Will PS4 and Xbox One games even be playable in the future?

[Redneckerz]

Posted on behalf of Psxdad courtesy of the Adopt-A-User program, Gaming Edition.

NOTE:

''So you wanna be a player... But your posts ain't fly... You gotta hit us up... to get your threads on time...''

Click to shrink...

Give the volunteers at Adopt-A-User a call, and we will assess whether or not your thread is deemed worthy of ERA ;)

Now, on to the thread!

As a physical media enthusiast and game collector, I am have increasingly been thinking about the future of these consoles. I own around 70 physical games between these two systems. With many of these games requiring day one patches to properly function, or for additional features for the One X and Pro, will these games even work when the servers are inevitably shut down?

I realize some people don't care about replaying games, but I still regularly play retro games (they account for about a third of my gaming). For the first time, I'm concerned that eventually all these games from this generation will either be a shell of their former selves or outright unplayable.

 

[THEVOID]

No reason why they won't be. So, I'm guessing yes.

 

[HanSoloCup]

I think it's a fair question. I'd hate to play something like Assassin's Creed Unity without the latest set of patches...

 

[Kthulhu]

I think it'll be awhile before console manufacturers feel comfortable with ditching physical media completely.

I'm more worried that Sony won't have backwards compatibility for PS4 games on the PS5. I feel like Microsoft has a lot of player good will from their commitment to legacy support, hopefully that continues.

Servers will probably stay up for awhile for online, and then for downloads, and then for patches.

Sony will probably try and push PS Now as a way to play all of your old PS4 games like they are now for PS3 games.

 

[Militaratus]

Patch availability on PlayStation platforms will be available for a long time, unless something happens at PlayStation that causes them to be turned off. For the near future, either an apocalyptic event or EA buying PlayStation and then killing it would cause the Patch Server Hub to go offline. If we are talking 25 or 50 years in the future, it could be that PlayStation would no longer exist, so all PlayStation games would be unpatched.

 

[Vashetti]

Backwards compatibility for next generation is pretty much assured.

With 360 games on XB1, you can still download their patches. There's no reason not to assume that as long as the games are accessible via BC, that the patches will still be available too.

 

[ghostcrew]

A game's servers being shut off doesn't mean that the patches from Xbox Live or PSN don't download. I would hope that these services last a long, long time. It does raise interesting questions to do with game preservation though. It's certainly not as simple as it used to be.

 

[Strangelove_77]

I would assume those truly interested would keep these patches alive digitally somewhere.

 

[Panther2103]

This is an interesting thing to think about, I thought about it myself a couple months ago. With the fact that game discs are generally used to just work generally as DRM for the current generation, and the fact that there is usually patches associated with each release on launch, what happens when the patch servers are down in the future? I'm sure most games can be played without the patches, so those won't really be an issue (unless game breaking bugs are there), but what about games that require the patch to start, or have some form of online verification (even for a single player game). I feel like those games will just be gone. Not sure as we haven't gotten that far into this type of format (digital / physical combinations). I will always collect retro games, but if you cannot play the disc based games due to patches or servers being down, I may stop collecting physical format games for modern consoles due to fear of not being able to play them at some point.

 

[Kthulhu]

Backwards compatibility for next generation is pretty much assured.

With 360 games on XB1, you can still download their patches. There's no reason not to assume that as long as the games are accessible via BC, that the patches will still be available too.

Click to shrink...

What makes you say that? The PS4 and the Xbox One launched without any form of backwards compatibility, and the Wii U couldn't play GameCube games despite have the the hardware and software necessary for it

 

[THEVOID]

What makes you say that? The PS4 and the Xbox One launched without any form of backwards compatibility, and the Wii U couldn't play GameCube games despite have the the hardware and software necessary for it

Click to shrink...

Hardware architecture isn't going to change. Look at the refresh from the past year. They play all the games on the lessor model.

 

[BLLYjoe25]

sony and microsoft should be taking responsibility for preserving patches. the servers to play online might go down but title updates should always be made available for long as possible for games.

i like what microsoft is doing. 360 games are working just fine on the XB1 and i can only assume they'll keep doing this. if sony provides backwards compatibility they should be doing the same. if someone has a system that the game is playable on then they should be serving the patches.

