New PlayStation patent suggests more PS3 integration for the PS5 in the future

Ps3 Future Owns — (Image credit: Future)

A new PS5 patent has been filed by Sony which appears to point towards some kind of PS3 compatibility via emulation in the future.

The new patent, which was spotted by Game Rant, is titled 'Systems and methods for converting a legacy code into an updated code' and was filed by Sony earlier this year. The official documents for the patent reference several PS3 accessories from days gone by, including the PlayStation EyeToy, PlayStation Move, PlayStation media remote, DualShock 3, PSP Go and more.

It's not clear what Sony plans to do with this newly filed patent yet, and its description seems to confuse things, but it's thought that this could be somehow linked to bringing more PS3 games to the PS5 via emulation. We already know that the new PS Plus Premium membership offers some of the PS3’s back catalogue to players but only via Cloud streaming. Perhaps, this new patent will be used to better emulate older games (specifically from the PS3-era) via PS Plus.

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That isn’t to say that you should start digging out your DualShock controller or EyeToy camera yet, though, as it’s unlikely that Sony will ever make these accessories compatible with the new-gen console due to the majority of them no longer being available for purchase. What’s more likely is that Sony is attempting to figure out a way to run older titles on newer consoles without the use of the PS3 peripherals.

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.