Speaking to gamers and developers alike, Heath Hindman of Game Revolution says: "Gaming is important. It's an important medium that has great impact on our lives, our culture, and our history; we see more evidence of it every day. If we discard backward compatibility, we disregard part of our history, and part of our passion. What was once only for social outcasts and tech "geeks" is now popular culture, and dare I say, rightly so. In order to continue taking these strides, the medium needs a sense of identity and self-worth, otherwise gaming will always be a scapegoat for insane behavior and incomplete homework, rather than recognized as the beautiful thing that it truly is."
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It takes a different approach and says that it's important because of gaming history and gaming as an important entertainment medium. It's not about people, as you say "buying a system to play the classics." That is also not how in the industry sense it could win the generation. Read the part about dev kits. If someone did that, especially Sony? That could change the face of the console war.
Re: "The majority of gaming systems throughout history haven't had BC."
^ I refer you to paragraphs 20 through 22.
I completely disagree BC is very important imo. Anyone who has bought a good number of games this gen will tell you this.
I have about 160 games on Steam, they arent going anywhere.
Neither are console games.
First cloud gaming is still unproven, despite what Onlive, Gakai or Sony would like to have us believe.
Second its not the same as having a physical copy, not every one has reliable connection 24 /7.
Lastly you will be paying for it again, what happens to people who for instance bought God of war 1, then bought it again with the HD remake and now will again be expected to pay up for Cloud services. Where does it end?
I hope console makers can finally follow a more PC like route and actually start of offer BC from this gen onwards as in stick with X86 for a very long time, just the way we have it on PC. No worries about losing investment on software.
BC isn't what makes or breaks a console but it can be deciding factor for some people who want that feature in the console.
@Galactic
I won't get my hopes up that Gaikai will support majority of the games from PS1 to PS3. The PS1 had over 2,400 games. The PS2 had over 3,800 games and the PS3 had over 700 games. Thats over 6,900 games altogether. Regardless of amount of games, Sony will still need the licenses/rights to stream the games.
@ Galactic Empire down there. It COMPLETELY depends on the system. For sony to do BC in Ps4, it would cost them a Ps3 inside the Ps4. For MS to do it...not much...because the hardware between the 360 and nextbox will not be completely alien to one another.
Also Strongman
Hardly a handful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
I want BC.
I used my PS3 to play SOTC and GOW2. Which I bought in HD aswell.
I used my 360 for nothing, since I didn't own an original Xbox.
"buuuuut keep your old console"
Listen, it's all about convenience, I bought the fat 60 gig ps3 because not only did my ps2 die but i still had a crap load of ps2 games to still play and finish. Same goes for my 360, I had games for my Xbox 1 I still didn't finish.
Not to mention I don't have the shelf space for that many multiple consoles. It's hard enough fitting all three consoles plus the cable box, plus the stereo surround sound center under and next to my TV.
I wouldn't say majority. I think the majority did have it dating all the way back to the Atari 5200.
I do agree, bc is important. But I don't think it's so important it has to be native hardware bc. It is more important early in the generation when the software library is small. I would be ok with a higher priced sku that includes hardware bc, but you would need essentially the majority of the innards of a ps3 to stuff into the ps4. so, track on the majority of the 299 price tag as well.
Native backwards compatibility is superior in every regard since there's none of the technical issues associated with streaming and you can play all the games that you already own, rather than having to pay again.
There's a huge difference in streaming something over a local network and via the internet.
My personal opinion, i couldn't care less, when PS4 comes out, i have moved on and wont look back, just play the new games comming for it.
If i should get the urge to play some old games, i still have all my consoles fully functioning, and i think in my family alone, there are at least 5 PS3's and a couple of Xbox'es + PS2 and PS1
I will live...
A system with BC that could cost upwards of $600/£450
OR
A system w/o BC that would cost around $400-500/£350-400
When they are in the store buying a console it's amazing how many people would change their mind about BC if they could save fifty to a hundred bucks.
My personal opinion, is that while it is great to have B/C, it's more of a luxury feature meaning it's not necessary to me. If I still wanted to play PS3 games, I'll keep my PS3. I did the same thing with the PS2. I figured I would keep my PS2 games, but since the PS3 came out my PS2 collected dust and in fact I haven't touched it since.
But I know there are folks out there that get nostalgic and wants to re-live their old titles. To them, I say keep your current hardware and don't expect any B/C going forward. Also don't moan and complain that the console makers aren't including it as a feature either.
If you like PS2 games, keep your PS2 hooked up to the TV, it'll cover dust faster then the HDDVD drive or Kinect.
HD remakes are very cool though, if they get a 15$ price tag like they do now its very well worth at times.
HD collections aren't nearly as profitable as simply releasing digital versions of the games, which people would still pay for, if all they wanted was to play last gen's games on this gen's system.
