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480°

Op-ed: Xbox One Data Proves Sony Are Right To Ignore Demands For PS4 Backwards Compatibility

Analysis of Xbox gamer habits by Ars Technica prove that Sony were probably right to ignore the baying call for PS4 Backwards compatibility.

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jillSandwich2508d ago
AspiringProGenji2508d ago ShowReplies(4)
slate912508d ago (Edited 2508d ago )

So Sony is right in ignoring a free backward compatibility feature, but they are still right to charge for it?

Quick, someone spin this for me.

Lennoxb632508d ago ShowReplies(7)
TKCMuzzer2507d ago

Are you not putting a spin on the spin yourself? I have PS3 games I still own, they cost me nothing to play in my PS3. If I want to play these games on PSNow on my PS4 at a cost that is my decision (I don't by the way). If gamers are real gamers and love games of the past, then more than likely they will keep hardware of the past (as that is the true way to play those game).
The truth is, people are not really bothered about BC, it's about not having what the others have.

Plus, why does everybody say free BC? It would be free for us who owned the games but I doubt it's free to implement for Sony, as with most business cases, if the sums don't add up then they will invest elsewhere.

DJStotty2507d ago

but most back compat games benefit from more stable frame rate on xbox one. Wouldnt that be the "true" way to play the game?

cartoonx12507d ago

lol true way of playing at 20 fps? most of the 360 games runs much better on xboxone.

rainslacker2506d ago

Apparently MS fans had the foresight at the start of this gen to keep their 360 games but sell off the actual system to play them in.

It's weird, because in the past, a great number of people sold off their entire game library and system to finance the purchase of a new gen, while only a limited number kept their old games for playing them into the new gen.

FPS_D3TH2506d ago (Edited 2506d ago )

"Gamers are real gamers and love the past..."
Well if tech companies were real tech companies and love customer satisfaction...

IamTylerDurden12506d ago

To me, PS Now is about playing hundreds of games i've never played and being able to try them in an instant with virtually no download. That's the appeal when i've had PS Now. I was able to try dozens of games instantly without waiting for a lengthy download and i was able to experience numerous games that i missed last gen. Never once did i play a game that i already own. I still own a PS3 and 360 so BC means nothing to me. It's not like even half the 360 games are backwards compatibility anyway. Keeping my 360 makes ALL the games BC. HDMI 1 and HDMI 2..

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2506d ago
AspiringProGenji2507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

They have as much right to charge for PS Now as MS is charging for Game Pass. MS are not gonna assume you own the games and give it for free, are they? They are both services.

There! No spin, just common sense

slate912507d ago

Xbox Game Pass =/= BC. PSNOW =/= Xbox Game Pass.

AspiringProGenji2507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

Exactly, which also means:
PS Now =/= BC

Or are you gonna tell me if the PS4 is BC with itself since it has PS4 games now? PS Now has been a cloud service since the start for non PS device (even if now they stopped support for those. Dumb idea) . It was easily mistaken or believed to be a BC solution, but it never was. Sony never said it was BC.

Bigpappy2507d ago

PSNow was = BC for 3yrs. They are now going to add some PS4 games after Game Pass is a thing (convenient), but I have to wonder how those PS4 games will perform on a service that struggled with PS3 games?

AspiringProGenji2507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

"PSNow was = BC for 3yrs."

Man these people...

ninsigma2507d ago

@ bigpappy
How can a non playstation device with PSNow be backwards compatible?? It's not. Because PSNow is not and never has been a BC solution and anyone who actually thinks it is or was is an idiot.

Liqu1d2507d ago

@Bigpappy You guys praise BC so much but you don't even know what BC is.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 2507d ago
Thatguy-3102507d ago

They're charging for it???? Find it funny how you guys are quick to say that psnow is their answer to BC when it's not.

