PlayStation 5 will only leave 10 old PS4 games in the back-compat dust [Updated] - Ars Technica | Canada News Media
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PlayStation 5 will only leave 10 old PS4 games in the back-compat dust [Updated] – Ars Technica

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Aurich Lawson / Sony

After tearing the PlayStation 5’s guts apart earlier this week, Sony confirmed nearly everything we’d like to know on Friday about how its new console, launching November 12, will interface with PS4 games via backward compatibility.

We should probably start with the big news that Sony has not cleared up just yet.

Today, we received our first indication that PlayStation 5 will ship with something known as “Game Boost,” which its Friday news post suggests “may make [select] PS4 games run with a higher or smoother frame rate.” This suggestion doesn’t come with a handy footnote pointing us to a list of affected games or features, however.

Sony did not immediately respond to our request for clarification, so I’m left pointing to my recent deep dive with Xbox Series X’s backward compatibility suite. What I found there was compelling: Most games play nearly identically on Xbox Series X as they do on Xbox One X, since console games are typically coded with hard limits on technical aspects. But in the case of games that launched on PS4 with “unlocked” frame rates and dynamic resolutions, well, the sky might be the limit.

Will PS5 let those older, uncapped games tap into the full PS5 architecture or will certain CPU and GPU aspects be limited for compatibility’s sake? I found that Xbox Series X was generally quite generous to the minority of games that could tap into increased horsepower, but there’s no guaranteeing Sony will treat its older games the same way, in order to prioritize compatibility over upgrades. Additionally, will current-gen PlayStation VR games see their own boosts? “PSVR” is referenced repeatedly throughout today’s new document but not in the brief mention of Game Boost.

[Update, 3:05pm ET: Sucker Punch Productions has now confirmed that this year’s Ghost of Tsushima, which is currently capped at 30fps on PlayStation 4 consoles, will receive 60fps support and faster loading times on PS5 via a Game Boost-minded patch. This is likely a good sign that other recent first-party PS4 games will receive similar updates.]

Just deal with it

While we’ve yet to see a list of “select” games affected by Game Boost, we now have a small list of 10 games that stand out as exceptions for PS5’s back-compat suite. Sony seems confident in saying that the “overwhelming majority” of over 4,000 PS4 games will play on PS5, so we’ll start by pouring one out for the following 10 games that will not:

  • DWVR
  • Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma, Volume One
  • TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2
  • Just Deal With It!
  • Shadow Complex Remastered
  • Robinson: The Journey
  • We Sing
  • Hitman Go: Definitive Edition
  • Shadwen
  • Joe’s Diner

Only one of those appears to be a PSVR exclusive, and the games’ commonality is otherwise difficult to ascertain. That weird list is also a possible hint that the metric for “playable” might be a fuzzy one for PS4 games, since Sony is already saying things like the following:

Although many PS4 games are playable on PS5 consoles, some functionalities that were available on the PS4 console may not be available on PS5 consoles. In addition, some PS4 games may exhibit errors or unexpected behavior when played on PS5 consoles.

That warning is followed by stern advice from Sony: before buying DLC for a game that you want to take from PS4 to PS5, test the game out on PS5 first “to see if you are happy with the play experience.” Hmm. We’d sure like to see more explanations or examples of how PS4 games on PS5 might leave players unhappy—should we expect loading pauses, frame rate stutters, or outright glitches? Or are we talking more about tolerable differences like mild audio hiccups or color-grading issues? Right now, we have no idea.

Speaking of color-grading: “HDR is automatically switched on for PS5 consoles,” Sony says, but this doesn’t confirm whether we should expect any “auto-HDR” treatment for older PS4 games, like Xbox Series consoles offer for older Xbox software. (This automatic HDR switch won’t happen on TV sets that don’t support the standard, and Sony says it can be disabled if you prefer.)

A sense of shock

Existing PlayStation VR hardware seems to be entirely compatible with PS5, with Sony confirming once again that users will need a PlayStation Camera adapter to connect to PS5—and that those adapters will be free. How exactly PSVR owners will get those adapters remains to be seen.

The matter of PS5 controller compatibility is a bit more complicated than Xbox Series’ pledge of total forward and backward compatibility (with the exception of Xbox One Kinect, RIP). As has previously been hinted, PS5’s new DualSense controller will work with older games, but PS4’s DualShock 4 gamepad will not work with PS5 games. (Yes, you can still connect a PS4 DualShock 4 to play PS4 games on PS5. Whew, that’s a mouthful.) In good forward-compatibility news, if you already bought an expensive add-on controller, Sony assures you that “specialty peripherals [from the PS4 era], such as officially licensed racing wheels, arcade sticks, and flight sticks,” will work with PS5 software.

When playing the PS4’s library of PSVR games on PS5, Sony encourages users to stick with DualShock 4 as a gamepad, suggesting that the older gamepad offers the “best experience” in PSVR. This implies, but doesn’t confirm, that DualSense will not work the same way as a DualShock 4 in PSVR games like Astro Bot, which relies heavily on gamepad motion sensing via tracking elements like its “light bar.” You can also use existing PlayStation Move wands in PSVR games on PS5. [Update, 2:50 p.m. ET: Another official Sony page confirms that DualSense controllers will not work for PS4’s PSVR games.]

Certain PS4 system features have been scrapped when moving forward to PS5. The DualShock 4’s “share” button now brings up the PS5’s built-in “create” menu, which appears to do all the stuff that “share” did on PS4 but with a few additional button shortcuts. And PS4 social features like tournaments, “in-game live,” and second-screen app functionality have all gotten the axe.

And as Sony already confirmed last month, if you were holding out hope that any of your PS1, PS2, or PS3 discs would work on the PS5, you should stop that at once.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kuwait bans ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ video game, likely over it featuring Saddam Hussein in 1990s

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.

Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.

The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.

There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.

Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.

“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”

Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.

“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.

But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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