PS5 Can Reportedly Emulate PS3 Games

Whenever a new console is released, players immediately want to know about backwards compatibility. After all, a gamer only has so much space in the house for various consoles to revisit their favorites. Sony’s PlayStation hasn’t had the best history with backwards compatibility, and the PlayStation 5 can only officially natively run (most) games from the previous generation’s PlayStation 4. However, recent tests suggest that emulating PS3 games on a PS5 is possible – and may even become an official part of the PS5 library.

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For a good while, bringing PS3 games to the PS5 natively was considered impossible thanks to the specific technology used in the console. However, a YouTuber by the name of Lowest Logan has found a way to emulate PS3 games on his PS5 – a real “big if true” moment for gamers who yearn to revisit their PS3 favorites without shopping the resale market for a console that may or may not work upon arrival.

The video is titled “I Ran PS3 Games on PS5 Silicon to Prove Sony Wrong,” and it shows Logan undergoing a tech experiment using an AMD BC-250 and PS5 silicon to run PS3 games. He explains his process in depth at the beginning, then puts the hardware to the test. He plugs in a PS3 controller and gets to work emulating Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, followed by Little Big Planet 3.

For those with the tech knowledge to follow along, the video offers some fascinating commentary on the hardware and how Logan managed to emulate these games. For the rest of us, the video includes some nostalgic footage of the PS3-era games he emulates, which do seem to run quite smoothly. As the title suggests, Sony’s claim that the PS5 couldn’t possibly run PS3 games due to tech issues isn’t looking as strong as it once did.

This is interesting news given the limited ability to access PS3 games via PS5 currently. A handful of these games are available digitally for members who have PS Plus Premium, but only via Cloud Streaming. Even as more PS2-era games join the PS5 store, access to PS3 era titles remains pretty limited. And yes, remasters continue to be a thing, but not all gamers want a newly remastered version of their favorites.

Lowest Logan’s test also lends new credibility to rumors that Sony is working to bring more PS3 games to the newer console, something players have been discussing for a while.

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Worrying over the future of access to PS3 titles is nothing new. Sony has previously announced plans to close down the PS3 store. Even if they nixed the idea after fan backlash, the continued end of support for older consoles like Nintendo’s 3DS and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 make it seem like an end to online PS3 game purchases is only a matter time.

So, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that they’re looking at a way to balance not supporting the PS3 store with not upsetting their customers. Adding more PS3 games to the PS5 library would be one such solution, especially now that one tech YouTuber has proved it is possible to run these older games on the new hardware, with some modifications.

For now, a wider library of native PS3 games for PS5 remains a rumor, but at least one tech savvy gamer has found a way to show it’s not an impossible feat.