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Sony Patents possible PS5 Backward Compatibility method invented by Mark Cerny

Microsoft and Nintendo have been doing this for years but because Cerny invented it people are praising the man? This is the Apple hyperbole of news for Sony.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Microsoft and Nintendo have been doing this for years but because Cerny invented it people are praising the man? This is the Apple hyperbole of news for Sony.

d56.gif
 

c0de

Member
The SPEs are not exposed in /proc/ but in their own virtual filesystem: spufs. Linux supports execution of SPE standalone programs.
So they are essentially there but they are not exposed to the scheduler so you have to use your own logic to distribute workload to them manually?
 

ANIMAL1975

Member
My fat PS3 dyed a few months ago, full bc on PS5 would be a savior and a dream come true. Bc with 4 it's already a given by now, me thinks.
 

levyjl1988

Banned
Playstation finally doing backwards compatability after abandoning it during the PS3 era. Microsoft got backwards compatability at its best as it even improved all games that are enhanched.

Playstation can survive beyond its console like Microsoft within its Bravia TV line up boosting both business pillars.
 

Calibos

Member
Wow i didn't knew that MS was the first who invented BC!! Those fools at Sony all they can do is copy MS!! How dare they!!!

DIDN'T SAY THAT.

Is BC something new on console space? You speak as Microsoft invented software emulation.

DIDN"T SAY THAT.

Sony does full BC for PS1 on PS2? Oh come onnnnnnnn, too many Jrpg's and Japanese games, where are the dudebro, mountian dewin' games Sony?

Sony does full BC for PS1 and PS2 on PS3? My goodness Sony, the price is too much, I have to work two jobs for this George Foreman Grill contraption, nuh uh!.........it aint happening.......Still........"Would'nt it be wonderful if there was a console that played all my old console disc games, bummer,one can only dream!!!!....... Ummmmmm......I love BC, I love BC, (shouting) on forums everywhere".......

MS gives us partial BC drip feed style after two years into this generation, beginning November 12th 2015, mainly because it's exclusives were hohum and they knew they had nothing coming, Crackdown was delayed yet again that year.....Games see a rez boost, but framerate on the games are still ho hum, lots of stuttering exists and a report shows that nobody uses the feature on Vanilla XBONE......? Oh man, what a revelation, BC is the best thing to happen this generation, Sony dun goofed. surely this is a gamechanger (a world premiere, an XBOX exclusive if you will).......I mean hold on, hold on, let's be honest here, does Sony even know what it's like to offer this sweet nectar that is BC? They have no clue do they? That anti-consumer lot then, denying folk "play" of their old disc games.....Heh! I'll tell you this......I'd play Oblivion (sub 30fps in 2018) and Fallout Vegas.....over any of that cinematic bullshit that Sony offers........I can tell you that much......


BONUS: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....you are a joke about a meme at this point.
 
It would be cool if they did a FPGA type setup for backwards compatibility for pre-PS4 systems, but I know due to the cost that would never happen.
 
People say that due to PS Now (all-encompassing streaming future) it's against Sony's best interests to offer local emulation via x86-based hardware.

Sony uses customized PS3 motherboards for PS Now. Do you think they will manufacture Cell/XDR chips forever? Cell's last die shrink was @ 45nm. RSX (a more conventional chip) went down to 28nm and they switched from GDDR3 to GDDR5.

I'm fairly convinced that it's in their best interests to spend some money on PS3 emulation R&D. PS Now will exist in 20 years from now, but Cell/XDR will no longer be manufactured.

Am I wrong? What do you guys think? :)
 
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SNG32

Member
If anything I expect PS4 to be fully backwards compatible and if this emulation of generations is true I see them doing something similar with how Microsoft is handling Xbox 360 games. They will probably start releasing classic titles on the pstore and you'll probably be able to play those digital only and maybe they might be upscaled. I don't expect much from this patent.
 
Consider it the inner workings of a pre-caffinated disgruntled rant.

It's great that PS4 is going to make an attempt at backwards compatibility in the modern world. I'm still not sure why they stopped supporting it halfway through the PS3's life cycle. But the way that people talk about Cerny is like he's God's gift to gaming. It's weird.
 
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mcz117chief

Member
You must be very hard to please.
When you look at games like Silent Hill 3 on PS2 and then on games like Uncharted 4 the differences aren't nearly as big aside from bigger vistas and higher res/fps. If you play Silent Hill 3 on PC on max settings with high res it still looks incredible to this day. Games that really "wow"ed me in previous gen are games like Journey on PS3 or Ace Combat 6 and Gears of War on Xbox 360 but nothing really on PS4. We are talking graphics only of course, there are fantastic games on PS4.
 