 

[zedox]

Well, it depends on how much you believe in PlayStation and Xbox digital future. I know you are talking about physical games but those patches mean that you are still bound to their digital infrastructure. I think Xbox has long legs in the digital media space just because of what's powering it (Microsoft Azure). PlayStation will be there as long as PlayStation keeps making Sony money and hopefully they move to a more reliable backend like AWS, Google Cloud, or even MS Azure, unless Sony builds up their cloud infrastructure more. I think that's what they are doing especially with PlayStation Now and seeing as that is the eventual future of gaming.

So all in all, I think that those games will be playable but I do think that at some point these consoles won't have physical media and you'll eventually have to move to digital and keep your old boxes to play your games, but that's a long time from now.

 

[gcwy]

Define 'future'. I think due to licensing issues some games will inevitably have issues remaining on digital stores 10-15 years from now. But so far, with the approach MS is taking with their BC, I see no reason why Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games won't be playable on the Nextbox or the Next-nextbox.

The best way to preserve these old games is through PC emulation, though. So if current gen consoles get emulated, these games will be playable even 20, 30 years from now, on PC. There are already games that are no longer available on digital stores, or games that simply can't be played in any way on original hardware anymore, can be emulated on PC. Scott Pilgrim is one of those games.

 

[Vashetti]

What makes you say that? The PS4 and the Xbox One launched without any form of backwards compatibility, and the Wii U couldn't play GameCube games despite have the the hardware and software necessary for it

Click to shrink...

• x86 architecture
• massive industry shift to digital
• MS/Sony are not going to incentivise consumers to switch to a competitor by preventing their digital libraries from carrying forward from this generation onward, they want you locked into their platform/ecosystem

 

[Deleted member 11517]

backwards compatibility for next generation is pretty much assured.

Click to shrink...

Yeah? Super sceptical about that. Sony showed clearly they dont care about bc this gen, there's for example no reason PS4 couldn't play PS1/PS2 games (via emulation).
I mean it's possible but assured? Not even close.

 

[Segafreak]

"will these games even work when the servers are inevitably shut down"

I think you need to learn the difference between XBL/PSN servers and game servers. The latter happens all the time and patches are still available.

 

[Bowl0l]

• x86 architecture
• massive industry shift to digital
• MS/Sony are not going to incentivise consumers to switch to a competitor by preventing their digital libraries from carrying forward from this generation onward, they want you locked into their platform/ecosystem

Click to shrink...

The first XBox is x86 but we only have 13 titles available 4 years after XBoxOne is released. Guess how many next gen consoles will be released before we get back our game library this gen?

 

[IronicSonic]

I think server holders will upload "complete editions" of their software in the future?

 

[ODDI]

You can bet your ass MS is gonna upscale Halo 3 to 8k!

 

[Klobrille]

I think Xbox is building its ecosystem for exactly that forward and backward possibility as good as possible. They recognize their past games are easy wins for both the costumers and "free" good publicity. So seeing it from the Xbox perspective I'm sure you will be able to play these games for a very long time. And with all the Enhancenents done by MS even better than before.

PlayStation - especially on the current generation - does not seem to care about a forward and backward ecosystem on the other hand at all. And that's a shame really. I mean they even go as far as saying "why would you play these games?" - and there is zero evidence at all this will change in future.

So whatever you think about both competitors - it's pretty clear that Xbox is currently doing a much better job in this regard.

 

[gebler]

I don't think it will be a problem as long as Sony and Microsoft remain in the gaming business, and possibly even longer than that as a gesture of goodwill. But for the even longer term, I really wish they'd officially support an offline patching method for games, like they do with system software. This would enable independent patch archives, which would do a lot to ease long-term preservation concerns.

 

[gcwy]

Hardware architecture isn't going to change. Look at the refresh from the past year. They play all the games on the lessor model.

Click to shrink...

It's true in theory, but it all depends on the console manufacturers if they will 'allow' next gen consoles to play old console games.

 

[BakedTanooki]

I'm not that worried. It's very hyperbole when people say that most games from this generation won't even run properly without the day 1 patch. Got more than 60 physical games for PS4 and almost all of them would run just fine, without any patch. Yes, there are some rare extreme cases, where a game is not very enjoyable without the patches, but yeah, that's still pretty rare.

Buuut: I stopped collecting for Xbox One when I realized that not a single game would even start, if the Xbox One console doesn't have that Patch for removing the "always online" stuff.

Is that still the case with the Xbox One X?

 

[Deleted member 2171]

PS4 yes.

