PS3 News

PS4 set to embrace full PlayStation Backward Compatibility?

By Stevie Smith Jan 18, 2008, 8:05 GMT

The newly released - and technically scaled back - 40GB PlayStation 3 may have arrived as a harbinger of doom for those gamers hoping to enjoy the classic joys of backward compatibility (BC), but current Net chatter suggests Sony is preparing to once again embrace BC through the PS3 and any future gaming platform waiting in the wings. Job ad suggests full backward compatibility is on the cards for PlayStation 4. Credit: MNgilen.

Job ad suggests full backward compatibility is on the cards for PlayStation 4. Credit: MNgilen.According to a job advert uncovered by German gaming site GameFront.de, Sony Computer Entertainment is presently on the prowl for a software engineer in order to develop backward compatibility for the PlayStation 3 and an unspecified next-gen console - which, given the inclusion of the PlayStation 3 on the ad, you’d have to assume is the PlayStation 4.Sony’s employment listing reportedly outlines that the successful applicant will be tasked with creating and optimising emulation software for backward compatibility covering every gaming platform Sony has released to date, ranging from the original PlayStation through to the PlayStation 2, PSP handheld, and the PlayStation 3. Again, another indication that development of the PlayStation 4 is moving along nicely, and perhaps that PSP emulation is finally coming to the PlayStation 3?Sony has already filtered out its BC-equipped PlayStation 3 models from European retailers, replacing them with the 40GB version, and Japan is also set to lose its 20GB and 60GB models in favour of enhanced focus on the 40GB PS3. However, while the cheaper 40GB model has successfully tempted more prospective consumers towards Sony’s system, its arrival has not been wholly welcomed by those who already have a sizeable collection of PS2 gaming titles that are suddenly no longer compatible with the PS3.So, is this job ad evidence of Sony looking to implement a BC turnaround on the PlayStation 3 (and its eventual successor) after having listened to the negative feedback building since the 40GB model was unveiled - or is this simply a case of Chinese whispers from a research and development position being transmogrified into what the masses so desperately want to hear?Either way, expect the usual wave of "no comment" statements from Sony sources in the near future, because these things never prompt a clear and detailed response from the only people who actually know anything of note.