new listings for the PS3 versions of Bejewelled, as well as Prince of Persia games, The Forgotten Sands, and The Two Thrones – each with their own individual purchase price. However, none of the games were purchaseable at these prices on PS5.
At time of writing, IGN could not replicate these findings, which could mean that this was a simple error in the PlayStation 5 store, or that this potentially mistaken early release has now been fixed.
Uhhh. Not to panic anyone, but a PS3 game shouldn't have a price when viewed on a PS5.
— Jordan Middler (@JordanMiddler) January 16, 2022
Unless... pic.twitter.com/5CTACWGh7s
Interestingly, these accidental listings appeared following the discovery of a patent that was filed by PS5 system architect, Mark Cerny. The patent, titled “backward compatibility through the use of spoof clock and fine grain frequency control” could suggest that Sony is working on bringing further backwards compatibility to the PS5. Social media has already begun speculating that this patent could mean Sony has solved at least one of the problems when bringing older PS3 titles to the next generation console.
If true, this would give Sony even more of a catalogue to play with, after reports that PlayStation is working on creating an Xbox Game Pass competitor. This new service, codenamed “Spartacus”, will reportedly allow PlayStation owners to pay a monthly fee for access to a library of games – much the same as Microsoft’s current Xbox Game Pass service.
Of course, it’s likely to include both modern and older games, which may mean backwards compatibility has become more of a priority for Sony in recent months.
The new Sony version of Game Pass is said to be split into three tiers. The first tier includes the same benefits as PlayStation Plus, which is required for online gaming and comes with a variety of free games each month. A second tier offers access to the gaming catalogue in the same way as Game Pass, while a third tier will include extended demos, game streaming, and access to a larger library that includes PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games. Sony has yet to confirm this new service, however.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.