• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Backwards Compatibility Poll

How would you describe your situation and opinion towards BWC

  • Playstation Owner Wants BWC

    Votes: 78 35.8%
  • Playstation Owner Don't Care about BWC

    Votes: 24 11.0%
  • Playstation 4 Owner who played on a PS3 in the last 2 years (implied wants BWC)

    Votes: 20 9.2%
  • Xbox Owner USES BWC

    Votes: 53 24.3%
  • Xbox owner who doesnt care about BWC

    Votes: 3 1.4%
  • PC owner, What is Backwards compatibility?

    Votes: 19 8.7%
  • Other Wants

    Votes: 12 5.5%
  • Other Don't care

    Votes: 9 4.1%
  • Other Uses

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    218

Tenaciousmo

Member
Hi gaf,

PC / Ps4/3/2/1 owner here, I have been wondering How many of you truly wants BWC.
I currently have a PS4, a PS3, and a Wii u hooked up to my tv and with recent threads (and not so recent) and all the buzz about new consoles, I looked back to the last time I WANTED to play a PS3 game and I don't think i've booted up my ps3 since 2014 except maybe once for a fighting game night i had with friends. And it got me rethinking if I actually wanted Backwards compatibility or if it was just a nice feature to have. I get the idea of it , I played a bunch of ps1 games on the Ps2 that I hadn't finished other than that I haven't went back to previous console in a while.

[edit]
Do you want BWC to save shelf space/ HDMI port?
Is Backwards compatibility worth it to you if it doesnt improve the game?
Am i alone in this?
thanks for answering.
 
Last edited:

Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
You're not that afro guy

But um, I don't own any 8th-gen systems (I seem to be a very late adopter for these consoles, but I'm on PC), and I like backwards compatibility. You know, for the consoles I never adopted.
Call me "PlayStation 4 Pro eventual owner who wants BWC"

edit: wait I own a Wii U. I bought it in November, I'm like the latest adopter
 
Last edited:

Tenaciousmo

Member
Call me "PlayStation 4 Pro eventual owner who wants BWC"

edit: wait I own a Wii U. I bought it in November, I'm like the latest adopter

Have you used backwards compatibility on the wii u ? if so did you previously owned a Wii?
Have you finished all the ps3 games you wanted to play? have you gone back to them recently?
 

ethomaz

Banned
I don’t care at all.

I buy new consoles to play new games.

If they want me to play old games then remake them for the new console.
 
Last edited:

DiscoJer

Member
I just want my Vita to be able to download all my PSP games from PSN. It can play them, but it involves screwing around that requires more effort than I would like to expend.
 
Of course I would like to have it, but will it break a purchase for me? Hell no. Once Catherine Full Body comes out I can finally retire my PS3.
 
I use BC all the time! Spent 300 hours last year playing through the mass effects for the first time. Last week was playing through bo2 and mw2 and want to play through the campaigns again.
 

RSB

Banned
XB1 and PS4 owner. I use XB1 BC all the time. I expect XB2 to keep (and expand) BC. PS5 better be BC with PS4 at the very least.
 
Last edited:

Leonidas

Member
Love BC on Xbox One X, my favorite feature.
Love PC compatibility too, with more powerful GPUs comes higher playable settings/resolutions/frame-rates.
Wish PS4 had BC. I expect PS5 to be BC.

I no longer support platforms that do not offer backwards compatibility.
 

Blood Borne

Member
It’s been proven numerous times that ultimately BC is not important. Nice feature but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. In the list of things that makes a console have good sales, BC is last on the list. Price, games, power, network service are much more important.
 

Codes 208

Member
I want BC on all my systems...I only have so much room on my shelf and I prefer trading up to upgrade systems rather than keeping older ones around to collect dust.

Especially if it’s like XOX’s ability to play older games at higher res and performance
 

ethomaz

Banned
Just to add a bit...

The release schedule of your console should be regularly at the point you won’t ever remember what is BC.

If you are relying on BC on a new console then you don’t need to buy a new console at all.
 
Last edited:

Codes 208

Member
It’s been proven numerous times that ultimately BC is not important. Nice feature but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. In the list of things that makes a console have good sales, BC is last on the list. Price, games, power, network service are much more important.
I’m pretty sure OP isn’t asking if it’s important in the long run for sales, but if we consider it important.
And to me it is.
 

93xfan

Banned
I don’t care at all.

I buy new consoles to play new games.

If they want me to play old games then remake them for the new console.

Never understand these comments. So you never replay older games?

So you do like older games, you just want to pay for them again. And a free upgrade (such as the ones we get for the X) wouldn’t interest you? You just want to pay more money, correct?
 

ethomaz

Banned
Never understand these comments. So you never replay older games?