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When you look at games like Silent Hill 3 on PS2 and then on games like Uncharted 4 the differences aren't nearly as big aside from bigger vistas and higher res/fps. If you play Silent Hill 3 on PC on max settings with high res it still looks incredible to this day. Games that really "wow"ed me in previous gen are games like Journey on PS3 or Ace Combat 6 and Gears of War on Xbox 360 but nothing really on PS4. We are talking graphics only of course, there are fantastic games on PS4.
We entered diminishing returns territory long time ago and that's OK. It happens in every industry (DSLR, TVs, CPUs, cars etc.)

Now all we need is better AI and better framerates! ;)
 

mcz117chief

Member
We entered diminishing returns territory long time ago and that's OK. It happens in every industry (DSLR, TVs, CPUs, cars etc.)

Now all we need is better AI and better framerates! ;)
Yeah. At this point all I want is stable 60fps at least and a steady climb to 4k res along with it.
 

Ozrimandias

Member
I had bout 15 bucks on my psn wallet and decided to buy Max Payne for Ps4.......man the game runs (or play) like crap, didnt remeber how bad the control are....... maybe for that time where ok but now....i couldnt play it for more than 5 minutes.
 

Shin

Banned
Patent made public or should I say more patents?...too lazy to read this shit.
A new device executing an application on a new CPU determines whether the application is for a legacy device having a legacy CPU. When the application is for the legacy device, the new CPU executes the application with selected features of the new CPU that are not present on the legacy CPU disabled, or with a latency of instruction execution of the new CPUs altered to match or approximate a latency of the legacy CPU, or with algorithmic details of operation of one or more units of the new CPU altered to match or approximate algorithmic details of operation of corresponding units of the legacy CPU.

screen-shot-2019-03-19-at-10.31.56-pm.png

via JoFC.com
patent: USPTO
 
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pr0cs

Member
Very cool, will the usual suspects now say that bc is actually worthwhile now?
I sure hope that they don't expect me to rebuy that software, I love bc but I'm a cheap prick who doesn't like buying the same thing twice
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
Very cool, will the usual suspects now say that bc is actually worthwhile now?
I sure hope that they don't expect me to rebuy that software, I love bc but I'm a cheap prick who doesn't like buying the same thing twice

The issue was when Microsoft released the Xbox One S and it was winning NPDs. The Xbox camp said it was a mistake by Sony for not including a 4K BluRay player in the Slim and not having BC was going to be a major problem for Sony going forward.

It was never about BC not being anything, it just wasn't as important as the Xbox camp were claiming.
 

pr0cs

Member
It was never about BC not being anything, it just wasn't as important as the Xbox camp were claiming.
Not having bc was a mistake, they just made up for it with better messaging, better software and a more powerful machine.
Review the threads, there are tons of Sony faithful that were happy to brush off bc but now will tout Sony's potential announcement as the final nail in Microsoft coffin 😂
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
Not having bc was a mistake, they just made up for it with better messaging, better software and a more powerful machine.
Review the threads, there are tons of Sony faithful that were happy to brush off bc but now will tout Sony's potential announcement as the final nail in Microsoft coffin 😂

They always had better messaging and software compared to MS. And being the most powerful wasn't the main factor.

BC was hyped up by the Xbox camp and it wasn't a huge selling point for the console.
 

Pallas

Member
They always had better messaging and software compared to MS. And being the most powerful wasn't the main factor.

BC was hyped up by the Xbox camp and it wasn't a huge selling point for the console.

BC project Scorpio wasn’t going to miraculously sell a gazillion units, anyone thinking that was either trolling or just down right blinded.

I will say this, BC is important. BC should have been a selling point for both consoles at launch. Each had a future plan at the times and it didn’t include backwards compatibility.

if Sony can get all past generational Playstation consoles backwards compatible then that would be fucking amazing abs would push Microsoft to improve theirs, just like I believe Xbox One’s backwards compatibility showed Sony, Nintendo and major publishers that there is renew interests in being able to play older games on current gen hardware.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
BC project Scorpio wasn’t going to miraculously sell a gazillion units, anyone thinking that was either trolling or just down right blinded.

