PlayStation 5 Latest News: New Proof Might Reveal PS5’s Secret Behind Backward Compatibility Feature

Earlier leaks revealed that the PlayStation 5 could run PlayStation 4 games, but Sony has not yet disclosed how it would be possible. Rumors have it that Sony is working on a remastering engine to allow the PS5 to run PS1, Ps2, Ps3, and PS4 games. A newly granted patent might have the answers as to how Sony would be able to offer the backward compatibility feature on the PlayStation 5.

Spoofing Old Titles For PlayStation 5

Sony recently secured a patent titled “Backward compatibility through the use of spoof clock and fine grain frequency control.” It was filed on Sept. 12, 2017, by Sony Interactive Entertainment and granted on Jan. 14, 2020. The brains behind Patent No. 10534395 are Mark Cerny and David Simpson.

The core idea presented in the patent is a process capable of ‘tricking’ older titles that they are on the original console with the use of a spoof clock speed. The Backward Compatibility patent explains that this is possible because video games are usually at a set clock frequency. This set frequency is where software applications are tested, the patent continues.

Additionally, the Backward Compatibility patent proposes two modes to achieve this. The first one is the Normal Mode, the system (presumably PS5) functions at a normal frequency. The second mode is called Compatible Mode.

In this mode, the PlayStation 5 operates on the ‘assumption of compatibility’ between the current system and the older versions of the system. The system is set to operate in Normal Mode; however, when a title or application developed for older version runs on it, the system could switch to a more suitable operating frequency to run the app or title.

PS5 Patent Aligns With The AMD Leak

In December last year, a massive leak about the PlayStation 5 from AMD surfaced online. The leak reveals technical details about the PS5. One of these details reveals that the GPU of the PlayStation 5 has three different modes that can be switched.

The standard 2.0Ghz CPU clock is presumably for the native PlayStation 5 games, also known as Gen 2. Additionally, the GPU has a couple of other modes called Gen 1 and Gen 0. It is worth mentioning that while these details are fascinating, these are unconfirmed yet.