Feature: PS3 Emulation On PS5 Tested: Killzone, MotorStorm, GTA4 and Many, Many More
Digital Foundry has tested PS3 emulation on PS5 using the RPCS3 emulator, made possible by the recent Linux compatibility hack on the console. The results reveal why Sony has not officially implemented backwards compatibility for PS3 games on PS5.
The testing shows that PS3 games run well when they don’t heavily utilize the Cell processor’s SPU satellite processors. However, games that offload significant processing to the SPUs struggle due to the PS5’s CPU becoming a bottleneck when emulating these specialized components. Examples tested include Killzone, MotorStorm, GTA IV, and GTA: Episodes from Liberty City, with performance varying dramatically based on their reliance on the exotic Cell architecture.
These findings underscore the technical challenge Sony faces in delivering official PS3 emulation on PS5. Unlike Microsoft’s successful Xbox 360 backwards compatibility implementation on newer Xbox consoles, the architectural differences between the PS5 and PS3 make comprehensive emulation significantly more demanding. RPCS3 remains the most advanced PS3 emulator available, but its performance limitations on PS5 hardware demonstrate why delivering a polished, official solution would be challenging for PlayStation.