I will say this, BC is important. BC should have been a selling point for both consoles at launch. Each had a future plan at the times and it didn’t include backwards compatibility.

if Sony can get all past generational Playstation consoles backwards compatible then that would be fucking amazing abs would push Microsoft to improve theirs, just like I believe Xbox One’s backwards compatibility showed Sony, Nintendo and major publishers that there is renew interests in being able to play older games on current gen hardware.

This wasn't the Xbox One Scorpio, it was the Xbox One S. Xbox won 3-4 straight NPD and people were saying how the PS4 SLim not having BC and a 4K Blu-Ray player was a mistake.


No, Microsoft didn't show major publishers. There was always an interest in older games, and that's why Remasters and remakers were a thing. But, it was never a major selling point for consoles this generation.

BC was a thing for the PS2 and PS3.
Same goes for the Wii and WiiU

This generation is entirely different because both consoles didn't launch with BC, it was introduced later and at a much slower pace. To say gamers were going to totally change and demand BC this gen was ridiculous.


Next gen will be different because more gamers are investing in each ecosystem way more than the previous generation and it's expected to be requested more at launch.

Gamers also don't want to lose their digital data.
 
If Sony manages to get full BC for PS4/PS2/PS1 games I'd get so hyped. I'm not a fan of MS's solution to BC where its download only and it only works for some games. PS3 too would be insane, but not counting on it.
 

Pallas

Member
This wasn't the Xbox One Scorpio, it was the Xbox One S. Xbox won 3-4 straight NPD and people were saying how the PS4 SLim not having BC and a 4K Blu-Ray player was a mistake.

Was it not a mistake that it didn’t have a 4K Blu-Ray drive? You can’t defend them for not having one, not everyone wants to stream their 4K content. PS4 Slim wasn’t suppose to have BC, Sony was riding that PSNow train, and selling us some remasters. Which looked kind of bad compare to Xbox Ones BC.

They are apparently fixing both of those issues with the PS5, so yeah something told them that both are something customers would love to have.

No, Microsoft didn't show major publishers. There was always an interest in older games, and that's why Remasters and remakers were a thing. But, it was never a major selling point for consoles this generation.

We can agree to disagree about backwards compatibility not showing major publishers anything, it certainly renewed a lot of interest in Xbox 360 games, to the point that some publishers were re-releasing these old games under the label “Xbox One Xbox 360” which obviously made some unexpected money for both Microsoft and the publishers.

Only reason it wasn’t a selling point was because it wasn’t available, obviously.


BC was a thing for the PS2 and PS3.
Same goes for the Wii and WiiU
No shit, never was arguing that point. It was even a thing for the Xbox 360 though severely limited. So why was it not a thing for the PS4? Speaking specifically for PS1-PS2 compatibility.

This generation is entirely different because both consoles didn't launch with BC, it was introduced later and at a much slower pace. To say gamers were going to totally change and demand BC this gen was ridiculous.

only one console introduced backwards compatibility(two if you want to count the WiiU)

So the demand for BC isn’t strong? Xbox seems to disagree and with those rumors about the PS5 being potentially compatible with past systems not named PS4, shows that Sony sees the demand.

Next gen will be different because more gamers are investing in each ecosystem way more than the previous generation and it's expected to be requested more at launch.
We can agree on that point.

Gamers also don't want to lose their digital data.
Correct which is what Microsoft anticipated and planned when they rolled out BC for the Xbox one.
 
Hmm. My own take on the likelihood:

PS4: 100%
PS3: 1%
PS2: 75%
PS1: 75%

The PS4 already has PS1 and PS2 emulators natively (as demonstrated by hackers). PS3? I doubt it. Would be cool, though.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
Was it not a mistake that it didn’t have a 4K Blu-Ray drive? You can’t defend them for not having one, not everyone wants to stream their 4K content. PS4 Slim wasn’t suppose to have BC, Sony was riding that PSNow train, and selling us some remasters. Which looked kind of bad compare to Xbox Ones BC.

They are apparently fixing both of those issues with the PS5, so yeah something told them that both are something customers would love to have.

It wasn't a mistake because it didn't hurt their sales. It's not about defending anything, it's about what the facts are.

If Xbox One S were selling like hotcakes and PS4 Slim sales tanked because of having o BluRay player, THEN it would have been a mistake.

Like I said before, PS4 emulating PS3 games was nearly impossible. It would've worked for the PS1 and PS2, but not the PS3.


We can agree to disagree about backwards compatibility not showing major publishers anything, it certainly renewed a lot of interest in Xbox 360 games, to the point that some publishers were re-releasing these old games under the label “Xbox One Xbox 360” which obviously made some unexpected money for both Microsoft and the publishers.

