It won’t be long before the next generation of consoles will be in full swing and there are a lot of questions being thrown around about what we can expect. But more importantly we have people predicting what they think Sony and Microsoft might drop on us in regards to features of their new hardware and one of the more outspoken topics has been that of backwards compatibility. And it got me thinking: is backwards compatibility for the PS4 or new Xbox really that important?
Let’s take a look at Sony for a moment. For the PlayStation 2 it was definitely a feature that needed to be included and, thankfully, it was. With the PlayStation 3 it was needed, but not as much. And some models were backwards compatible, some weren’t. But, for me anyway, we’re in a day and age where backwards compatibility just isn’t as important anymore.
There’s a much simpler way to deal with the issue of back catalogues and I think it’s a win-win for both the manufacturer and the consumer. With the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade becoming more popular and more viable, let’s just distribute PS3 and Xbox 360 titles via the digital avenue. Now I know that a major issue pops up here. People want to play the games they already own but let’s look at this in a logical way.
The PS2: a console that was fully backwards compatible. And it needed to be.
If a gamer has gone to the trouble of purchasing a new console and has also got rid of their last generation console (which is generally the only type of person who has a horse in this race, so to speak) then the issue of being able to play their old games is quite a minor one. The average consumer who fits this profile will likely end up playing no more than four or five old games. So put them on the PSN or XBLA and set a special, lower price for new console owners. It’s a middle man and it works for both.
I’m being forcefully realistic here I will admit. But with the current plans being put in place in defiance of the used games market and much stricter DRM being enforced platform-wide, it wouldn’t come as a shock to anybody to see Sony and Microsoft awkwardly push backwards compatibility off to the side. So let’s skip by the enraged responses and just get on with a solution. And this is the best one I’ve come up with. It’s fast efficient and future proof.
With internet connections getting faster and faster, it’s just quick and efficient. It allows for complete control on the manufacturer side and will, for the most part, keep gamers themselves happy. This is the best we can expect so I say we run with an idea similar to this. It’s not perfect but I think something along these lines could be a nice compromise for both companies and consumers. Neither will be fully happy but there’s no point in hoping for backwards compatibility. Keep your PS3 or Xbox 360 if you want to play old games. We’re moving into a new stage within the video game industry. So just ride the wave, man, ride the wave.
its even more important
Interesting, but as far as I’m concerned since the technology to play older disk based games is no longer incredibly expensive to produce, I don’t think it’s asking that much of companies to offer a backwards compatible system. Heck, with different SKU’s why not offer backwards compatibility with a more expensive model and none with a basic starting model. Obviously this isn’t essential, but realistically, the technology to play the older games is less expensive, its just needs to be implemented into the system’s hardware.
Why not both online downloads and backwards compatibility, Xbox and ps2 technology (to play games) costs about $13.50 and $14.70 to produce now, with PS1 being even cheaper. Why would you not implement these into the next generation of consoles?
I can only speak on behalf of myself, but if Sony offers a backwards compatible PS4 (PS1, PS2, and PS3) I would consider that a major plus.
You do realize as technology improves, cost of implementing old technology cost less. With that being said, because it is now cheaper than ever to implement these, the better question is why would they not want to? It would be both a sign of good faith towards their customers and not cost an exponential amount. In doing so, giving people the option to use the digitally downloaded games or their previously purchased disk based ones.
I almost want to say, I expect Microsoft to exclude backwards compatibility and Sony to implement it.
I dunno, if Blu-ray players offer DVD playability, why not game systems do the same?
While at the beginning of this generation your remake may have had more credence. The fact of the matter is that we should now be able to emulate PS2 and Xbox games no problem. Emulating PS2 games takes approximately 8.7x the processing power. PS1 takes 6.6x. (which is why all PS3′s can emulate PS1 games but not PS2 games) Judging by the leaked specs, both Orbis and Durango should be able to emulate the PS2 and Xbox games no problem. It may, however be difficult for them to emulate PS3 and Xbox 360 games, contingent upon the internal structure of the system.
Telling people “ride the wave” = accept X regardless of opinion.
DMR becoming stricter? I believe the opposite is becoming more and more accepted, visit website: gog dot com
One very nice website does not make an industry standard, though.
True, but just look at what Apple did to the music industry, after a few years, all downloaded songs became DMR free. This isn’t necessarily indicative of where were headed but, I am inclined to say, that when the general consumer realizes the problem with DMR it will no longer be a sustainable behavior. In all likelyhood, this will not last.
Well sure that’s you, but your just one person, maybe there are other people out there who might consider backwards compatibility a feature they’d be interested in.
“Realistically” I would probably just have the option for either.
I almost want to say that backwards compatibility is more important than ever, with all the disk based games that have come out, especially for the xbox 360 and PS3, so many people have a huge library of games and who wants to get rid of them. Same thing with blu-ray, no need to get rid of your dvd’s just make blu-ray players backwards compatible, moral – everyone is content.