diff --git a/core/sys_config.inc.php b/core/sys_config.inc.php
index 50ac40a6..abc00766 100644
--- a/core/sys_config.inc.php
+++ b/core/sys_config.inc.php
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ _d("TIMEZONE", null);        // string   timezone
 _d("CORE_EXTS", "bbcode,user,mail,upload,image,view,handle_pixel,ext_manager,setup,upgrade,handle_404,comment,tag_list,index,tag_edit,alias_editor"); // extensions to always enable
 _d("EXTRA_EXTS", "");        // string   optional extra extensions
 _d("BASE_URL", null);        // string   force a specific base URL (default is auto-detect)
-
+_d("MIN_PHP_VERSION", '5.6');// string   minium supported PHP version
 
 /*
  * Calculated settings - you should never need to change these
diff --git a/core/util.inc.php b/core/util.inc.php
index 29e525b3..64b49bee 100644
--- a/core/util.inc.php
+++ b/core/util.inc.php
@@ -1600,14 +1600,17 @@ function score_assert_handler($file, $line, $code, $desc = null) {
 /** @privatesection */
 
 function _version_check() {
-	$min_version = "5.4.8";
-	if(version_compare(PHP_VERSION, $min_version) == -1) {
-		print "
-Currently SCore Engine doesn't support versions of PHP lower than $min_version --
-if your web host is running an older version, they are dangerously out of
+	if(MIN_PHP_VERSION)
+	{
+        if(version_compare(phpversion(), MIN_PHP_VERSION, ">=") == FALSE) {
+            print "
+Shimmie (SCore Engine) does not support versions of PHP lower than ".MIN_PHP_VERSION."
+(PHP reports that it is version ".phpversion().")
+If your web host is running an older version, they are dangerously out of
 date and you should plan on moving elsewhere.
 ";
-		exit;
+            exit;
+        }
 	}
 }