Xbox One still doesn't have actual offline profiles, so that one is up in the air.

 

[Lothars]

The first XBox is x86 but we only have 13 titles available 4 years after XBoxOne is released. Guess how many next gen consoles will be released before we get back our game library this gen?

Click to shrink...

The original xbox archetiture is also not just x86, it's harder to emulate than even the 360 was. Progress has been made but I have no doubt that both the next xbox and PS5 will be backwards compatible with this generation.

 

[SUPGUYZ]

Even if servers shut off, there will be archives and I'm assuming by that time we will be more than a few generations ahead in terms of consoles. So by then, I'm GUESSING Xbox Ones and PS4s would be modded and you can install patches offline like on OG Xbox

 

[Dogui]

People will probably homebrew the hell out of the discontinued PS4 and Xone in the future, being up to fans to preserve these archives, assuming that Sony and MS doesn't care.

 

[Kthulhu]

Hardware architecture isn't going to change. Look at the refresh from the past year. They play all the games on the lessor model.

Click to shrink...

That doesn't mean they'll still allow it. I hope I'm wrong.

• x86 architecture
• massive industry shift to digital
• MS/Sony are not going to incentivise consumers to switch to a competitor by preventing their digital libraries from carrying forward from this generation onward, they want you locked into their platform/ecosystem

Click to shrink...

Except they did exactly that this generation.

 

[Deleted member 9971]

If not i can always play them all on PC, when the servers are down by then even a decent laptop could probably run a ps4 emulator. I would probably get the dlc's i bought the gray area way if i can't download those anymore or forget to do so on time, it's probably possible to easily mod a ps4 same for xbox one by then through homebrew.

Anyway most games run fine without patches so far i experienced, some truly need them tho. But as i said by then it should be able to get those patches in another way i am sure some people will put those up for game archive reasons.

 

[THEVOID]

That doesn't mean they'll still allow it. I hope I'm wrong.



Except they did exactly that this generation.

Click to shrink...

Digital exploded this gen compared to last gen for consoles

 

[bane833]

Except they did exactly that this generation.

Click to shrink...

Sony did it because they had no choice. That´s not happening again.

 

[Vashetti]

Except they did exactly that this generation.

Click to shrink...

Sony, MS and Nintendo all had a big reset this generation. Sony/MS switched to x86 architecture and Nintendo went to ARM. Everything from this generation will carry forward provided they stick with their respective architectures.

 

[Deleted member 4359]

The PS4 is already hacked, and has been on different occasions which is a good look for preservation. Xbox One has nothing regarding hacking but literally any device gets reverse engineered eventually - though, I will say the Xbox 360 has a feature where title updates aren't signed therefore you can copy them to a USB, then to your hard drive and have the latest patches offline on any system.

I expect MS to keep servers running since they have the money, Sony will as long as PlayStation makes money. Nintendo, probably the same.

 

[Kill3r7]

I don't see why not for most games but games like Destiny or The Division might stop being playable 5-10 years from now.

 

[gcwy]

Sony did it because they had no choice. That´s not happening again.

Click to shrink...

I'm curious, why would things change next gen?

 

[KiNolin]

I mostly play unpatched and only experienced like 1 PS4 game that was notably buggy (and even then it was far from unplayable, it "just" needed three or four reboots).

 

[KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd.]

In all honesty, my hope for the future is that 10 years from now, PS4s will be relatively easy to hack and load games onto, should normal means no longer be available.
I just don't expect Sony to even try and preserve stuff anymore.

Sony, MS and Nintendo all had a big reset this generation. They all switched to x86 architecture. Everything from this generation will carry forward.

Click to shrink...

Didn't Nintendo go to ARM? Is that different?

Except they did exactly that this generation.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, in retrospect, a lot of why I chose to get both a PS2 and a PS3 was the added incentive that I could play my old games on it, especially as my previous systems aged

Since then, Xbox has done an amazing job keeping compatibility across systems (and different architecture), and even Nintendo has done a better job than usual (the Wii playing GC, Wii U playing Wii, DS playing GBA, 3DS playing DS).

Now that my 3rd PS3 has just kicked the bucket, and my PS2 is acting weird, I kinda wish I had some good way of playing them.

 

[Vashetti]

Didn't Nintendo go to ARM? Is that different?

Click to shrink...

Ah yes that's correct. Provided they stick with ARM going forward, they can do BC too. They should have gone x86 really though.