I'm not sure what you're trying to get at, honestly.
According to gamers a large percentage care about BC BUT Sony and MS will tell you less than 10% actually use it. It costs those companies and the consumer lots of money.
If you feel THAT strongly about it, use your old console.
I had 3 connected this Gen but next gen it will only be ps4. The ps3 will either go next to it or move to another room. Not a big deal in any way.
This has to be balanced with the fact that those that buy the BC enabled console may well pass their older console onto a family member or sell it to someone else. This then becomes an issue of 'software' sales and not 'hardware' sales, which of course pleases developers ...
So clearly it depends on your point of view. With Sony struggling financially it would make more sense to concentrate on hardware sales so BC wouldn't be a priority, but Microsoft have no such problem so developer relations would probably be the better strategy.
From that I could only assume a probability:
720: Yes, full BC (probably)
PS4: No, Gaikai option later (probably)
Before:
payintwce4netflix: Ya well the PS3 sucks because it can't even cross game chat.
After
payintwce4netflix: Ya well the PS4 sucks because it can't even play old games.
Cheers.
3rd party devs would be so thrilled to have their wares both competing with old games, as well as making the next gen just as hard to develop for as the last. /s
Someone slap these folks in the face with a dose of reality. BC would be nice. It'd also be STUPID and IMPRACTICAL for these companies to support it, without going the way of the Wii U -- barely an upgrade over the current gen.
PS3 + PS4 would cost you less than a BC PS4. No one has taken your right to own a PS3/360 away. Get over it.
None of those games were "remakes". They were remasters - look up the definition. It's just like when studios remaster their shows and films to release in higher definition for people that want more clarity.
No one is forcing you to buy them, and it's not anti-consumer to provide an upgrade for those that like that sort of thing. So just like with the old films and television shows, offering old games with more clarity, definition and content is no bad thing, especially with the quality and value Sony's HD re-release packages give you.
I guess Microsoft doesn't have a digital store where they sell you old Xbox games, huh? oh wait...
No.
Can't wait to play Killzone Shadow Fall on my PS4, and I can't wait to play Last of Us on my PS3.
Sony FTW
What is your response to the part about the dev kits?
And the part about physical game preservation, and how gaming can't be taken seriously?
People who say "Just keep your old console" aren't being realistic, I own a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, Dreamcast and a ton of other consoles, I don't (and cant) hook up 10 consoles at once, and while the older ones are fun to break out from time to time, I own 250 Xbox 360 games, 75 PS3 and about 70 Wii titles. I still haven't gotten around to playing over a hundred of these, and with the ecosystems Sony and Microsoft have implemented this generation, I think it's more important then ever to have BC.
I admit I didn't play a lot of the last generation of games because there were no Achievements or Trophies, that isn't the case anymore. Also, we damn well know there will be bare months for the new consoles, the Wii U is a perfect example of this, so it'd be nice if you could pop in a 360 game in the 720 and play if you want to...without unhooking and hooking up consoles.
So would BC win a generation? Probably not, but it would be a nice feather in the cap because at the end of the day...EVERY SINGLE GAMER WANTS THAT FEATURE.
Sony however are kings of selling you games you already own. From what Sony announced people may have to pay to play PS3 games on the PS4.
If Sony forces me to pay to play PS3 games I already own on my PS4 (which I somehow doubt), I will simply turn off my PS4, switch on my PS3 and boot up the disc/download. It's not difficult, and it's not like I'm going to box my PS3 and put it in the cupboard when I get a PS4. And it's nothing on being forced to pay to access my own Internet bandwidth like MS charges you for. That's not even a choice, but not to play your games online.
But how often do gamers really play any of their older games? I know i played maybe 2-5 PS1 games on my PS2 & maybe 1-3 PS2 games on my 60GB PS3 so its no biggie to me.. Giving them up wouldve felt crappy but i see why sony has to do this.. I sold my PSP & all the UMDs i had when i bought my vita & i only miss one game that i cant buy off the network (Valkyrie Profile) however i still have it on PS1 so i was able to get over that.. I must say it does suck if ppl are forced to give up all PS3 games but if theyre streamable through gaikai, i wouldnt worry about it (if u have good internet connections)..
I want the ABILITY to play my PS3 games on PS4 but i want to play PS4 games even more so ill get over it.. Plus im keeping my PS3 in my bedroom for a blu ray player & to play my PS1-PS3 collection.. U never know, Sony might have gaikai as an add on feature to ps plus members for a small up charge & have all their greatest games upscaled to native 1080p/60FPS in the future
I have a launch model PS3 and I've only put 2 of my PS2 games in it since then, both of which I never finished on PS3. There are so many PS2s around that it's not difficult to find a PS2 to play your PS2 games on.
The aspect of backwards compatibility that you're talking about really what this is talking about.