The PlayStation 5 may play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games via the cloud

Sony has been revealing more details about the PlayStation 5 and its games, looking towards the future. However, someone recently unearthed a patent that suggests the company is also interested in its past: namely, PS5 may have more games on it than just PS5 and Ps4 games.

The patent was revealed by a Twitter user called @renka_schedule. If you translate from Japanese, it says a number of PS1, PS2, and PS3 games can be stored in the cloud, and can be played via a virtual machine that emulates the original consoles’ operating systems.

SIEのPS5？特許情報をメモします。

・PS1/PS2/PS3、様々な世代のゲーム機にわたる大量のゲームタイトルが、クラウドゲーミングライブラリを介して蓄積され利用可能。

・これらのゲームは、それぞれのゲーム機に関連したオペレーティングシステムを模倣した仮想マシンの上で実行可能。 pic.twitter.com/TsWV859OLd

— れんか (@Renka_schedule) July 4, 2020

They also followed it up with more patent documents, one of which suggests these games may come with short demos you can play before buying them.

Usual disclaimers: this is just a patent, it doesn’t mean Sony is actually going to do anything with the technology, it may not even be real, etc etc. Still, let’s imagine how it would change the console race if this turned out to be a real feature of the PS5. This would substantially raise the PS5’s usability, and it’d be great for us, the gamers.

Read: Here are the Xbox Series X games we think Microsoft will show off on July 23

Backwards compatibility has always been the area where the PlayStation has lagged behind the Xbox One. The XB1 is compatible with original Xbox and 360 discs, giving interested gamers a reason to keep them and still get value out of them. The PS4, on the other hand, only ever allowed PS3 games via the PS Now streaming service. While there’s nothing wrong with PS Now, it is essentially making you pay to play PS3 classics you might already own.

So if, if Sony could make this tech work, and if it turns out to be more than just a fancy PS Now upgrade, it’d be a huge advantage. Imagine being able to say you can play hundreds of games on the PS5 out of the box, rather than just the few that’ll be available at launch. Also, it’d just be great to see Sony pay tribute to the classic games we otherwise can only play if we take out an old console or (horrors) own a PS Vita.

Also, just by coincidence, Sony also tweeted an image of what game boxes for the PS5 will look like. I suppose even if we never get full backwards compatibility on the PS5, its games will look pretty.

A sneak peek at what PS5 games will look like when you see them on store shelves starting this holiday: https://t.co/i2ByEdWYRS pic.twitter.com/TmB4FzFMJZ

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 9, 2020

But you tell me: would this raise the PS5 in your esteem at all? Ping me on Twitter and let me know.