Sony has openly admitted that backwards compatibility was a special feature that many players appreciated before they decided to leave it behind in the PS4 era. For a long time, it was believed that changes in console architecture were why Sony didn’t include this feature in the PS4. However, a notable comment from former executive Jim Ryan in 2015 suggested a different reason: Sony didn’t see much value in maintaining backwards compatibility.
In a recent page marking PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, Sony highlighted that when they introduced backwards compatibility during the PS2 days, it was quite an unusual move for that time and one that earned players’ praise. “PlayStation’s decision to be consumer-friendly was a surprise, but a welcome one to players with collections from older generations,” reads a section focused on this feature.
Back in 2015, when Ryan was asked why the PS4 didn’t support backwards compatibility, he noted that even though it was a frequently requested feature, its actual usage by players was quite low. He shared an experience from a Gran Turismo event: “They had games for PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4, and honestly, those PS1 and PS2 games looked really dated. I couldn’t help but wonder, why would anyone want to play that?” Ryan relayed to TIME, sparking widespread criticism.
Despite this viewpoint, the demand for re-releases of older PlayStation titles remains high, and these classic games continue to be popular on PS Plus Premium. Unfortunately, the availability of PS3 games is restricted to streaming services, and they’re not accessible in every country.
