Following recent updates from Destiny 2, Control, and the fantastic Nioh games, PlayStation 5 owners are in a golden age of gaming between generations. But if you’re not careful, you could end up playing the PlayStation 4 version of a cross-gen game on your PS5. The horror!
Microsoft’s latest consoles, the Xbox Series X and S, offer the next-generation version of a game (if it exists and if the developer has not removed it for a surcharge) through an automated process called “Smart Delivery.” It may seem like a non-characteristic feature (a term coined in a Seattle boardroom full of major communications), but it’s actually very useful. You could reasonably argue that Smart Delivery is one of the defining characteristics of Microsoft’s next-generation consoles.
On PlayStation, however, the process does not happen automatically. It’s too easy to download and boot the PlayStation 4 version of a game that exists between generations (like Bugsnax, Control, or the recently renovated Nioh 2).
As a general rule, pay attention to the text below a game icon on the main board. If next to the title it says “PS4”, you have downloaded the PS4 version. If there’s an arrow next to “PS4,” it means you guys no you downloaded the PS4 version, but it could easily be done by tapping the “X” button too quickly. (Yes, you can have the PS4 and PS5 version of a game installed on the console.) If it doesn’t say “PS4,” it means you’ve downloaded the PS5 version. Great job.
To switch to the PS5 version of, for example, Bugsnax, simply hover your cursor over the game icon and press down. You will see a three point menu. Click on it. Then select “PS5 | Complete | BugsnaxAfter downloading it, you should be fine.
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The process is not always so smooth. Sometimes, with PS4 disc-based games, you may need to do a set of additional steps. Last week, Sony has posted an update which supposedly solved a widespread problem where the PS5 would download the PS4 version of a game, even if a PS5 version existed. After the upgrade, this should no longer happen.
But what if that is the case does?
Take it Nioh 2 for example, what many of us have been playing since last week’s release The Nioh collection aroused renewed interest in the series. Last November, Team Ninja announced a free update for both games, which support 4K resolution, frame rates of up to 120 fps and allow the continuation of saved files. But, if you have installed Nioh 2 on your PS5 via disk before last week’s system update, you still won’t get this version of PS5 automatically. Here’s how to fix it:
- You should see one Nioh 2 icon on the main PS5 board on the Games page. (If no icon appears, go to the game library and boot Nioh 2. You only need to load it for a split second to create the icon on the dashboard).
- Hover over the icon and scroll down to the three-point menu on the game page.
- Click on it, then click “View Product.”
- They will carry you Nioh 2from PlayStation Store. When opening this three-point menu, a list of all available versions of the game should be displayed: Nioh 2 – PS4, The Nioh collection, Nioh 2 Remastered (PS5 update). Click on the latter.
- If yours Nioh 2 disk in the drive, you will see an option to download the free update.
PlayStation also comes with an added complication: a small set of state-of-the-art games that received PS5 updates but did not receive dedicated versions of PS5. For example, since the release of PS5, both Ghost of Tsushima i God of war have been updated for PS5. Both now run at a lovely frame rate of 60 fps on PS5, but they are still technically (extremely beautiful) PS4 games. The easiest way to distinguish exactly which versions of a particular game exists is to go to the PlayStation Store page for a game that is curious. If you click on the three-point menu, you should see a list of all available versions. Only those with a specific PS5 version will show a PS5 version available for purchase.
The Xbox’s smart delivery feature, to say the least, sounds pretty good right now, right?
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