I don't get it. Every since Sony removed PS2 backwards compatibility from the PS3, everyone has been whining about not having BC in a console. But, in al seriousness, do people ACTUALLY use it?
I would like to know, all of you here how many times did you play a game from a past generation?
Did you play PS1 games on your PS2?
Did you play GameCube games on your Wii?
Did you play GameBoy Advance games in your Nintendo DS?
Do you play Xbox/Xbox 360 on your Xbox One?
I mean, many people will answer YES! But how many times? There's no way the majority of the people spend so much time playing older games! I don't think this is a feature that people actually use to be so important.
With that said, I think with the PS4 (actually PS3, but the architecture is different and it made a mess), it's a little bit more comprehensible because the games are digital in the most part. With a PS2/Xbox game you could just sell it and get rid of everything if you wanted, or just store it in a box until you opened it 10 years later, but with PS4/Xbox One games, people have huge digital libraries.
But with that said! I still think that very few people will actually continue playing PS4/Xbox One games once the new consoles are released, and the number will only be lower after the first or second year.
Microsoft is doing a great job with it, because since it's being enhanced, it can feel like a new experience. We still don't know if PS4 games will be enhanced or not, or if there will be BC for PS1/PS2/PS3 yet (I don't think so). However, I would love to see hard data from Microsoft to know people is actually playing older games.
So we have Microsoft that is taking BC to create a whole Xbox ecosystem, and Sony and Nintendo that don't care as much. Nintendo had the great idea to sell them again with Virtual Console, but they seem to have abandon that idea (maybe people weren't buying enough games?)
Which strategy will be the best for each company in the long run? For me, it's the modern games that sell consoles, not the ability to play older ones.
I would like to know, all of you here how many times did you play a game from a past generation?
Did you play PS1 games on your PS2?
Did you play GameCube games on your Wii?
Did you play GameBoy Advance games in your Nintendo DS?
Do you play Xbox/Xbox 360 on your Xbox One?
I mean, many people will answer YES! But how many times? There's no way the majority of the people spend so much time playing older games! I don't think this is a feature that people actually use to be so important.
With that said, I think with the PS4 (actually PS3, but the architecture is different and it made a mess), it's a little bit more comprehensible because the games are digital in the most part. With a PS2/Xbox game you could just sell it and get rid of everything if you wanted, or just store it in a box until you opened it 10 years later, but with PS4/Xbox One games, people have huge digital libraries.
But with that said! I still think that very few people will actually continue playing PS4/Xbox One games once the new consoles are released, and the number will only be lower after the first or second year.
Microsoft is doing a great job with it, because since it's being enhanced, it can feel like a new experience. We still don't know if PS4 games will be enhanced or not, or if there will be BC for PS1/PS2/PS3 yet (I don't think so). However, I would love to see hard data from Microsoft to know people is actually playing older games.
So we have Microsoft that is taking BC to create a whole Xbox ecosystem, and Sony and Nintendo that don't care as much. Nintendo had the great idea to sell them again with Virtual Console, but they seem to have abandon that idea (maybe people weren't buying enough games?)
Which strategy will be the best for each company in the long run? For me, it's the modern games that sell consoles, not the ability to play older ones.
