Is it time for Sony to respond to XB1X backwards compatibility?

[bytesizeimpressions]

I really don't understand this "They are in first place" mindset at all, I mean, what?

So we have to wait for them to possibly, maybe, be in second place to get an awesome feature?

What kind of thought process is that?

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It's business. Sony aren't going to do anything they don't have to do because they have an extremely comfortable lead. That means they don't have to be reactionary to what their competitors are doing. Microsoft doubtfully went down the BC path because they cared enough to, but rather because they needed some other leg up over Sony. This sort of competition in these sectors is a good thing for consumers.

 

[Jom]

It's long been time.

 

[Deft Beck]

Now to be clear, efforts like implementing BC mean the resources that might have gone into [a small fraction of *one* game] can bring hundreds of high-quality, high demand games to the platform. It means income for publishers from digital sales of old projects, and gives buyers more of a sense of investment in their use of the platform, because they "inherit" their older games.

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True, but this means that Sony's current revenue stream of enhanced emulations of PS2 titles, for example, would close off. Consumers would be going through third-party channels to acquire legacy titles instead of through PSN.

It also can't be assumed that figuring out how one title can be well-emulated will therefore bring hundreds of titles into playability. As we've seen with Xbox 360 and original Xbox compatibility on the Xbox One, it's a very slow and spotty process. Often, the simplest games and the most popular ones are made available.

Furthermore, the potential for legal issues concerning the promotion of games containing content for which Sony does not have the rights; this is why almost all of the PS2 on PS4 games are from Sony internal studios.

In addition, there are some games from publishers that have gone out of business or have been acquired by companies that have little interest in exploiting their back catalog.

Sony is less interested in consumers "inheriting" their older games over enhancing the titles and putting them up for sale again. I think this is the best decision they could make in light of the circumstances and challenges I described above.

 

[2Blackcats]

I don't think having bc would affect sales of remasters that much. If I could play PS3 Demon's Souls on my PS4 I'd still be day 1 for a PS4 remaster. I still bought GTAV again even though my old console was still hooked up to the TV.

When Sony announced the PS2 games on PS4 with trophy support plan I was happy enough because I assumed PS4 was the last compatibility reset. Unfortunately releases seem to have slowed to a crawl. Can't believe we still don't have the old God of War games on there.

 

[disillusion386]

I'm sorry but this is nonsense.

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What's nonsense about it? If there is an actual demand for BC, then yeah, maybe Sony should try to implement it. Your competitors doing it isn't what I'd call demand unless that's the reason people will flock to the One X and Switch over the PS4.

 

[Deleted member 9327]

I think Sony would face a huge shitstorm if PS5 won't be backwards compatible. In the era of digital downloads taking over people want to keep their precious library and access it and the next iteration of their desired console. At least that's what I assume.

It's a shame that Sony isn't doing more about its legacy. Market leader or not.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Correct. They can spend less time and resources chasing Microsoft and Nintendo and more time focusing on their core priorities; AAA games and multiplayer-centric games.

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They already have a working PS1 and PS2 emulator on the PS4, they have just chosen not to make it compatible with discs or the ROMs people bought for PS3/PSP.

Or do you honestly believe that Sony are actually redoing all of the PS2 games they are releasing manually.

The answer is that they are being greedy and want their userbase to rebuy the same games over and over again. I think I've bought 4 copies of FFVII (PS1, PS3, PC and Android), my digital PS3 copy should work on PS4 but Sony has made a decision to force people to rebuy it.

 

[bytesizeimpressions]

I think Sony would face a huge shitstorm if PS5 won't be backwards compatible. In the era of digital downloads taking over people want to keep their precious library and access it and the next iteration of their desired console. At least that's what I assume.

It's a shame that Sony isn't doing more about its legacy. Market leader or not.

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It will definitely be interesting to see what Sony does with PS5. There's no good reason to not allow PS4 games to be playable on that machine.

 

[erlim]

I would love to see Sony add PS3 and PS4 BC in PS5, and PS1 and PS2 compatibility in PS4. You would hope they do SOMETHING when microsoft is making great strides in BC.

In any case, PS Now is not very good for many internet connections in the US, and doesn't seem to be a very popular service. I wish they would pull something where you could just buy an unlimited access to a game or have it recognize a disc. I don't want to pay a subscription, but there are some games I'd love to have access to; like Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Red Dead Redemption, and Resistance 3 for example. (I'm considering buying a Xbox One X for those games being BC.)

