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"Why would anybody play this?": PlayStation boss' most notorious quote

Jim Ryan wants people to know that he doesn't hate old video games.

jonny897828d ago

Most people buy new consoles for new games. All manufactured consoles are selling out rapidly. When the next God Of War, Halo, Forza, Hellblade, Horizon etc etc land these consoles will fly off the shelves even faster.

FallenAngel1984828d ago

That doesn’t make classic games irrelevant

TheTony316828d ago

It doesn't but that's not why i got a PS5. I keep my old consoles for my old games. Full native BC would be cool but i will always prioritize new games for my new console.

Shiken828d ago

@TheTony316

Old consoles go bad overtime. Some last for over a decade, others barely hold on. Accidents happen as well.

It would be nice to know that you retain your purchases as generations move forward, instead of relying on aged hardware that at best you would have to take a chance on something used to replace of anything went wrong.

TheTony316828d ago

@Shiken

But that applies to all electronics. They can last a very long time if you take care of them. All of my consoles and games still work fine. And if my PS1 dies some day i can just get a used one for ~30€ on Ebay. Again, i wouldn't say no to BC. It's much more convenient to have everything on one system but that's not a priority for me when buying a new console.

Shiken828d ago

@TheTony316

While it certainly is not the only reason, it did play into why I went with the Series X before the PS5 despite always being PS focused in the past. Gamepass with BC together os a killer combo for the value and I am able to experience a lot of what I missed last gen for cheap, often with upgrades.

The major Sony exclusives I care about (God of War amd Horizon) will be playable on my PS4 Pro, so I can easily wait for a PS5. Had I been able to consolidate my entire PS library to one console via emulation, something Sony has done before, this would have likely played out differently.

827d ago
Tacoboto827d ago

"But that applies to all electronics"

And every UHD Blu Ray player can still play DVDs and even CDs. Gamers are conditioned to accept so much less from new platforms than consumers of any other media type/industry...

blacktiger827d ago

I'm a huge fan of Metal Gear Solid, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Mario 64, and when I played them it didn't last more than 3 minute.

Those are god damn so old, bad ai, bad gameplay for 2021.
Sorry give me something better. Thanks

FallenAngel1984827d ago

@ Tony

Newer consoles can play classic games better than they originally used. Also it’s way more convenient to have one system that plays a lot of those titles than a bunch of systems

Plus some people may have missed out on getting the older console before for various reasons and it’d be more practical to play it on their current console

frostypants827d ago

It doesn't change the fact that people claim to care about classic games more than they actually do. These companies have the spend numbers. They know the reality.

anubusgold827d ago (Edited 827d ago )

@TheTony316 No sony bricked my ps3 with a bad update then refused to fix it and tried to charge me to repair their screw up no i dont trust the hardware makers. Thats why im glad to have the emulators out there .

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Sonic-and-Crash828d ago (Edited 828d ago )

i must admitt that Jim Ryan is doing extremely good job as Playstation boss....far better than Sawn and previous CEO no matter the first negative reactions

he has transformed Europe to Sony land (except UK which officialy is not Europe ) ...Xbox is just not selling here ...to get a Playstation 5 you need 3 months wait while XSX is available on the selves....and its games are 1/4 of the of the whole game stand in stores... .

EmperorDalek828d ago

It was already heading that way before he took over. He would have to be doing a disastrous job for that not to be the case.

TheTony316828d ago

The UK is still in Europe. They're just not a part of the EU (European Union) anymore. ;)

Kurt Russell828d ago

Why do people keep saying the UK is not in Europe? We're not moving continent... we are just leaving the European Union.

TheTony316828d ago

@Kurt Russell

Oh, i thought you guys left us and sailed to America :D

Aussiesummer828d ago

Doing a great job by lying about "believing in generations"? Yeah fabulous job.

GhostScholar828d ago

I dont know where you get your data, but xbox series x is just as scarce as ps5. The chip shortage is affecting all consoles and even PC. Yes Sony is more popular than Xbox in foreign markets, but your data is erroneous.

