Do PS5 Discs Work On PS4?


Every year for my birthday my grandma gets me a new game. And this year, just like every other year, she bought me a game. Except this time she got me a PS5 game. 

Sadly, I only have a PS4 console, and I didn’t have the heart to tell my grandma that she bought me the wrong game, so that I could change it. 

I really wanted to play the game she got me, Ratchet and Clank, (who wouldn’t be eager to get their hands on this one), but I wasn’t sure if a PS5 disc would work on a PS4 console though. I did some digging around and this is what I found out…

Do PS5 discs work on PS4?  No. PS5 games will not work on a PS4 console. The PS4 is not able to read the discs, sadly. Also, if you do decide to pop a PS5 disc into your PS4 console you may have difficulty getting it out again. 

Now that you know that you can’t play PS5 discs on a PS4 console, let’s look at why you can’t do this.

Why Isn’t The PS4 Able To Read PS5 Discs?

Ultimately, the PS4 console doesn’t have the up-to-date and modern software of a PS5, and that’s pretty essential for disc reading. The PS4 can tell that the PS5 disc is not what it’s supposed to be when you slide it in. And this is why PS5 discs just won’t work in a PS4. 

In addition to this, if the PS4 can’t read the disc it certainly won’t be able to run a game, whatever it is, in any shape or form. The PS4 will only play PS4 games, as well as movies. 

There is nothing that you can do to make your older console read the newer PS5 discs. It’s just how it is. It doesn’t look like Sony is going to make an update for the PS4 to make it compatible with PS5 discs either. 

The next best thing you can do is get a PS5 console in order to play PS5 disc games. 

In my case, I’ve asked Santa for a PS5 this year and I keep telling my gran that the game is awesome – Top Grandchild Of The Year Here! 

Is There Any Way You Can Use PS5 Discs On Your PS4?

Unfortunately, no. There’s no way you can play PS5 discs on your PS4.

In fact, there have been cases where PS5 discs have actually gotten stuck in PS4 consoles because they just aren’t compatible. This resulted in a pretty tricky disc ejection! (Don’t try this at home!)

It’s not all bad though, because the good news is the PS5 is backward compatible with the PS4. This means you should be able to play most of your PS4 discs on your PS5 when you eventually get one. Even if you can’t do it the other way around!

So, all is not a loss – you can keep hold of all your PS4 games, and you’ll be able to play them on your PS5! Most of your digital PS4 games should also be compatible on your PS5, so long as you use the same PSN account!

So, given the fact that you cannot play PS5 discs on your PS4, the next best thing for you to do is to get a PS5 console. But this may be easier said than done because there are a few points you need to consider first.  

Which PS5 Console Is Right For You?

The first and foremost concern you should be tackling is… what PS5 do you want? 

There are 2 different PS5 consoles that are available to buy right now; there is a PS5 that comes with a disk drive and there is also a PS5 Digital Edition (no disk drive). 

The regular PS5 console plays both disc and digital games. So, it’s the right console for you to buy if you want to play disc games, and if you want to play your older PS4 disc games on it.

This PS5 is also slightly larger than the Digital Edition because, as you might have guessed, it comes without a disk drive. This is the only significant visual difference between the two consoles too.  

The PS5 Digital Edition, on the other hand, is a solely digital console, so you cannot play disc games on it. This is a great option for those of you who almost always scratch discs or maybe you lose them a lot. Being completely digital means that there’s very little chance of you misplacing a game, and an expensive one at that too. Buying a digital PS5 also means that you can potentially limit the amount of disk errors or disk readability issues too.

There is also a major price difference between the 2 consoles – about $90-100 – the Digital Edition being the cheaper PS5 console.  

What’s actually the same?

Really, apart from one console having a disc drive and the other not, price, and there being a slight size difference between the consoles, not much else is different. 

Here’s what both consoles have:

Ray-tracing

3D-Audio

16 GB memory

4K

AMD Zen 2-Based CPU

120fps

825 GB SSD

Support major apps: Netflix, Prime, Disney+ and Spotify

So, how do you pick a console? 

Ask yourself the following:

1. Do you want to play disc games? Yes = Regular PS5/No = Digital Edition.

2. Do you want to play lots of PS4 discs? Yes = Regular PS5/No = Digital Edition.

3. What’s your budget? 

4. Do you want to play DVDs on your console? Yes = Regular PS5/No = Digital Edition. 

5. Do you have a solid and stable internet connection? Yes = Digital Edition/No = Regular PS5.

I’d recommend going with the Digital Edition because it’s just less of a headache to deal with. All you have to do is download your favorite game and start playing. Plus, you haven’t got to store loads of games all over the place.

So, now you know that there are 2 consoles, and you’ve decided which console suits you best, the next thing you should focus on is not being ripped off when purchasing your PS5. 

How Do You Avoid Buying An Overpriced PS5?

When it first launched, PS5 consoles sold out immediately. They were pre-ordered as fast as the stores got them in. And with such a limited supply of PS5’s they were really harder to get hold of and naturally, this increased their price (supply and demand). 

People, sadly, would bulk-buy PS5’s only to sell them at an exaggerated amount of money. It was an absolutely crazy time. And unfortunately, a lot of people were fooled by this scam, not to mention the other scammers that were playing up at that time too (people sending bricks out in boxes instead of consoles!!) 

Safe to say it was wild when they released the PS5.

So, what can you do to ensure that you do actually get a PS5 console at the right price?

You’re in luck because more stores are stocking PS5’s now, so you’d be better off going to an actual shop to buy your new console. Prices are set at a particular point in stores, so you know that their figures are legitimate. 

Additionally, you could buy a PS5 online but stick to well-known sellers. And if ever you’re not sure about who the seller is either leave them alone, or check reviews/send them questions to make sure they’re legitimate. 

It’s a lot of money to part with after all, so keep yourself and your wallet safe. Don’t buy from people you don’t know about.  

Beth Morris

Beth's love of gaming started when she first played Frogger on her Tiny PC. Since then she's developed a love for FPSs, a need for speed playing Forza, and a hunger to find dragon's eggs in Spyro! When she's not gaming she's either cooking, reading, or spinning around in her car!

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