PS5 backwards compatibility was already a hot topic in the gaming community, and now legendary Metal Gear Solid voice actor David Hayter has joined the discussion. You'll recognise his voice if you've ever played a game with Solid Snake in it!
Sony has confirmed in a PlayStation blog that 4000+ PS4 games will be playable on PS5, but everything else from the PlayStation back catalogue (including all those glorious games from PS1, PS2 and PS3) is seemingly being left out of the conversation.
[sc name="ps5" ]
Considering that the Metal Gear franchise has reached the PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and even the PS Vita, you can see why David Hayter might quite like to see Sony give classic PlayStation titles a new lease of life with PS5 backwards compatibility.
Speaking to our very own Daryl Baxter on Daryl's PAL Keys podcast, David Hayter has lifted the lid on his backwards-compatibility opinions. Keep reading to learn what the Solid Snake actor has to say about the PS5's relationship with classic titles...
PS5 backwards compatibility is "sort of a bummer"
Asked whether he would like for players to be able to slot a PS1 disc into a PS5 and boot up a classic Metal Gear game on next-gen hardware, linked up to a 4K TV, David Hayter responded in a positive way.
"Yeah," Hayter said in episode 2.7 of the PAL Keys podcast. "It really annoys me that backwards compatibility is not ubiquitous. You know, I still have my Xbox 360 running and my GameCube, because there's just old games that I love and I wanna play - I wanna continue to play.
"It really annoys me when a new platform comes out and it's like, 'Okay, all the old games are gone, and you have to buy all new games'. You know, I understand that that's commerce, but it's sort of a bummer, and it feels like there'd be people buying Metal Gear, to this day, if you could pop it into your PS5."
"I don't get any money from that," Hayter hastened to add. "I'm not saying that from a mercenary standpoint. I'm just saying, I'd love for more people to see the game and for younger people to be able to play it.
"So yeah, that would be ideal, but I don't know if they'll do it, because it's such a cynical world. You know, it's like, 'No no no, you just have to buy all-new games.' But I think that's a short-sighted strategy and I really wish they would allow us to play across platforms."
READ MORE: Where are all the PS1 games on PS4?
What about a new Metal Gear Solid remake or remaster?
Also during episode 2.7 of the PAL Keys podcast, Hayter was asked whether he'd like to see a Metal Gear remake or remaster. Would he like to see remake done in VR, like the much-talked-about Shadow Moses project, or maybe something else?
"I mean, I think that's certainly a possibility," Hayter said tentatively. "It's so hard, because the rift between Kojima and Konami... it's hard to know what is going to happen, but I would certainly love to. I mean, I would be the first one to buy a VR Shadow Moses infiltration game."
Hayter added: "Yeah, obviously the Metal Gear games are ripe for remaking. I mean, I would think they would probably remaster them, like the Resident Evil games. You know, I think remaking them would be superfluous - they're already pretty, they pretty much stand up to this day.
"I suppose you could do more of an open-world Metal Gear Solid type of thing. But I'd be surprised if they had us come in and re-record all the games again. I'd be down to do it, but I dunno... who knows? Who knows what they'll do?"
Touching again on the rift between creator Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami, Hayter added: "Yeah, you have to work that [rift] out to really accomplish these... I mean, it may be that Konami just owns the rights and could do a remaster of them on its own, but that's just speculation. I have no idea."
You can listen to the full interview, where Hayter even does the Solid Snake voice, at this link!
READ MORE: Has Sony made a mistake with PS5 backwards compatibility?