PS5 will let you stream PS4 games — but is it worth it?

PS5 volition let you lot stream PS4 games — but is it worth it?

(Image credit: Sony via thegameawards YouTube)

Yesterday, Sony published an extremely detailed guide to PS5 backwards compatibility. By and large speaking, it'due south very good news, with only a scattering of PS4 games confirmed equally incompatible – and, bluntly, they're games that few volition shed a tear over.

But amidst the proficient news, there were a handful of devils in the details. One example is game streaming. Just equally the PS4 can stream games to a PS Vita, the PS4 volition also exist able to stream games to the PS5.

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The advantage of using Remote Play in this mode, as Sony points out, is that you won't have to use any of that precious SSD space — rumored to be just 664GB after the OS is taken into business relationship — on PS4 games.

Only there's a downside to this. While PS4 games on PS5 generally will get a shot in the arm functioning wise, games streamed from the PS4 will exist the same equally they ever were, minus any latency your home cyberspace connection adds to the mix.

This shouldn't be a surprise. Game streaming means that the heavy lifting is washed server side – it'due south why things like Google Stadia and Microsoft'due south Project xCloud can theoretically run on basically anything with a screen, from the best Chromebooks to the best inexpensive phones. In this instance, your PS4 is the server, and your PS5 is doing the relatively menial chore of displaying the stream on screen.

For that reason, people may decide that streaming PS4 games to their PS5 is a neat political party trick, simply one that in do is never used. Why waste electricity powering two devices in the aforementioned business firm when you could become the same functioning or meliorate past just letting ane console practise it? Moreover, given y'all'll need to keep the PS4 to stream games to PS5 anyway, why not only play them natively if the performance is the same?

Solid land drives may exist expensive, but if backwards compatibility on PS5 proves to be equally solid every bit Sony is suggesting, and so almost people will likely be better off trading in their PS4, and using the money on PS5 SSD expansion instead.

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Freelance correspondent Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, roofing phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are plant all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When non weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably observe him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more probable, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.