Death2507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

Their answer to b/c is no one really wants it, gamers just say the want it, but Sony knows better so they offer the same games no one wants in a streaming service. It's kind of like when your date says no over and over, but deep down in your heart you know she really means yes or when your mom wants to vote but your dad won't let her because he knows she'll screw it up. I might be confusing the second part up with EA Access which Sony won't allow since they know it's a scam and don't want their fanbase getting screwed by making the wrong choice. Neither has anything to do with the fact Sony wants to sell their services instead so they eliminate choice.

ninsigma2507d ago

There's a report that asked gamers if they use BC an 1.5% of them said yes. So that's gamers saying BC is not a big deal. Especially at this point in the generation. The fact that it's still an arguing point for people just shows how little there is on xbox.

2507d ago
thekhurg2507d ago

It's not free. System architecture on PS3 is incompatible with current generation. They can't brute force run a game "for free". Their streaming service runs the game on PS3 centric hardware. It's also available on more that just PS4 so it's more of an option for people that want to play older games on their pc for instance.

Liqu1d2507d ago

Sony don't charge for BC because BC doesn't exist in any form on PS4.

QUIMICOMORTAL2507d ago

As if getting the BC feature was free!

Quick, someone please educate this pleb!

Xx_Pistol_xX2507d ago

It might be free for the consumer but not for the publisher. Microsoft has said that giving BC took a lot of time and money to make the emulation work. This is time and money taken away from new studious or IP's.

IamTylerDurden12506d ago

Resources MS should spend on studios and games so 7 months don't go by with only Halo Wars and Voodoo Vince (remastered). It's all relative, but i'll take new games over accessing old games (that i already own) on a different device.

4Sh0w2507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

No, here's the deal, folks misunderstood the data or intentionally made it sound like a bad thing, I still see PS folks saying it was only 1.5% of Xbox owners who used BC, he'll even many Xbox owners did not correct them.

It's not 1.5% OF USERS, it's 1.5% OF 1.65 BILLION TOTAL MINUTES OF Xbox usage. Go read it again:
https://arstechnica.com/gam...

-In fact it actually goes against the ps fanboy narrative that Xbox has no games so that's why Xbox fans support BC. In fact what the analysis highlights is that over a 5 month period EACH INDIVIDUAL XBOX GAMER AVERAGES ALMOST 25 MINUTES OF GAMEPLAY TIME WITH A LAST GEN GAME.=

That is great, because the same analysis shows Xbox gamers are spending the lions share of their time playing CURRENT GEN XBOX GAMES DAILY, then every once in a while they say cool I havent played Alan Wake in years, let me go rock that guitar scene again.....that makes perfect sense, that's what's expected on a next gen console.

Take this to the bank, BC cannot be spun into a bad thing, Xbox players are playing mostly current gen games alot AND they have the option to play BC games on their current gen hardware for FREE (if they owned it previously). The ONLY reason ps n4g folks say "'meh" is because Sony gave them no choice except ps now. Instead of requesting it more to perhaps make Sony change in this ONE instance in favor of the consumer they rather save face in online console war nonsense.

Sony is doing a great job, but there's always room for improvement.....not arrogance, but given how some of you act, I expect that Ryan exec to keep telling you, your most requested features are not what you really want, bu, but we have something else for ya, here's ps now.

NecoTehSergal2506d ago

Well, the one thing that remains true is that just like, oooh Idunno. Nintendo has never really had backwards compatibility except for very scarce and random moments - no one seems to care, they still sell their older games on a Virtual Store.

With Sony and Playstation consoles, you have to realize and understand the sophistication of Ken Kutaragi's designs, he deliberately made them complicated and to try to get PS2 and PS3 compatibility is one of the hardest things am sure a dev could do, let alone the work Naughty Dog had to do for instance to port The Last of Us amazingly for the PS4.

