A Hellpoint developer developer talks about this challenge about PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility, which includes licensing issues.

One of the most anticipated features of PlayStation 5 was the famous backward compatibility. Sony announced that its new console could run some PS4 games, but what about the older versions? Many developers have spoken on the subject expressing their discontent, as have the players, but one of them has explained the possible conflict surrounding the backward compatibility of PlayStation.

Marc-André Jutras is the technical director of Cradle Games, developers of the soulslike RPG Hellpoint, and has given an interesting interview to the GamingBolt portal in which he addresses this controversial topic. “As a player, it is difficult to find out what is wrong,” says Jutras. “How is it possible that PS5 is not compatible with previous versions of PS4, 3, 2, 1?”.

Jutras says that if the next-gen consoles are as powerful as a good PC, “there is no reason for those games not to work,” since he can find an emulator that runs them on PC. “However, as a developer, I can understand that there are certain legal issues that can make everything confusing, especially if the goal is to sell those old games in some stores,” he said.

Some companies no longer exist, and licenses for those titles may not be readily available. I also understand that old consoles may have some kind of hardware restriction to prevent new consoles read old records, “said Jutras.

“To be honest, I just wish backward compatibility wasn’t a novel thing and just an expected feature, covering all titles,” Jutras concluded.

Backward compatibility is one of the features that matter most to gamers. Being able to play your entire library is a compelling reason when choosing a console, since the hardware of the previous versions is not infinite, and we could end up with a shelf full of useless games. If you want to know our opinion on the subject, we invite you to read our report on why backward compatibility is important.

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