A trivial issue, you might argue. But when you’ve spent 500 quid on a next-gen console, it’s annoying all the same.
So, you fought the hordes of other hopefuls – and an army of scalpers – and grabbed yourself a PlayStation 5. That means you’ve gotten to play slightly better versions of cross-generational games like Hitman 3 and Control and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla than your mates. (And Astro’s Playroom, one of the best games of last year and the real selling point for the PS5.)
But there’s a niggly issue, specifically when it comes to said cross-generational games: You might not actually be playing the PlayStation 5 version.
Because you can download and play PS4 games on your PS5 – i.e. games that haven’t received a specific upgrade or overhaul – there was a good chance you might accidentally be playing the PS4 version of games that span the hardware generations. You’d be offered the PS4 download first from the store and, if you were trying to install from a PS4 disc, it would install the PS4 version rather than the PS5 upgrade. The latest Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs; even first-party games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales suffered from the issue.
What was particularly frustrating – as players had to reinstall games or even flatten their PS5, the joys of being an early adopter – was that it would keep opting for the PlayStation 4 version, even if they had installed the PlayStation 5 version of the game previously.
It was one of the console’s more annoying issues. Admittedly it’s a bit of a first-world problem, but still – it’s a lot of money to spend on a next-generation console and not really see the benefit on every game. But no more! A recent PlayStation 5 firmware update has specifically addressed this issue.
PlayStation 5 firmware version 20.02-02.50.00
- This system software update improves system performance.
- In rare cases, the PS4 version of a game would install from the disc after you upgraded to and installed the PS5 version. Now, when you insert the PS4 game disc, the PS4 version won’t install unexpectedly.
- You can now select and edit video clips using Share Factory Studio from your media gallery.
It also “improves system performance” but who cares about that when it fixes the PS4/PS5 install issue?
(Now, if they can only work on having them actually in stock to buy, and also making them a bit smaller, we’d be all set.)