Only reason it wasn’t a selling point was because it wasn’t available, obviously.


Uh, publishers don't really make a lot of money from those re-releases, they make a lot more money from actual remasters\remakes. You saw those actual sales make the NPD, and that's where they were going.

This level of interest was around for awhile and MS didn't spearhead it.

No shit, never was arguing that point. It was even a thing for the Xbox 360 though severely limited. So why was it not a thing for the PS4? Speaking specifically for PS1-PS2 compatibility.

Of course they wanted to make money from reselling PS1-PS2 games. Not just Sony, but the developers. But the amount of money was obviously very small.

The point you're missing is that it was NOT a huge selling point. The Xbox fans claimed that it was, along with the 4K BluRay player.

only one console introduced backwards compatibility(two if you want to count the WiiU)

So the demand for BC isn’t strong? Xbox seems to disagree and with those rumors about the PS5 being potentially compatible with past systems not named PS4, shows that Sony sees the demand.

BC was around well before it. BC isn't anything new. Neither are remasters\remakes.

Correct which is what Microsoft anticipated and planned when they rolled out BC for the Xbox one.

The point still remains, it wasn't in huge demand and a must-have feature as stated by Xbox fans early on. Yes, people wanted it, but it sure wasn't a major selling point.
 

Geki-D

Banned
One would hope that actual ps5 games will garner more hype than this.
BC is a nice feature -especially at the start of a gen- but this idea that it's a must have is just silly. A console should shine through it's new games. I got PS Now that's full of PS3 games (and some PS2 games) and even there I still find myself practically only playing PS4 games on it.

It's cool PS5 will have BC, I guess. I'll still be selling off all of my PS4 games with the console when the PS5 comes out and only play PS5 games though. I guess anything older than that I'll just use Now, if anything tickles my fancy I haven't already played.
 

Pallas

Member
We can agree to disagree at this point. DForce DForce

BC is a nice feature -especially at the start of a gen- but this idea that it's a must have is just silly. A console should shine through it's new games. I got PS Now that's full of PS3 games (and some PS2 games) and even there I still find myself practically only playing PS4 games on it.

It's cool PS5 will have BC, I guess. I'll still be selling off all of my PS4 games with the console when the PS5 comes out and only play PS5 games though. I guess anything older than that I'll just use Now, if anything tickles my fancy I haven't already played.

BC is becoming must have if the video game industry continues to push toward an all digital future. No one wants to lose access to their digital backlog of games each gen since a lot if people trade in their old console to help get the newer
 
We can agree to disagree at this point. DForce DForce



BC is becoming must have if the video game industry continues to push toward an all digital future. No one wants to lose access to their digital backlog of games each gen since a lot if people trade in their old console to help get the newer
One thing is for sure, BC is not that important to gamers, but it is VERY important to GaaS game developers.

Imagine if Fortnite PS4 digital purchases couldn't be transferred to PS5; there would be a very real risk that many people would simply not bother to play on PS5 then. Games that are sold for free, are reliant on players staying to buy digital goods. And if BC doesn't happen there is a strong risk that their customers move to some other rival's GaaS game in the change over.
 
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Inviusx

Member
The implications here are insane. I mean I'm sure that Microsoft will do the exact same thing but having a single box that plays all games off the original discs is so awesome.
 

Three

Member
Not having bc was a mistake, they just made up for it with better messaging, better software and a more powerful machine.
Review the threads, there are tons of Sony faithful that were happy to brush off bc but now will tout Sony's potential announcement as the final nail in Microsoft coffin 😂
Can you show me who made a huge deal out of BC other than MS and its fans? They marketed the crap out of that because they realised they need to convert 360 users. According to the article MS started BC now.

The xbox one didn't even have BC at launch. BC was never a thing. Ask the PS3, it's always nice to have though.
The xbox camp just tend to make a huge deal of anything that the PS4 didn't have at the time. At launch it was about the TV input and kinect voice commands, then folders, then uncompressed PNGs then BC then 4k Blu rays. They just make it seems like the next big thing. Xbox One missing some features early on or never adding them is no biggy though.
 
If Sony manages to get full BC for PS4/PS2/PS1 games I'd get so hyped. I'm not a fan of MS's solution to BC where its download only and it only works for some games. PS3 too would be insane, but not counting on it.
Microsoft's solution is the only one that has made backwards compatibility relevant. Full BC is not actually good because there's no licensing tied to it which means the games can't be sold.

