Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, participated in a revealing Ask Me Anything session on the French PlayStation Twitter earlier today. Speaking from the show floor at PlayStation Paris Games Week, he offered details on backward compatibility and other features that have been discussed for the PlayStation 4.
The series of short videos features Yoshida answering questions tweeted by French PlayStation gamers. These include "Can we expect a Sony-made RPG in the future?" as well as the popular "Are [PlayStation 1/PlayStation 2] classics coming to PS4?"
.@Dante11769 non #AskShuhei pic.twitter.com/AiNMZqnual
— PlayStation France (@PlayStationFR) October 28, 2015
Yoshida says Sony has "nothing to announce" regarding the latter inquiry. This comes despite PlayStation 2 titles such as Dark Cloud 2 recently appearing on the PEGI ratings board, listed for a PlayStation 4 re-release. The possibility of PS1 and PS2 games coming to PS4 was also suggested by a recent survey sent out by Sony to select gamers.
Another topic immediately shut down by the president is that of PlayStation 3 games becoming playable on PS4. When asked if backward compatibility is in the works for the current-gen console, Yoshida's answer was swift and definitive.
.@Raid_Zorde Non #AskShuhei pic.twitter.com/QnR9MJjm0a
— PlayStation France (@PlayStationFR) October 28, 2015
This is in accordance with what Yoshida told us when we spoke to him about backwards compatibility at E3 2015. "I don't think we will change our approach," he said to Polygon during the June conference. "The PlayStation 4 doesn't have backward compatibility."
What might be coming to the console, however, are notifications when your PlayStation Network friends are online. This feature was included on the previously mentioned Sony survey meant to gauge gamers' interest in new console features.
Yoshida also mentioned that Sony is looking into introducing a name change feature for those hoping to change their PSN handle.
Additionally, Yoshida named several games he's excited to play on the PlayStation 4, a list that might look similar to that of console fans.
.@PPowolny Star Wars Battlefront, No Man's Sky et The Witness #AskShuhei pic.twitter.com/gEoNZEk9S9
— PlayStation France (@PlayStationFR) October 28, 2015
Yoshida and his fellow PlayStation gamers can look forward to those titles launching over the course of the next six months or so: Star Wars Battlefront launches Nov. 17, The Witness arrives Jan. 26, 2016, and No Man's Sky is coming June 2016, a window just announced at Paris Games Week yesterday.