Xbox 360 and Xbox One, are basically just PC's in console form, Nintendo and Sony had different means of changing that up, with that being, Cartridge, and Sony? It was with things like the Emotion Engine in PS2 and the Cell Processor that you don't have in PC's, how it handles data completely differs from an average PC. Porting takes Time and Money. If it was just a simple flip of a switch like many (but not all) Emulation's and Roms? Then they could just do that, but since they can't do that with ALL games - it's tough luck, but really, Backwards compatibility was a thing Sony more or less invented originally in the Console Wars between PS1 and PS2 and PS3 - they then discarded it and everyone got butthurt even though the realism is there, it will get harder and harder down the line to offer it.

Not every fucking game I played from Windows 95 era will work on my Windows 10, this is just a simple fact, a programmer would need to ensure patches come out for those old games, if not Fan-patches that fix the complications, bugs, glitches, errors, complications, in order for it to work with the New tech hardware of CPU's, GPU's, or Dual-GPU's or even by a computer having too much RAM - could cause problems for an older game.

KillBill2506d ago

Oh... he was talking from a Sony financial side of things. Not from a user base care side of things.

IamTylerDurden12506d ago

Wow. Ur one of those that thinks PS Now is only for backwards compatibility. Right, bc if i get PS Now i'm totally going to skip the HUNDREDS of games i haven't played yet and ONLY play the games that i already own/have played... <- Sarcasm

C-H-E-F2506d ago

Why should those that don't care about BC, pay for those who do care about it to have it? That is what happened with the PS3, We had to foot the bill at launch for those gamers that wanted BC. However, now sony has made those who want BC pay for it. Which is better IMO, I don't need to pay for crap i'm not going to use. There's times when games have came out that I got PS Now for a month or rented the game for a month, so I could play it, like TWD so I can get some easy platinums LMAO, and that's how it should be done. This isn't a feature everyone uses, yes it would be good to have built in, for people like me that dabble, however, I do still have a PS3 OG and Slim, guess what I never plug those up.

At the end of the day BC is a dumb feature to charge a WHOLE userbase for when only 1% of the install base would use it, in 0 benefit to the other 99% and/or Sony as a company in terms of profit.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 2506d ago
Lennoxb632508d ago

MS isn't trying to make playing old games the most used feature on X1. It's just for those of us who don't want two consoles hooked up to play both old and new games. It's for when you all of a sudden have the urge to play one of your old titles, it's there. A simple convenience.

darthv722507d ago

Thats how i use my ps3. It plays 3 gens of games. Not every fun game has to only be from one generation.

Just because some games are "old" doesnt mean they should no longer be enjoyed.

4Sh0w2507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

Hey guys at this point I wouldn't try to educate them any more personally Im for ALL gamers getting more choice but clearly the ps fans on n4g would rather argue it's 'meh rather than keep asking Sony so they might move toward a similar BC strategy. The Ryan exec arrogance says it all basically ps fans want what they tell them to want. I mean he simply cant say what he said all while Sony promotes ps now, which is a direct investment to bring old games to ps4. They are even killing ps now support for everything but pc and ps4 which puts more focus on them wanting ps fans to buy/rent games on ps4.

NO, BC is not something I use often, No BC it's not a system seller but it is something thats really cool when you get the itch to play an old favorite. So YES we are gonna keep praising it but mostly just be glad our preferred console has the option.

Thatguy-3102507d ago

That itch isn't asking to be scratch by a lot of ppl

Lennoxb632507d ago

That's the thing. It doesn't have to be a lot of people. It's just there when you need/want to indulge in an older game. Instead of hooking up you old console to do so, you can play it straight from you new console.

Thatguy-3102507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

@lennoxb63
Sorry but Sony doesn't seem the benefit to invest on something that won't be use by the majority. If you want a product like that then you have an Xbox one for that.

Death2507d ago

@Thatguy,

Then why did they invest close to half a billion on Gaikai just to stream those very same games they claim no one wants to play? If it wasn't for those 380 million reasons I would get where they are coming from. Which are we to believe?

Thatguy-3102507d ago (Edited 2507d ago )

@death
What you and a lot of people need to get through your head is the fact that ps now is NOT an alternative to backwards compatibility. Both are two different things. Ps now is a service that grants one the ability to play games with out the need of a console. Ps now is meant for a more mainstream market where as BC is the total opposite of that which only covers something niche. I don't understand how people are having a hard time wrapping their head around that.

