Backwards Compatibility

[RoBi3.0]

The thing with Backwards compatibility is that the costs are usually going to out weight the gain. Console makers don't make a huge amount of profit off the sale of consoles. They however make the majority of their profits on the sale of software. BC brings absolutely no potential for software sales profit since that software is almost exclusive to the second hand market.

In the case of the PS3 the cost of (re)adding BC will probably not be offset by the increase in console sales it would bring about. Now, it might work, if it were added in the way the OP suggested as it could be priced in such a way that it would pay for itself, and I would seriously consider buying it as DLC.

As a standard option in every console sold, it doesn't make sense.

 

[Denamic]

My PS2 died and my PS3 can't play them. Kinda sucks.
I have like a hundred PS2 games.
I'm stuck with emulating them on my PC.
Although some games are emulated pretty much perfectly, so it's not all bad.
And savestates are nice.

 

[RoBi3.0]

As a person with a stack of NES games in his closet, I believe the more backwards compatibility you can get, the better.

Can you imagine how retarded the Wii would look if it had cartridge slots for NES, SNES, and N64 games, as well as the disk drive and Gamecude controller ports. I suppose it would also need control ports for NES, SNES, and N64 controlers as well.

That would be a stupid (in a bad way) amount of Backward compatibility.

However if there was an add on for the wii like a multi card reader nintendo would make a stack of money. Especially if compatible with virtual console.

I concur, as an "at an extra cost" add on BC would be awesome. See post 44 for more of my thoughts on this.

 

[xmbts]

I keep my old consoles around, just in case a console with backwards compatibility decides to scrap it and make you pay to download old games that you already own, despite it being able to play these games a few months ago.

I'm looking at you Microsoft.

 

[RanD00M]

I don't have to worry about it. I have a classic PS3, so I still have B/C. However I wouldn't mind knowing that if my PS3 fails me that the next one I buy has B/C.

 

[MikailCaboose]

Yes, because it limits the number of consoles that I would own. One of the reasons why I liked the Wii. I could still play GC games on it, so my mother got my Gamecube.

 

[deth2munkies]

As a person with a stack of NES games in his closet, I believe the more backwards compatibility you can get, the better.

Can you imagine how retarded the Wii would look if it had cartridge slots for NES, SNES, and N64 games, as well as the disk drive and Gamecude controller ports. I suppose it would also need control ports for NES, SNES, and N64 controlers as well.

That would be a stupid (in a bad way) amount of Backward compatibility.

Au contraire, it would be awesome and might actually get me to buy a Wii. Plus, you can play NES, SNES, and N64 games easily with a GC controller.

Well, i actually own a Wii, and would not have bought it if it had all that dumb shit attached to it, I am sure a lot of the casual gamers that currently own a Wii feel the same.

I am fine with the Virtual console for all my nostalgic needs.

I think that what most people want is an option to play games they loved as a kid, and not necessarily the exact game cartridge/disk they played as a kid.

I'm not buying a game I already own for convenience. I'd rather just rely on emulators (so that's what I do).

 

[linkvegeta]

How do you feel about the issue of bc? I for one believe that there should be more bc in console machines.For example if Sony uploaded a paid update to psn for the ps2 to be emulated would you buy it?

I think the PS3 screwed themselves when they took the backward compatibility out, im lucky to own one of the PS3's that still have it, and to be honest, its the only reason i still have it, if they took that part away from me i would sell it in a heartbeat.

 

[vxicepickxv]

In short, I was going to buy a PS3, then Sony dropped BC, then I didn't. So it's pretty important to me. I wouldn't buy one even if there were a paid upgrade; it's the principle of the damn thing.

There's a version with backwards compatibility (20gig and a couple others) but it's a little more expensive, and a smaller HDD than other versions.

It's not hard to replace the HDD, and it doesn't void your warranty.

 

[Tehshi]

Backwards compatibility is nice, especially if you're running low on money for newer games. I've got an old 80gb PS3, so I can play my old PS2 games on it. Sadly, it looks like it's crapped out, unless our last ditch effort (professionally reflowing the motherboard with a reflow oven at dad's work) actually works. Luckily, a nearby gamestop has a refurbished one (backwards compatibility and all!).

 

[Allison Chainz]

Nintendo's handhelds are the undisputed kings of backwards compatibility. For example, the DS was the first handheld to not support original style Game Boy carts. That said, backwards compatibility was binned wholesale in the DSi. The 3DS has confirmed it will work with standard DS carts, so hopefully the backwards compatibility train will roll onwards once more.

That right there is the reason I did not "upgrade" to the DSi. I love my GBA titles too much and I seriously do not want to own 2 handhelds just to play all my games. I can live without the GBC games, because Shantae was the only one I was still interested in, and at this point, most original game boy games are just plain hard to look at unless they are being emulated on a computer.

As for the PS3, I am also in the camp of since it has no BC for PS2 I won't buy it. I already have a blu-ray player and own a PS2 and several games that I still wish to play, and more that I wish to acquire. While there are PS3 games I would like to play, I simply do not have room to add another piece of equipment.

While the BC on the 360 is not perfect, it plays enough of my old games that I was willing to part with my original xbox and just sell the games that I could no longer play.

 

[Istanbul]

I see a lot of "why bother" on this thread. Allow me to explain.

Let's go with Sony, since they've been polite enough to make their consoles numerically sequential. PS1, PS2, PS3.

Now, let's make some hypothetical consoles. First, let's go with Playstation Alpha. Playstation Alpha plays PS3, PS2, and PS1 games. It's about the size of an X-Box 360, and it represents the single venue through which I can play all of my Sony games.

Next, let's go with Playstation 1, Playstation Omega, and Playstation 3. (Omega because PS2 systems play PS1 games, thank god.) These are three separate consoles. They all requires separate power cords and separate controllers and separate hookups to my television. Together, they take up a considerable amount - if not all - of the real estate near my television, and I was unable to trade in any of them toward the next generation without losing all of my games for the previous system.)

That's why. Space, connectivity, value, and access. I loved Sega for releasing the Master System Converter for the Genesis, and I've been a fan of backward compatibility ever since. (Even Nintendo finally got in on the act with console systems, thank god.)

 

[Allison Chainz]

I keep my old consoles around, just in case a console with backwards compatibility decides to scrap it and make you pay to download old games that you already own, despite it being able to play these games a few months ago.

I'm looking at you Microsoft.

When did this happen? It's been a while since I popped in one of my old games. That would be so disappointing to find that I can't play KOTOR or JSRF when I wanted to.

 

[xmbts]

When did this happen? It's been a while since I popped in one of my old games. That would be so disappointing to find that I can't play KOTOR or JSRF when I wanted to.

I'm pretty sure it was the Kinect update that took it off. I tried several games that I know for a fact used to work (still have the save files) but they couldn't be read.

 

[Allison Chainz]

Wow. Guess I'll be checking some games to make sure they're still worth having around. It's time for my annual game purge anyway.

It seems to me that BC is a great way to get people in the door. Once they own a new system, they're going to buy games made for it down the line. The longer I've had my 360 the less I play or buy xbox games. This is because when looking for new games to play, I would favor ones that took advantage of the hardware over older titles that I had missed out on. I think Sony forgot just how expensive PS3s were until recently. Most people couldn't afford to buy games and the system at the same time. Being able to play games they already owned would have greatly softened the blow.

It would be a shame if Microsoft dropped a feature now that it has people solidly in the door.