I realize there's a challenge in emulating all the previous playstation systems' architectures, but existing emulation on ps1-3 is all pretty stellar. I wish Sony would just buy into that tech and its possibilities for better frame rate and resolution instead of a streaming service that's severely limited. I'm not gonna poo poo PS2 on PS4. It's nice to have HD PS2 games with trophies. Bully in particular has gotten a lot of playtime from me. Rockstar has given it good support, but come on Capcom, Sega, and Sony...There is a gold mine of classics that could be made available.

I'd be pretty satisfied with Haunting Ground, Viewtiful Joe, Timesplitters 2, etc.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I think I've bought 4 copies of FFVII (PS1, PS3, PC and Android), my digital PS3 copy should work on PS4 but Sony has made a decision to force people to rebuy it.

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That's wrong. The PS4 version of FF7 is a port of the PC version resold by SE. The PS3 version simply the emulated ROM dump of the PS1 version. Completely different versions. And it makes no sense to compare them as the same thing.

Its like comparing the PS3 emulated version of PS1 FF9 to the recent FF9 remaster released on PS4. Not the same thing at all.

 

[Deft Beck]

They already have a working PS1 and PS2 emulator on the PS4, they have just chosen not to make it compatible with discs or the ROMs people bought for PS3/PSP.

Or do you honestly believe that Sony are actually redoing all of the PS2 games they are releasing manually.

The answer is that they are being greedy and want their userbase to rebuy the same games over and over again. I think I've bought 4 copies of FFVII (PS1, PS3, PC and Android), my digital PS3 copy should work on PS4 but Sony has made a decision to force people to rebuy it.

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Sony isn't "redoing" the PS2 games; they are likely just putting it through some sort of automated program to detect possible anomalies which can be tweaked by engineers.

Without consumers continually engaging in the most current marketplaces, they will have less money to bring more titles back. If they were to open up the emulators to the public, then they'd be letting the ghost out of the containment pods. It would be an unsustainable decision.

From what I recall, the PS1 edition of FF7 is different than the first and second PC ports of FF7; it was never a straight port in any situation.

 

[AegonSnake]

Simple question really.

I've been very impressed with the way Microsoft have handled backwards compatibility and deeply unimpressed by the way Sony are doing it. Will XB1X force Sony to rethink?

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No, it's time for MS to respond to Sony and Nintendo's current compatibility. Their first party output has been lacking and while Sony and Nintendo didnt have a great last few years, they have finally started to turn things around.

BC is just a bonus. We have had an insane last few months of new titles and I dont know if resources and budgets should be spend on providing support for games from last gen. Sony hasnt been releasing games as frequently as they did last gen so they should focus on that instead. All their big releases from last gen have gotten remasters anyway. I picked up TLOU, Uncharted trilogy and GoW for less than $10 on PSN.

 

[erlim]

With the success of the NES Classic and SNES Classic, I would be totally down with a PS1 Classic, but give the ability up front to add additional games via download. I can see a PS1 Classic and a PS2 Classic being extremely successful if they pack in the right games. I think Sony has the gaming history and the library to make it a huge success.

I think PS4 having BC with older games is not going to happen, that ship has sailed and I don't see it happening. I think Sony will however figure out how to do BC with the PS5 so PS4 games work on it. I think the challenge will be in the CPU they choose, that is going to be the tricky part.

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I see where you are coming from, but I feel like Sony's brand doesn't have the nostalgia or brand enthusiasm to where a tiny playstation with preloaded games would be in high demand. I mean, I feel like those Sega Genesis systems are a good deal with 80 games, but they haven't set the world on fire like the snes and nes minis. I mean a preloaded system with crash, parappa, FF VII, MGS, RE2, GT2 is like, a staggering amount of diversity and quality, but I don't think your average joe would buy one from their local urban outfitter.

They just need to be released on PS4. I'm sure there's a little legal work to be done, but I'm sure both Sony and a third company like capcom would be stoked to make more money off of a 20 year old game. I mean, I'm guessing RE2 would sell more than RECVx.

 

[erlim]

Seriously the first Publisher to come up with a Netflix like service for Gaming BC libraries will win.

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This is exactly PS Now. But it sucks playing on anything less than a amazing broadband connection. I'm sure that, and its fees are what keeps it from being pragmatically useful. Plus, netflix has a ton of quality NEW content. PS Now has a bunch of ps3 shovelware.

