PlayStation 3 games have started appearing on the PlayStation 5‘s store, amidst suggestion that Sony could unveil further backwards compatibility support for the console.
When viewing a PS3 game on the PS5 store, the listing should direct the player towards the PlayStation Now version of the game, however, Dead Or Alive 5 displays a price, £7.99.
Other users on social media have reported seeing similar listings for PS3’s Bejeweled and Prince of Persia games The Forgotten Sands and The Two Thrones, each with their own purchase prices.
At the time of publishing, users have been unable to purchase a PS3 game from the PS5 store. The listings could be in error but interestingly, Dead Or Alive 5 on the PS3 isn’t available on PlayStation Now in Europe.
The listings have appeared following the discovery of a patent, filed by PS5 system architect Mark Cerny titled, “backward compatibility through the use of spoof clock and fine grain frequency control”.
This has naturally led many to speculate that Sony has finally developed a solution for older titles and could soon expand PS5’s backwards compatibility support.
It also arrives following a Bloomberg report from December, which claimed that an Xbox Game Pass competitor service is being prepared by PlayStation.
According to documents seen by the publication, the new service is codenamed ‘Spartacus’ and will combine the current PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now services, phasing out the branding of the latter. It’s expected to launch for PS4 and PS5 this spring and to be structured across three payment tiers.
The first tier will reportedly include existing PlayStation Plus benefits, such as online play and free monthly titles. The second would offer a large catalogue of games, similar to Microsoft’s Game Pass service. The third tier would add extended demos, game streaming and a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP games.
Sony has said on multiple occasions that the Game Pass release model wouldn’t work for PlayStation, casting doubt on the likelihood that it would adopt a similar day-one subscription release model to its competitor.
Speaking to GI.biz last September, SIE boss Jim Ryan claimed a subscription-type model would be unsustainable for PlayStation Studios because it often sees its first-party game budgets grow to “well over $100 million”.
While it’s been claimed that Xbox Game Pass has yet to amass enough subscribers to make it profitable, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said last October that the company has no plans to increase the price of the service.