May 19th 2024.
Have you heard about the latest buzz surrounding Horizon Forbidden West? There's been some talk about upgrades and whether or not players have to pay for them. It may seem confusing, but one reader believes that Sony's approach to charging for game upgrades is actually quite fair and something that Nintendo should consider adopting.
As a proud owner of a Nintendo Switch, I've been eagerly waiting for news about the upcoming Switch 2. Specifically, I'm curious about its backwards compatibility and upgrade paths. While I'm pretty confident that it will be backwards compatible, I'm not sure if Nintendo will offer upgrade paths or charge full price for native Switch 2 versions of Switch games. I'm also hoping they'll provide free boosts to Switch games running through backwards compatibility.
Looking back, I have to say that Sony has done a pretty good job of striking a balance with their upgrade system, despite receiving some criticism. The only issue is that it can be quite confusing for players to navigate. Essentially, most first-party PlayStation 4 games running through backwards compatibility on PlayStation 5 have received a free patch that allows for a 60 frames-per-second mode. However, the most requested game, Bloodborne, has yet to receive this update.
For games that have a native PlayStation 5 version with additional work done on graphical assets or new modes, Sony has offered a reasonably priced £10 upgrade path. They also had a grace period during the console's launch window, where players could get both the PlayStation 4 and 5 versions for the price of the PlayStation 4 version.
Unfortunately, Horizon Forbidden West was initially part of this grace period, but when it slipped out of the PlayStation 5 launch window, Sony tried to charge players for the upgrade. Understandably, there was quite a bit of backlash, which led to Sony apologizing and honoring the original launch window criteria.
Full remakes like Demon's Souls are considered fair as full-price releases. The only time I feel they may have misjudged it was with The Last of Us Part 1, where the work didn't seem to justify the full price or not offering an upgrade path.
There was also a bit of controversy when Uncharted 4 was delisted from the PlayStation Store just before the release of the native PlayStation 5 version, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. However, it's still possible to buy the PlayStation 4 disc version and access the £10 digital upgrade for the PlayStation 5 version, which also includes the DLC. Plus, the PlayStation 5 version was sensibly priced at £45. At this point, it's likely the cheapest way to get the game.
Personally, I haven't taken advantage of the upgrade option on most games, as I'm mainly interested in playing at 60 frames-per-second, which most games have received for free. The Last of Us Remastered on PlayStation 4 already runs at 60 frames-per-second, so I won't bother with The Last of Us Part 1 either. However, I did take advantage of the £10 upgrade path for Uncharted 4, as I didn't own the well-received DLC.
I could be wrong, but I believe the reason why the PlayStation 4 version of Uncharted 4 didn't receive a free 60 frames-per-second patch is because they want players to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version. This was a bit disappointing, but since the DLC was included in the upgrade, it was a good deal for me. I also wonder if this is why Bloodborne hasn't received a 60 frames-per-second patch, as there may be a PlayStation 5 remaster or remake in the works.
It's also worth noting that cross-gen games like God Of War Ragnarök haven't received free backwards compatible patches to make the PlayStation 4 version run at 60 frames-per-second on PlayStation 5. Instead, players have to pay for the £10 upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version to access this feature.
Overall, I've been able to play most of my PlayStation 4 first-party games at 60 frames-per-second with a free patch on PlayStation 5. This includes games like Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone, God of War, The Last of Us Part 2, and Horizon Zero Dawn. For the games that don't have a free patch, the £10 upgrade path isn't too bad. However, as I mentioned before, it can be quite confusing trying to keep track of which games have received what.
Who knows, maybe someday even Bloodborne will receive a 60 frames-per-second patch. But for now, I'm just happy to have the option of playing my favorite games at a smoother frame rate.
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