 

[TheBrokenMan]

AFAIK, emulation isn't possible, but I wish they would find some way for us to use our PS3 games and play like XB1X BC. :( I have a whole 50 something games which I would love to carry over on my PS4.

I am already waiting for the PSN name change to be a thing, so I can add this to the list.

 

[Ondor]

It was time for Sony to respond to it months ago but they also should have responded to cross-play as well. Bottom line is Sony is making money regardless of any goodwill from their consumer base so they won't do a damn thing.

 

[Deleted member 643]

Of course it is time, but Sony doesn't give a damn about your or I now that we've bought PS4s. Their behaviour over this generation has shown that they are anything but "#4theplayers", so we really have to remember that like any other corporation that they exist to extract our money.

 

[Kvasir]

While I'd love to see at least PS1 backwards compatibility we probably won't any thing of the sort implemented until the PS5 (maybe).

 

[Skeeter49]

The problem is PS1 and PS2 games, but PS3 was never going to happen.

I wonder if fear of people getting upset about no PS3 BC led to PS1 and 2 getting the shaft.

Besides the obvious, "Let's make more money. "

 

[Dragoneye]

I really hope they do backwards comp. The PS4 was the first playstation console for a lot of people including myself, it honestly feels like a huge missed opportunity if they don't do backwards comp.

 

[Derrick01]

I think Sony would face a huge shitstorm if PS5 won't be backwards compatible. In the era of digital downloads taking over people want to keep their precious library and access it and the next iteration of their desired console. At least that's what I assume.

It's a shame that Sony isn't doing more about its legacy. Market leader or not.

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I'd like to think they would face a big backlash but I'm not so sure, too many people even on enthusiast sites and forums are willing to give them a pass for not adding it. The fact is as we transition to a more digital space like how PC has been for the last decade+ part of that transition means having access to the things you bought no matter how old they are. There are exceptions, like some games don't play nice with a new OS, but by and large I can play what I want. My steam account has games ranging from the 90s to current day and 99% are playable without fan patches for modern OS.

There's no reason why PS5 can't have PS1 through 4 BC. If gamers demand it then it'll be there, but if we're too eager to give up the games we bought digitally on ps3/ps4 then Sony will be more than happy to take it away (and sell it back to us as PS5 "remasters").

 

[TemplaerDude]

When you're on top you don't really have to respond to these things at all and I don't think Sony feels like it is important enough to justify any further conversation on their part.

I probably agree with their thinking, I don't think cross-platform play is make or break for anyone, yet. I think it's lame that they'll probably just sit on it and I would love to see them open it up, just not enough of a movement right now to justify it. I'd say internet ire on this subject is too low.

 

[Murasaki]

I agree with the line of thought that PS5 will have PS4 BC from launch because of consumer demand/expectation. I would love to be able to play my PS2 games on the PS4 and while I understand that the Emotion Engine and the Cell Processor make disc-based BC on PS4 substantially more complicated, I'm pretty sure it's financial rather than technical considerations that are preventing an emulation firmware update.

Microsoft deserve a great deal of credit for their implementation of BC, I might well have skipped XBox this gen without it. We can argue about why Microsoft have done it or why they felt the need to do it, but the fact remains that it's a huge win for videogames from both a consumer and archival standpoint. It would be nice to see Sony follow suit.

 

[T'Challa Shakur]

This is exactly PS Now. But it sucks playing on anything less than a amazing broadband connection. I'm sure that, and its fees are what keeps it from being pragmatically useful. Plus, netflix has a ton of quality NEW content. PS Now has a bunch of ps3 shovelware.

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Correct me if I am wrong but PS Now charges you a fee for each additional game you stream. A. Netflix model would be a one price gets you all sort of deal.

 

[Ogni-XR21]

There's a product for those that want to play ps3/ps2/ps1 games..

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This makes me wonder... I was always thinking that there is no way Sony will not make the PS5 backward compatible with PS4 games since it would probably keep many users in the ecosystem they are already invested in. But on the other hand I now fear that they might not do BC in favor of PSNow. How successful is PSNow anyway?

 

[Sir Guts]

Yeah, when they allow us to change our PSN usernames first...

 

[Deleted member 2474]

From a business perspective I suspect they have very little reason to bother.

From a game preservationist perspective I think they should bother anyway.