2507d ago
IamTylerDurden12506d ago

Honestly, BC would be even less used on PS4. We are nearly 4 years into the generation and Sony has already released more exclusives this year than i can even keep up with. I don't even have time to play brand new exclusives that are so highly regarded they are likely goty contenders let alone a last gen games i already own and have already played. I still need to get Nier, Persona 5, and MLB The Show 17. Still need to platinum HZD and Farpoint. Still barely touched Prey and MEA. Wipeout Omega just released to rave reviews and it's native 4K 60fps with HDR on Pro. We just got KF2 and Life is Strange on PS+. AZ Sunshine and Crash release this month. I still want to play The Surge which offers 4K and 60fps on Pro.

We are in the thick of it right now, 3-4 years in and the games starting pouring out. We have options aplenty. Ppl need to understand the difference in the significance of backwards compatibility at the very beginning of a gen and 4 years into a gen. Backwards compatibility at the very beginning of a gen is a massive feature bc ppl generally still have huge last gen libraries, and very few new gen games to play. In the beginning of a new gen the previous gen is still very relevant, but after several years and after support has completely dried up this is no longer the case. Ppl just have overwhelming options for new, technically superior experiences and the significance of non remastered, old gen games is not nearly what it was circa 2013.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 2506d ago
FallenAngel19842507d ago

There's no excuse for why PS4 doesn't have basic PS1 backwards compatibility when every PlayStation hardware prior had the feature. It became a longtime tradition until 2013.

Death2507d ago

This is exactly why I spent $599 for my 60 gig. Arc the Lad and both Lunar Collections, FFVII and FFVIII, GT and GT2, RE1&2, Ridge Racer, Metal Gear, and Spider-Man are all part of my favorites for the PlayStation. Not to mention I don't have a working PS2 anymore. I put too many hours on a few of them and oddly misplaced my PS2 slim which I reboxed for safe keeping. If the Pro would have been b/c with all of these I would have bought it already.

boing12507d ago

One reason. It doesn't have CD Drive.

Razzer2507d ago

You think Blu Ray can't play CDs?

2507d ago
rainslacker2506d ago

Not all BR drives can read CD's. I had to do some research into this, because I thought that it seemed fishy, but BR lens does indeed need the appropriate laser diode to actually be able to read CD's or DVD's. While all players I know about do indeed support CD's, it's because they actually do have the diode to do so. Sony's PS4 does not have this diode. Same goes for DVD, but Sony did include the DVD diode. The laser itself between all the different formats uses a compeltely different wavelength, and while the laser frequency can be produced by a single lens, the diode required to do that isn't always included on the lens.

boing12506d ago (Edited 2506d ago )

PS4 can't read CDs. Only DVDs and BRs.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2506d ago
ARESWARLORD2507d ago

I don't know what you guys are all talking about I would love to be able to play my PS3 games on my PS4 so many games I own that I'm not playing right now because I can't you guys need to give your heads a shake if you don't want to be able to access your old games what are you idiots go ahead and give me dislikes your absolute fools for not wanting backwards compatibility

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100°

Sony Launches BAFTA Game Awards 2024 PlayStation Store Section for Nominees

Sony has launched a BAFTA Game Awards 2024 section on the PlayStation Store that lists the different games nominated this year.

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Bathyj2d ago

They did.
It's just empty.

I kid, I kid. 🙂

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

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purple1015d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref4d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde4d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19724d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville4d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21834d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos3d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
isarai5d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref4d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan4d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0073d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19724d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

4d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

4d ago
4d ago
Zeref4d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde4d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19724d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier4d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto4d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21834d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto3d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
Hofstaderman4d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts4d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts3d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic3d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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150°

The Epic Games Store Weekly Freebie was a Run Away Hit

The Epic Games Store has another freebie ready for your library and it is a free runner.

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