 

[Deleted member 4359]

In all honesty, my hope for the future is that 10 years from now, PS4s will be relatively easy to hack and load games onto, should normal means no longer be available.
I just don't expect Sony to even try and preserve stuff anymore.
Didn't Nintendo go to ARM? Is that different?

Click to shrink...

Indeed, and it's different. It's OS functionality on a lower level anyways has a lot in common with the 3DS which was also ARM based, as was the DS, as was the GBA...

 

[Ahasverus]

They better, I'd be super pissed off if Sony starts anew and all my purchases go to waste.

 

[Psxdad]

Define 'future'. I think due to licensing issues some games will inevitably have issues remaining on digital stores 10-15 years from now. But so far, with the approach MS is taking with their BC, I see no reason why Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games won't be playable on the Nextbox or the Next-nextbox.

The best way to preserve these old games is through PC emulation, though. So if current gen consoles get emulated, these games will be playable even 20, 30 years from now, on PC. There are already games that are no longer available on digital stores, or games that simply can't be played in any way on original hardware anymore, can be emulated on PC. Scott Pilgrim is one of those games.

Click to shrink...

By future I mean say in 20-30 years, will I be able to put my PS4 game in my PS4 and be able to play it with patches required to either A. make it function properly B. look the same as they do now (ie 4k, etc). I can obviously do that with simpler systems like the NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. It makes me wonder if collecting these physical games like I have always done still serves the same function as it always have. Or am I just making my gaming less convenient by having to switch discs and not having the benefit of physical preservation.

 

[Psxdad]

"will these games even work when the servers are inevitably shut down"

I think you need to learn the difference between XBL/PSN servers and game servers. The latter happens all the time and patches are still available.

Click to shrink...

I don't mean multiplayer servers for individual games obviously. I mean the services that are storing these patches. Do you really believe 20-30 years from now these companies will still be storing these patches? Storage costs money and in the case of some games, these patches are really large.

 

[kubev]

This is why I've come to care less and less about physical media. I feel as though the "final" version of a game changes so much from what's actually on the disc. This is why I wish more people *would* embrace digital games, although I wish publishers would arrange to allow users to purchase a physical copy AFTER the game is completely patched. We should have a hybrid system like this in which the digital copy is cheaper because the physical copy costs the user a little bit more in the end for simply purchasing the disc. It'd also be nice if the prices of digital games degraded more regularly. In either case, of the two platform holders, I feel that Microsoft is in a better position to ensure that we're able to play our purchased games on future systems without fear of not being able to patch them. I just hope that Microsoft continues on this path and has a publishing agreement in place that forces publishers to automatically allow future releases to be playable on all Xbox platforms via Back Compat or something.

 

[horkrux]

Digital exploded this gen compared to last gen for consoles

Click to shrink...

What's digital got to do with it? lol
As long as future consoles have compatible disc drives, physical and digital buyers are essentially in the same boat.

Sony, MS and Nintendo all had a big reset this generation. Sony/MS switched to x86 architecture and Nintendo went to ARM. Everything from this generation will carry forward provided they stick with their respective architectures.

Click to shrink...

That's not a given. They will have to put in the work to ensure those consoles actually remain compatible. "x86" is no guarantee for this.

 

[Dancrane212]

Psxdad patched games are transferable between consoles now thanks to external HDD support. It's easier than ever to backup and restore "final" versions of games to be activated with a disc (not requiring an online account).

I wouldn't worry about it to be honest. If/when we get news about those servers going down you should have plenty of time to get your ducks in a row.

 

[lolilolailo]

I wouldn't be so sure about BC on PS5 and the next Xbox. Maybe Xbox since they are having BC now, but Sony doesn't seem to care about it since they can just sell the games again via remasters.

There's no reason PS4 can't play PS1 and PS2 games via emulation. Even PSP.

 

[Hentai]

This is why emulation exist.

 

[hibikase]

I can't speak for other consoles, but on PlayStation the update servers are separate from PSN. During the 2011 outage, game updates worked just fine. They're just plain CDN hosted file servers, and can possibly be replicated.

 

[bane833]

I'm curious, why would things change next gen?

Click to shrink...

Because BC will be (relatively) easy to implement and a standard feature that will be requested by the customers. Sony would be at a huge disadvantage compared to MS if they didn´t have a fully BC PS5 and that´s not going to happen.