Backwards compatibility is a great way for anyone who’s upgraded to the next version of a given video game console to keep playing the games they already own without having to hang onto the older platform. It also provides an opportunity for someone who might be relatively new to a particular console to enjoy retro exclusives and other older games they might have missed.
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Unfortunately, this extremely useful (and almost universally beloved) feature has been on the outs with Sony’s consoles over the past several years. As it stands, PS5 backwards compatibility allows you to pop in a PS4 game disc and… that’s it. Granted it’s still nice to be able to play most PS4 games on a PS5 with a disc drive, but forget trying to get it to read PS3, PS2, or original PlatStation discs.
This isn’t to say you “can’t” play some pre-PS4 games on a PS5, however. Your PS5 may not be able to run physical copies, but there are other ways for you to enjoy older titles. And it’s not morally dubious or a risk to the hardware or anything! That said, there is still a catch.
