Now that the PS5 and Xbox Series X have been officially titled and announced, and one given a not-so-new logo, the conversation steers itself once again towards one of the big next generation talking points: backward compatibility. Will the new consoles play older games, and just how far back will they allow players to go into their libraries?

The answer is different depending on which company is being asked the questions, and unfortunately, still a lot more vague than expected depending on which question is being asked. Microsoft has promised a lot more on the backward compatibility front, but Sony has seemingly stuck to a more traditional model of only allowing players to play PS4 games on the PS5. The different strategies the two companies are using to plan for backward compatibility going forward are very emblematic of the way the companies as a whole are approaching the upcoming Holiday 2020 console launch.

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Xbox Series X Backward Compatibility

The good news for Xbox fans is that the Xbox Series X is taking the lessons learned from the Xbox One X generation and going above and beyond with backward compatibility. The Xbox Series X will be able to play thousands of games at launch from previous generations of Xbox. Players will be able to access games from the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on the new console. Phil Spencer said that the Xbox Series X team "wanted to make sure we had that, day one, we could deliver on the compatibility promise."

xbox series x box art fan design

Achievements, Gamerscores, friends lists, and game saves will also be available on the Xbox Series X. Jason Ronald, the Xbox partner director of program management, said there are "no barriers for you as you think about moving forward."

This is the game plan for Microsoft going forward that has become clear throughout the back half of the Xbox One's life cycle. A focus on ensuring players stay in the Microsoft ecosystem continue to pay for its services and keep access to the library of games on Xbox Game Pass. This makes even more sense compounded with the news that the Series X will not have exclusive games for the first one to two years of its lifecycle. All the tentpole Microsoft published games that will launch in 2020 and into 2021 will be playable on the Series X and Xbox One.

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This will be a challenge for Microsoft and developers as well and Ronald even admits it. He said due to the fact that "console games are usually hyper-optimized to the unique hardware capabilities of the device," it will take a huge amount of work to make these games playable on the Xbox Series X as well as the Xbox One.

Playstation 5 Backward Compatibility

The Playstation 5 backward compatibility situation is a little more complicated, but Sony has confirmed one important detail. At launch, PS4 games will be playable on a PS5 and that basic backward compatibility is confirmed. Considering the Playstation 5 shares much of the same architecture as a PS4, that was apparently a much easier feature to include than it was during the transition from the PS3 to the PS4. Which brings to mind the obvious question: What about PS3 games on the Playstation 5?

playstation 5 ps5 mockup

When the PS3 launched in 2006, it included Sony's cell processor which had vastly different architecture from Intel and AMD processors that are now commonly found in gaming PCs and consoles. This led to only the launch edition of the console having backward compatibility with the PS2 generation of games, making them extremely rare. In the following generation of consoles, the architecture between the Xbox One and PS4 were more similar than in any console generation before it. But this was so radically different from the way the PS3 was built that the PS4 was the first Sony console that was not backward compatible at all.

So going into this console cycle Sony is a bit of a wildcard. There are rumors that the PS5 will indeed be backward compatible with all previous generations, but based on what Sony has said, currently it does not seem like this will be the case. Sony could surprise the world at any time, though, and suddenly pull out all the stops in a major fashion. It would be quite a surprise and a big blow to Microsoft, that is leaning into letting players play all generation of Xbox games on the Series X.

In terms of pure amount of backward compatibility, it seems like Microsoft has the advantage going into the 2020 launch. Sony is giving players more than last generation, but is still dealing with the fallout from the PS3's cell processor. With Sony offering actual next-gen exclusives and Microsoft continuing to offer increased backward compatibility functions and Xbox Game Pass, this console launch is looking like an even playing field where each console has its advantages and will attract different types of gamers.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X are set to release in Holiday 2020.

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