 

[Dinobot]

So long as Sony has double the install base they have no need to respond to anything Xbox does regarding cross network play and backwards compatibility.

While I wish they would do both, as a business it's not worth it for them.

 

[Lime]

We are in year four now of this generation and they haven't done anything. I don't expect anything.

 

[erlim]

Correct me if I am wrong but PS Now charges you a fee for each additional game you stream. A. Netflix model would be a one price gets you all sort of deal.

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PS Now kinda started like that as a beta, but now it's just one subscription fee for the whole library, just like Netflix.

I wonder how many subscribers it has, I don't think I've seen one person on these forums, or the preceding forum ever use it.

 

[Deleted member 1003]

I'd wait for news about BC when the PS5 is announced. But I'm not sure why the X1X would spur them to action all of a sudden?

 

[T'Challa Shakur]

PS Now kinda started like that as a beta, but now it's just one subscription fee for the whole library, just like Netflix.

I wonder how many subscribers it has, I don't think I've seen one person on these forums, or the preceding forum ever use it.

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Wait youre telling me....for like 20 bucks I can stream and play any classic game on PSN???

 

[erlim]

Wait youre telling me....for like 20 bucks I can stream and play any classic game on PSN???

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I reckon if you have a stellar internet connection, you can stream and play a bunch of ps3 games and some ps4. I think you can play on PC too. I dunno, seems nice in theory, but it really hasn't caught on.

 

[Atolm]

If this keeps up one thing I'm sure is that next gen I'm jumping ship again, this time towards Xbox. Heck, OG Xbox bc is very tempting right now for those of us that loved the old fatty brick if they add a few more supported games, which I'm sure they will. In absence of remasters this is the closest we'll get to JSRF or Ninja Gaiden Black 4k.

 

[Mudo]

Yes it is time. Will it happen? Probably not. Sony is sitting pretty right now in the current gen and I feel like may be slipping a little into the mentality they were in going from PS2 to PS3. Necessity really does breed invention doesn't it? Or healthy competition. Regardless, I remember way back I think it was at E3 in early PS4 days when they announced they were going to be bringing basically everything from their past to the PS4 and at that time is was going to be through streaming. PS2 on PS4 has some good games but not nearly enough. We deserve the option to PAY THEM MONEY for PS1 and PS2 games on our PS4. I have access to these games in other places but it's so convenient having everything in 1 place. Perhaps the cost to get any of this done is just too much for it to be worth the effort I'm not sure. I hope for the PS5 they take a long hard look at this whole debacle and have a better plan going in. Or just tell us up front it's not happening if they don't want to do it lol.

 

[DOTDASHDOT]

No way they'll do it on the PS4, after all there is a reason why you can stream PS3 games, so they don't have to try and emulate, which is probably not possible (well easily) anyway.

 

[Vadara]

I find it very strange how this forum is unbashedly pro-consumer but whenever this topic comes up everyone is all "Sony doesn't need to do it, they're in the lead."

Like, yeah, but that doesn't mean us consumers can't still ask for it anyway.

 

[erlim]

If this keeps up one thing I'm sure is that next gen I'm jumping ship again, this time towards Xbox. Heck, OG Xbox bc is very tempting right now for those of us that loved the old fatty brick if they add a few more supported games, which I'm sure they will. In absence of remasters this is the closest we'll get to JSRF or Ninja Gaiden Black 4k.

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I definitely agree. I'm gettin real jealous as a predominantly Playstation owner. Again, I like PS2 on PS4, but there needs to be many many many more games. Even some of the multiplats OG Xbox on xbone have, like Black, Prince of Persia, Dead to Rights, and Bloodrayne. I mean PS2 had insane exclusives. I mean, Capcom's whole catalog, square, konami, sega, etc. You'd think they'd just throw something out there to get some extra profit. I wonder how much a ps2 classic has to sell to break even and cover the testing and trophy costs?

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

I think this is a real problem for Sony and I wish they'd address it. MS's commitment to BC with future platforms encourages me to buy multi-platforms on my XB1 instead of my PS4.

 

[badcrumble]

It's my hope that the PS5 will have full emulation for PS1/2/4 generations and some limited by-title emulation for the PS3 generation - I think that's a realistic goal and I think being able to straight-up sell downloadable disc images at zero additional effort would obviously result in a lot of basically free money for the game industry while benefiting users too.

 

[Jiggy]

I don't think they care.