So you do like older games, you just want to pay for them again. And a free upgrade (such as the ones we get for the X) wouldn’t interest you? You just want to pay more money, correct?
I don’t replay old games at all unless it had big changes like a remake.

I already have a hard time to play new releases why bother with old games? I already played once I don’t need to play again.

I will never understand that.
 
Last edited:

93xfan

Banned
Just to add a bit...

The release schedule of your console should be regularly at the point you won’t ever remember what is BC.

If you are relying on BC on a new console then you don’t need to buy a new console at all.

Less features please! Just give us a really bad mini console at 50fps.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Less features please! Just give us a really bad mini console at 50fps.
Just give us a new console to play new games after all that is what matters.

Everything else is secondary.

You can have the worst machine ever with the most simple OS... if you have games launching then it will be a success.

I’m to the point to say old games (or BC like most use) doesn’t sell consoles... new releases sells.

If I had to choose how Sony spend money it will probably on new games and not BC.
 
Last edited:

Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
Have you used backwards compatibility on the wii u ? if so did you previously owned a Wii?
Have you finished all the ps3 games you wanted to play? have you gone back to them recently?
I haven't used back-compat yet, but that's because most of my playtime is on PC. I definitely want to play the Wii release of The Force Unleashed, because the Krome Studios version (PS2/PSP/Wii) is the BEST version fite me

The PS3 backlog is too large. The backlog on every system is too large. Too many games.
 

Grinchy

Banned
Not gonna vote on the Afro poll, but I think next-gen has to be backwards compatible with the current gen. They don't have to be BC with generations before this one, though that would be very cool if they are.

We've never had a generation like the current one in terms of online libraries with in-game purchases. And we haven't really seen a new generation with such similar hardware that backwards compatibility is brainless.

Look at how previous Playstation generations had actual last-gen chips incorporated into the system just to play old games. Or look at how MS has gone to such great lengths to emulate previous generations. From what little I personally understand, this time around it will be the simplest and cheapest it's ever been to achieve.
 

Barakov

Gold Member
I've used my PS3 recently to play PS1 games and also some one who uses XB1X BC quite often. I'm someone who wants it. I understand it just can't be done sometimes, PS4(different architecture), Switch(different format), but I'm definitely in the pro BC camp.
 

93xfan

Banned
I don’t replay old games at all unless it had big changes like a remake.

I already have a hard time to play new releases why bother with old games? I already played once I don’t need to play again.

I will never understand that.

What about classics you never got around to?

Or older MP games you play with friends?

I guess I just don’t get the cheering on of less features, unless you’re a Sony fan and want to defend their drastic reversal this gen on BC
 
Last edited:

ethomaz

Banned
What about classics you never got around to?

Or older MP games you play with friends?
I don’t look back when I move to a new generation... I had dozen of games in backlog for PS3 when PS4 launched but I just have time to play PS4 games and I never turned on my PS3 again in the last 5 years... PS3 backlog was left in the past for the new gaming life on PS4.

Same will happen with PS5... I will play PS4 games until PS5 launch.

My lastest played PS3 game was GT6 for just a few weeks because PS4 launched here at Dec 6th... so I just played Resogun, Killzone and a lot of indies.

If I have a complain was that the first year of PS4 had too many bad indie games and too little big releases.

That is what a new console shouldn’t have... they need to focus on new games.

I hope Sony do a better job with PS5... Switch already had better release schedule than PS4 in the first year.
 
Last edited:

Tenaciousmo

Member
I haven't used back-compat yet, but that's because most of my playtime is on PC. I definitely want to play the Wii release of The Force Unleashed, because the Krome Studios version (PS2/PSP/Wii) is the BEST version fite me

The PS3 backlog is too large. The backlog on every system is too large. Too many games.

>backlog
Yes, to complete a backlog it would be useful but i like to leave backlog in the previous generation when the next arrives, until i lack anything to play. and even then , if you dont sell the hardware you can still play them.

Never understand these comments. So you never replay older games?

So you do like older games, you just want to pay for them again. And a free upgrade (such as the ones we get for the X) wouldn’t interest you? You just want to pay more money, correct?

context: I have similar toughts as ethomaz ethomaz

>never replay older games
Excessively rarely I go back to completed games unless they have some type of multiplayer component to them. Mostly because of a growing backlog of close to thousands of games.

>pay for them again (remake/remaster)
Unless it is a quality remake of a game I adore I wouldn't consider it. I do think what microsoft is doing with the xbox1x BC is amazing but to me it is not required for a console to have it BUT it is nice (edit) or im buying remakes because I havent played it before.
 
