PS5: Sony accessory patent hints at native PS3 games
Created: 04/07/2022, 18:10
By: Jonas Dirkes
PS3 games can currently only be streamed to the PS5 via PS Plus Premium.
A Sony patent now points to native PS3 games for the console.
Hamburg – If you want to play a game from the PS3 generation on your PS5, you basically only have one option.
With the new PS Plus Premium, Sony is giving players access to some PlayStation 3 titles. However, there is a big catch: PS3 games can only be streamed on the PS5 so far and are therefore prone to nasty stuttering, especially with weak internet connections.
As reported by IPPEN.MEDIA ingame.de, a new PS5 patent from Sony now indicates that something could change here soon.
Console name | PlayStation 5 (PS5) |
Manufacturer | Sony Interactive Entertainment (YOU) |
Type | Stationary game console |
generation | 09th console generation |
storage medium | Blu Ray, SSD |
release | November 19, 2020 |
What PS3 patent did Sony just secure?
As colleagues from VGC report, Sony's new patent is about being able to emulate old hardware on the PS5.
The patent is almost explicitly limited to hardware from the PS3 era.
An image of the patent shows an EyeToy camera, a Move controller, the PlayStation 3's Sixaxis controller and even a PSP GO.
This is what Sony's current patent looks like.
The PS3 accessories mentioned can be seen explicitly on the left.
© VGC/Sony
All of these PlayStation accessories (save for the Move controller) are long gone, so it's easy to think that the patent has a higher purpose.
The most obvious reason why you would want to be able to emulate this old hardware on the PS5 would be to use PS3 games natively on the PlayStation 5. However, Sony has not yet issued an official statement on this.
Why are there so few PS3 games on PS Plus Premium?
PS3 games can currently only be streamed on the PS5.
Only a few titles from the PS3 era are represented among the free games for PS Plus Premium and Extra.
That has its reasons.
The architecture of the PS3 is considered particularly idiosyncratic among developers.
Programming for them requires enormous specialist knowledge.
Therefore, it is not so easy to port PS3 games to another platform with little effort.
This circumstance keeps some real PS3 classics trapped on the old Sony hardware.
A prominent example of this would be
Metal Gear Solid 4: Runs of the Patriots
, which has only existed on old hardware so far and is simply not available on current consoles.
PS5: Sony accessory patent hints at native PS3 games © Konami
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Will there be native PS3 games on the PS5 soon?
In any case, the current PS3 patent from Sony suggests that the PS3 era is not yet completely buried for Sony.
Aside from that, Sony seems to have recently placed more emphasis on preserving old PlayStation titles.
Whether that could mean native PS3 games as well remains to be seen.
If this development should really happen, the question also arises as to whether old PS3 discs can simply be inserted into the PS5 or whether PS Plus Premium players will only have access to a download version of the games concerned.
The time will tell.