1Victor828d ago

@sonic
🤦🏿 did UK magically lifted off the ground or got transferred to another dimension 🤷🏿.
Let make it simple so you can understand does your home stop existing if the local government decide to change the street name?
If the answer is yes seek immediate psychiatric help

827d ago
annoyedgamer827d ago

He is turning Playstation into an American brand, I dont see how this is a good thing. It will overtime just become another mediocre suit driven game developer, thanks to the corporate culture we have in the US. You can already see that change happening with releases and change in overall corporate voice. There is a reason the Softbank founder went back to Japan to start his companies.

FreeFallFrenzy827d ago

@Kurt Russell and wait until you guys unionize with Canada/NZ/Australia too. You'll probably have more pull than the EU at that point!

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King_Noctis828d ago

I still play old games from time to time on new console. I think we should always be given the option to do that.

827d ago
DigitalDaniel827d ago

Yeah. Same here. Actually unbelievable that there's actually 8 people who downvoted you on this. I mean, near half say "nope, we should not have the option to play the games that we paid for".

Shilling for multibillion companies, lmfao.

DiRtY828d ago

I still play DOS games from 1994. True story.
Yet I am also currently playing Call of Duty and am halfway through Hellblade.

827d ago Replies(1)
darthv72827d ago

To be fair, "new games" is subjective to the individual. A game they never played before would be considered new to them. So a system that offers variety in the games it plays (not limited to one specific generation) would have a wide range of new games for that individual. "New" does not have to be specific to the condition, it can also refer to the experience.

gravedigger827d ago

Actually, his quote was took out of context. This is full qoute :

Another concern occasionally raised by PlayStation devotees involves the company's once-ubiquitous PlayStation 2. While Sony has in recent years devoted resources to bringing a handful of popular older titles to the PlayStation 4, the better part of that library is lost to time. For now, it seems that's where it'll remain. "When we've dabbled with backwards compatibility, I can say it is one of those features that is much requested, but not actually used much," says Ryan. "That, and I was at a Gran Turismo event recently where they had PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games, and the PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?"

But of course, every crap of game sites will try to make a sensation from nothing. Yeah ever since he made that original comment it was fairly obvious he meant it to be interpreted in the way he clarifies here, albeit as he admits it was just phrased very bad and I don't really feel sorry for him that it was taken slightly out of context all this time.

dcbronco827d ago

And yet there are constant remakes of older games. That's because some of those games had some of the best experiences of our gaming lives. But with far better graphics.

DigitalDaniel827d ago (Edited 827d ago )

The point is that from a technical point of view, there's very little reason for it not to support your older games.
I mean, some of us sit on hundreds of games after one console generation. Especially if you're like me who play on all the platforms. How am I supposed to have space for all the old consoles plus the new ones all the time ? Not very feasible.

This is one of the things I love with PC gaming. I can play all my games on one machine, no matter if they're 1 week old or 10 years old. We really shouldn't make excuses for these billion/trillion dollar companies, we should ask for more. And having the ability to bring the collection you've spent thousands of dollars on with you into the new generation should be the standard.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 827d ago
aaronaton828d ago

Not only is it Nostalgia, but some classics games are just better than their modern counterparts. Currently i'm playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 over all the new ones.

Snookies12828d ago (Edited 828d ago )

Agreed, I've been messing around on Battlefield 5 with some buddies of mine thanks to it being free on PS+. There are so many issues, and flaws I'm finding more and more every day I play it. It barely feels like the series has evolved at all. Even had a glitch that wouldn't allow me to swap off a medic syringe to actual weapons. Small things like that seem far too widespread for such a long-running, supposed "AAA" title from EA. It honestly just makes me want to go back to BC2. That game was incredible for its time.

CorndogBurglar828d ago

The thing is, I don't think people want Battlefield to evolve. Aside from better graphics, new maps, and maybe some different match types. But for the most part, BF2-BF4 and the 2 Bad Company games are considered to be the best of franchise. If anything, BF1 and BF5 DE-volved from what those games were. At least as far as gameplay mechanics. And I think gameplay mechanics are what most people think of when talking about games evolving.