Last edited:

Fox Mulder

Member
BC is a nice additional feature, but I prefer full BC.

MS did great work, but I still have a 360 hooked up to play stuff like NCAA Football, Outrun, or anything else that will not get supported due to licensing or needing publisher approval.
 

kyubajin

Member
Too many options but I voted PS user who wants BC. I just have so many PSN games and PS4 games which I'd love to continue playing when the new system comes out and if they get enhancements like XboneX all the better.
 
Imo it's nice feature to have but I don't really care about it that much. I still have my old consoles and like to use them for nostalgic purpose :p
 
I've just completed dante's inferno on my xbox one, never got around to it on the 360. I love BC and hope MS stick with it in the next gen.
 

ANIMAL1975

Member
One of the things that loved the most on my PS3, was that i could always play my Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Legacy of Kain, God of War, Killzone (etc.) whenever i wanted. All those discs of the games i just can't get apart. I sell all the others and the old system to help buy the new one. So, yes, bc is very important to me.
 
I never bought a PS4 and was given it for free, but might have never bought it because of the lack of PS3 BC.

If they pull that again with the PS5, especially in the age of emulators, bye bye Sony and consoles, I'll wait for my PC to be able to emulate it.
 
Never understand these comments. So you never replay older games?

So you do like older games, you just want to pay for them again. And a free upgrade (such as the ones we get for the X) wouldn’t interest you? You just want to pay more money, correct?

The only games I replay are Soulslikes. I honestly can't think of anything else I've gone back to in forever.
 

ethomaz

Banned
If they want you?

You don't have your own will?
Yes. I don’t play old games unless it has remade for modern days lol

Is it not clear that is my own will?

BTW are they not trying to sell games to me?
 
Last edited:

nkarafo

Member
Yes. I don’t play old games unless it has remade for modern days lol

Is it not clear that is my own will?

BTW are they not trying to sell games to me?
You say you don't play old games until they remake them. Remakes (for modern days as you put it) aren't really "old" games though, you don't play RE2 Remake and say "that's an old game over there".

This is more about replaying old games that you already own. Backwards compatibility helps so you don't have to wait for their own good will to re-release a certain game that you loved, plus you don't have to re-buy the same game again and again just because some consoles may have shitty build quality and die 4 years later or because you don't want 10 consoles and a labyrinth of cables in your living room just so you can replay some games.
 
Last edited:

HeresJohnny

Member
I like the idea of it, but I never can keep up with new stuff let alone go back and play old. I want to have it just so I have one less HDMI tied up, but it really won't matter to me once the next generation starts.
 

ethomaz

Banned
You say you don't play old games until they remake them. Remakes (for modern days as you put it) aren't really "old" games though, you don't play RE2 Remake and say "that's an old game over there".

This is more about replaying old games that you already own. Backwards compatibility helps so you don't have to wait for their own good will to re-release a certain game that you loved, plus you don't have to re-buy the same game again and again just because some consoles may have shitty build quality and die 4 years later or because you don't want 10 consoles and a labyrinth of cables in your living room just so you can replay some games.
I don’t play my old games after I’m done with them.

There are new games with new experiences that I already doesn’t have time to play all... I need to be selective.

BTW I don’t have any joy playing a game I already did 100% again... I already knows the story and how it plays... there is no surprise, excitement playing it another time.

It is like you wanting to play with your ex-girlfriend again, and again and again (if that is really the case then she should be your girlfriend not ex... there is something not right in that situation)... I do like to play with new girlfriends (to be fair now I have my wife so you can say I found my game for the life that add content every day... so it is always new with her)... I just move on for better and exciting new experiences.

Maybe because I’m Gemini so I don’t get stuck with the past... focus on the present and future... love it.
 
Last edited:

Great Hair

Banned
I´d rather have them reboot classic PS1/2 games like Onimusha with up2date visuals than having a "simple" port. Most PS1 and PS2 games are hard to swallow nowdays.

No thanks, either give us proper BC a la PS2/PS3 or Remake them from scratch with the help of students, ppl. that have finished game "university" and are seeking a job in the industry.

That should be their first duty for a year or two, rework classics in u4? and make them look good (like spyro, crash etc.).
 
Last edited:

Fbh

Member
Ps4 owner and I definitely want backwards compatibility. Even more so if it's like X1 compatibility where they make it so older games run and look better.
It's easier to have one system run all my PS games instead of having to own multiple consoles, you can also sell your current system to partially pay for the new one.