They're the dominant market leader, nothing's really forcing Sony to pull out the stops and make PS4 a more attractive platform than it already is.

Maybe with PS5.

 

[erlim]

I find it very strange how this forum is unbashedly pro-consumer but whenever this topic comes up everyone is all "Sony doesn't need to do it, they're in the lead."

Like, yeah, but that doesn't mean us consumers can't still ask for it anyway.

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You see it with Nintendo too, "if you didn't support wiiU, you don't deserve to play its titles on switch" and "virtual console will ruin digital game sales, so I'm glad it's gone."

But yeah, I want backwards compatibility on PS4, and VC and WiiU ports on switch really bad.

 

[QBizM]

I honestly don't think they care at this point. They're making a killing with the PS4 at present. They've done a few old releases from time to time and that has suited them. I'd be stunned if they announced bc now.

Oh, and hi everyone! Good to see you all!

 

[Figments]

We are in year four now of this generation and they haven't done anything. I don't expect anything.

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Pretty much this. PS5's gonna be super interesting, though.

I find it very strange how this forum is unbashedly pro-consumer but whenever this topic comes up everyone is all "Sony doesn't need to do it, they're in the lead."

Like, yeah, but that doesn't mean us consumers can't still ask for it anyway.

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I'm just waiting for the inevitable SonyEra memes to start cropping up.

 

[Timelost]

I seem to recall Sony ststing it's not possible(Dunno if that means can't or won't) due to the architecture differences between PS4 and PS3.

I'd love to see it happen as it's better for gamers in general, but I don't think they can do it in a profitable manner(if at all), so they won't.

 

[Atolm]

I definitely agree. I'm gettin real jealous as a predominantly Playstation owner. Again, I like PS2 on PS4, but there needs to be many many many more games. Even some of the multiplats OG Xbox on xbone have, like Black, Prince of Persia, Dead to Rights, and Bloodrayne. I mean PS2 had insane exclusives. I mean, Capcom's whole catalog, square, konami, sega, etc. You'd think they'd just throw something out there to get some extra profit. I wonder how much a ps2 classic has to sell to break even and cover the testing and trophy costs?

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PS2's compatibility list is ridiculous compared to how big & varied its library is. I wouldn't know where to begin with my list of requested games.

And I put the blame on Sony with this. I'm sure Microsoft went above and beyond to make the process of setting up old games as compatible totally painless for developers. I'm sure they just have to resolve any licensing issues, put the game and receive the % cut monthly. Microsoft handles all the compatibility problems, maybe with a little bit of insight from the original developers if they're still reachable (which for most games, they are not).

And we'll see with the X. If it improves at an OS level stuff like rendering resolution or anisotropic filtering for old Xbone games it will be a very hard kick in the gut to the lackluster Pro mode.

 

[Juraash]

I don't think Sony needs to really, they are certainly plenty successful without investing the effort in it.

That said, I sure would like it if they did. My Xbox and 360 collections are really small, but the support on the One for those games makes it tempting. To have access to at least my PS1 & PS2 library on the 4 would be great. My PS3 is still hooked up and I acknowledge the potential difficulty of enabling those games on the 4 so that's less critical.

Old hardware takes up a lot of space and a lot of inputs. If I can play more with less hooked up to the TV, I'm a happy camper.

 

[Pandy]

No, Sony is the market leader by a massive margin and doesn't need to rethink. Whatever extra sales adding some sort of universal BC to their system would bring in doesn't seem like it would end up being worth the development costs.

Now of course I'd love to see a basic shell emulator for PS2 and PSOne games, but I don't expect that. What I do expect is the PS5 to be fully BC with PS4 games. If its not that is a big mistake.

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The cost re-coupement is a tricky thing to calculate off hand. Just like MS paid for their changed strategy at the end of the 360's life with sales of the XBO.
As it stands this has been my first generation where I've tried to lead with a Sony console as my primary and it has fallen woefully short of the mark for me. There is every chance that I will not buy a PS5.
If PS5 were to be physically backwards compatible with PS3,2,1 (unlikely) as well as PS4 (likely)... I would almost certainly pick one up at some point in the cycle. For each previous console you knock off the compatibility list you can knock of a bit of likelyhood I will buy one.

Source: I literally finished hooking up my PS2 to my TV five minutes ago.

 

[ZeroNoir_]

Final fantasy xii broke one million

I don't think this will change soon

 

[Timu]

Hopefully Sony can do BC again someday.