Approved licensing may result in less games overall but it also results in the following.

1. Digital games that can be purchased

2. Higher accessibility with no need to hunt down old games that are hard to find

3. Fixed cost with no price gouging in the retro market

4. Money spent actually going to the developers/publishers

5. For those who mind; the ability to have a bunch of old games without the clutter involved that comes with having a bunch of old games piled up everywhere

6. Staggered releases meaning games are added periodically which keeps interests peaked, hype engaged and conversations going

Full backwards compatibility is great but it has failed every single time due to the above listed not being encompassed. It's a big deal at launch and then forgotten, there's nothing to drive it forward.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
If Sony manages to get full BC for PS4/PS2/PS1 games I'd get so hyped. I'm not a fan of MS's solution to BC where its download only and it only works for some games. PS3 too would be insane, but not counting on it.
Same, it is the feature that would get me to buy the PS5. Otherwise, I'm not interested (Switch + PS4 + retro will tide me over for years).
 

pr0cs

Member
Can you show me who made a huge deal out of BC other than MS and its fans?
Go into ANY BC thread and count how many posters underplay it's value. "Who wants old games", "I still have my old machines". It's a very common mantra from the usual suspects, I can't wait for those same posters to talk how excited they are now.
Yes Xbox didn't have bc at launch, and it hurt them badly. At launch I switched from primarily 360 gamer to PS4 because Microsoft had NOTHING to keep me in their ecosystem. At launch both companies effectively orphaned 1000s of dollars of software I bought which was a huge mistake. I would have stayed with the slower, poorly planned xbone if they would have had the excellent version of bc they have now.
 

Dane

Member
Go into ANY BC thread and count how many posters underplay it's value. "Who wants old games", "I still have my old machines". It's a very common mantra from the usual suspects, I can't wait for those same posters to talk how excited they are now.
Yes Xbox didn't have bc at launch, and it hurt them badly. At launch I switched from primarily 360 gamer to PS4 because Microsoft had NOTHING to keep me in their ecosystem. At launch both companies effectively orphaned 1000s of dollars of software I bought which was a huge mistake. I would have stayed with the slower, poorly planned xbone if they would have had the excellent version of bc they have now.

Its okay when sony does it.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
Go into ANY BC thread and count how many posters underplay it's value. "Who wants old games", "I still have my old machines". It's a very common mantra from the usual suspects, I can't wait for those same posters to talk how excited they are now.
Yes Xbox didn't have bc at launch, and it hurt them badly. At launch I switched from primarily 360 gamer to PS4 because Microsoft had NOTHING to keep me in their ecosystem. At launch both companies effectively orphaned 1000s of dollars of software I bought which was a huge mistake. I would have stayed with the slower, poorly planned xbone if they would have had the excellent version of bc they have now.


And STILL BC wasn't a major selling point.

That's what you're not getting.

"Who wants to play old games" doesn't mean they have no interst in old games, it means loads of people are going to start buying an Xbox One S or Xbox One X because it has BC.

That's what the Xbox fanbase doesn't get.


The problem with the Xbox fans is they tend to hype up things and claim Sony is trouble and downplay the reasons why their favorite console is not a success AND end up being wrong in the end.

Examples:

No one cares about exclusives, it's about the multiplatform games. Exclusives only sell to only less than 10% of the install base.
Not including 4K BluRay player being a disaster for Sony
Not including BC on PS4 being a disaster for Sony.
Xbox One was going to be a major factor going forward because Sony one with Power so why can't Xbox late in the gen? (For winning US)

If most of them were truly not interested in old games, then they wouldn't care about remasters or remakes.
 

pr0cs

Member
Its okay when sony does it.
Nah, in the digital gaming age we're in now BC needs to be mandatory, no matter the platform.
In fact I can see it being a selling feature with points like upscaling, texture packs, higher framerates, improved audio, VR support and so on added as "value plus"
 

Vawn

Banned
One thing is for sure, BC is not that important to gamers, but it is VERY important to GaaS game developers.

Imagine if Fortnite PS4 digital purchases couldn't be transferred to PS5; there would be a very real risk that many people would simply not bother to play on PS5 then. Games that are sold for free, are reliant on players staying to buy digital goods. And if BC doesn't happen there is a strong risk that their customers move to some other rival's GaaS game in the change over.

They would just release a PS5 version of Fortnite (or any other game). They can still transfer data from their own servers. Games that went from PS3 to PS4, such as Final Fantasy XIV, did this.
 
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