I also think it gives games more value. The Witcher 3 on PC will keep working with my next upgrade, and the one after that, and chances are that it will benefit from every new hardware upgrade without the need to repurchase the game. With no BC the Witcher 3 on Ps4 will only work on that system and if I want to play it on my next one taking advantage of its more powerful hardware I'll have to hope CPR remasters it and then I'll have to repurchase the game.

I want console games to catch up to other media. If I buy a movie or an album on the google play store I'm not buying it for my "Galaxy S8", I'm buying it for my android devices knowing I'll be able to keep using that content once I upgrade to another android phone. If I buy en E-Book on my Kindle I'm buying it for my amazon account, not for the specific gen 1 Kindle Paperwhite I own right now.
I want it to be so that when I buy something on PSN Store I'm buying it for the Playstation platform and not a specific model (of course because of hardware limitation it would always have to be "for current and future devices" and not ANY PS device)
 
Last edited:

iconmaster

Banned
The first question my wife asks when I bring up a new console is whether it will still play the old games.

Think about the market ramifications there. :)
 

cireza

Banned
I have an Xbox One and there is no difference anymore between "normal games" and "backwards compatible games". They are all games, all on my console, and I play any of them without thinking about this. This is how it should be.
 

Ridaxan

Member
I just want the PS5 to be backwards compatible with the PS4. Hopefully Sony can invest in a team that can give the older games the same kind of love that the XBOX BC team has given 360 games.

I'd love to be able to see games that are currently only hitting 1080p on the Pro hit 4K on the PS5.
 

mcz117chief

Member
I find it very annoying to juggle consoles just because I want to play a game on PS1/2/3, since my room is pretty small I can't have all the machines hooked up at the same time. Backwards compatibility would be very much appreciated.
 
Last edited:

Petrae

Member
I use the BC functionality on my Xbox One X and love it. In fact, that feature made it easier for me to trade in my Xbox 360 towards the X, as I had a nice library of games to start and gradually built it up with XBO games over time.

The fact that original PlayStation games aren’t compatible with PS4 is a fucking travesty— even if just the PSone Classics. I get why PS3 games may not work (stupid Cell), but PSone and PS2 Classics should’ve worked.
 

Vawn

Banned
Strangely, I fall into the category of PS4 owner who wants BC and Xbox One owner who never uses BC.

I love knowing it's there, but I have not yet felt compelled to go back and play PS360 games, outside of Demon's Souls, which is only on PS3.
 

Breakage

Member
As someone who has never owned a current gen console, BC would be essential. When it comes to BC, Microsoft is leading the way, so I expect the next Xbox to be fully BC with the Xbox One. I think if Sony duck of PS4 BC next gen, they will definitely get a lot of criticism for it.
In my view, PS4 BC – at the very least – is a must. I mean just think about it: all your PS4 content – all those purchases – suddenly become unplayable on the next PlayStation? It sounds ridiculous in an age where purchases are tied to a digital account.
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I never had an Xbox until Xbox One so BC was a key feature for me and it has been great. Not every great past game has made it to PC and not all of them have made it to One yet, but plenty have and several of the really good ones were even massively enhanced. Some old games are even better on Xbox One than they are on PC due to crappy PC port stuff that never got worked around.
 

93xfan

Banned
Really got bummed with Sony not at least having PS1 games BC. Have over 100 of those purchased from PSN.

As much as I love new games, I have a lot of nostalgia for and love loading up games like Jumping Flash 2, Metal Gear Solid and Twisted Metal.
 
Last edited:

WaterAstro

Member
I want new games more than BC. Money can't go to both at 100% each. Microsoft's priorities, this gen, is proof of it: poor output of exclusives, huge emphasis on BC.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
I'd rather see backwards compatibility for hardware. Controllers, arcade sticks, and certain accessories. I'm not asking for full compatibility, but maintaining compatibility with the old stuff is significantly easier than it used to be. There's really no excuse. We've been on the USB standard on consoles since 2000 (PS2, Xbox) and in the case of PS2, the only reason why you can't use USB controllers is because Sony didn't make a driver for it.

When you buy a new system, your old one doesn't magically vanish. BC for games is nothing more than a convenience. It's not that important of a feature to me.

On the other hand, BC for hardware would save me $100s in hardware purchases that I could instead spend on games.

As an aside, credit to Microsoft for doing a lot of work to port their games forward. I think this is smart of them and will pay off next-gen when they are even more focused on subscription services.
 

NahaNago

Member
It would be nice for the ps5 but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if it didn't have it. I still have my ps3 right next to my ps4 but I haven't I've played a single game on it since this gen has started.

: It would be weird if on a gaming forum folks would not for the most part want to easily be able to play older games.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom