Jim Ryan said in 2017 that he didn’t understand why players wanted to play classic titles if they looked worse.

The backward and being able to play old games on our current systems is something fundamental for many players. In addition, beyond being able to replay those titles, these measures help the preservation of video games, something very important. The new generation of consoles has been very concerned about this aspect, although PlayStation 5 has been criticized for playing only PS4 games.

In fact, one of the big criticisms of PlayStation is the lack of greater backward compatibility. Years ago, Jim Ryan made some statements about it that have haunted him until now, and the head of PlayStation has finally wanted to clarify them. In 2017, Ryan said that backward compatibility was something that was asked for a lot but little used, and commented why would anyone want to play old games if they looked old (taking the different titles of the Gran Turismo series as an example).

Now, in an interview with Axios, Ryan has explained those words and has denied that he does not value the most classic games. “I feel a little frustrated because they still hit me over the head with that [statement],” Ryan said. The head of PlayStation has indicated that he could not express what he wanted, since he wanted to praise the evolution of the saga and PlayStation.

“What I wanted to point out, obviously not very well, was how great the PS4 version looked and how far the series had evolved. I was certainly not trying to be disrespectful of our heritage,” he commented. Ryan has used Astro’s Playroom as a clear example that Sony respects its past. The head of PlayStation has indicated that the backward compatibility of PS5 with PS4 was included because the fans really wanted it.

“What is important to recognize when considering this question about designing a new platform is that time, resources, and money are finite, and that important trade-offs must be made in terms of what is included and what is not, ” Ryan said. Remember, for example, that this year Sony was going to close the digital stores for PS3, PSP and PS Vita. The criticisms of the players made PlayStation rethink the situation and finally decided to stop the closure of PS3 and PS Vita.

Source: Axios