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Do you care about backwards compatibility at all?

I care a lot about backwards compatibility because I don't want to keep old consoles, but I don't want to lose my DD purchases and want to have the ability to play some of the games.
 
I thought I did, I don't anymore. Haven't played a single PS1 game on my Vita or my PS3, haven't played a single PS2 game on my PS3 since 2007. Still find it easier and funner to get out the original consoles. Might be a bit more important for digital titles going forward.
 
i care about BC but it needs to be done properly.

hampering the new system or offering gimped BC is a waste of time. so far, Wii BC on Wii U hasn't been as good as it could be due to some issues like sound and a few missing accesories and the Wii U itself is gimped in comparison to picking new parts (they included the old processor for 3DS's BC alongside the new chips. why couldn't they do the same for Wii U?)
 
I do care. A lot!

Funny enough, I'm playing around with Dolphin and am amazed with how MP2Echoes looks like. Will definitely grab a Wii that have GC controller ports (Still haven't played RS3: Rebel Strike).
 
I remember when Sega released the Power Base Converter a while after I bought my Genesis and I was suddenly able to play Phantasy Star, Zillion, Wonder Boy and Fantasy Zone II on my Geni. That was my first experience with backward compatibility, and even though it required the additional hardware to get the older games running, it seemed like an amazing feet of engineering at the time (the Master System games were actually running off the Genesis' 8-bit ZX8000 sound chip, iirc). Anyway, the advantages of backward compatibility hit home the first time I didn't have to use my old, uncomfortable, twitchy Master System controllers to play these games.

md-powerbase-converter.jpg


Since then, I've been very fond of the idea of backward compatibility, and though I won't say it's a deal breaker for me on any given console, I will note that if the PS3 were backward compatible today, I'd probably own three of them, rather than having one PS3 and two PS2s connected to various televisions in the house (I'd do it just for the convenience of using DS3s to play everything!). I go back to my favorite games again and again and again (still playing NES faves on various hardware and my Activision retro UMD spends a lot of time in my PSP!) so backward compatibility has a solid appeal.
 
I do, quite a lot:

- This was my main reason for buying a PS3. I had bought countless japanese PS2 games and no japanese PS2, so no way to play them. I bought a japanese PS3 to enjoy those games, and my original PS3 has been used more with PS2 games than with PS3 games. I bought a slim later, so of course this one was PS3-only.

- I truly love playing old games. My SNES is always plugged and ready to run, and I use it regularly. PSOne, N64, even 8bits consoles are getting some use. Problem is, with the increasing number of hardware failure, I should buy at least two of each consoles to make sure that I will be able to play my games in half a dozen years, which is expensive. By having BC, this need is lowered (for GC games, I have GC and Wii, for Wii games I have Wii and Wii U, etc., so if one broke, I'm not out of options).

And the number of consoles that I have to keep plugged in is lower.


But if it becomes a truly big issue to manage BC, I don't have a problem with a console maker ditching it. That's just very, very convenient.


(btw, if the 360 had better BC, I would probably have bought one just to play the XBox games I never had the chance to play. With PS1/2/3 and Nintendo consoles, I'm not missing enough games to justify a third one each generation, but having a way to play XB and 360 games in a single package would have proved a sufficient reason to buy a 360)
 
I think it's very important for digital content, personally. It isn't the same as previous generations where we can just search for old second hand titles...

I can finally play Model 2 games in 1080p whenever I feel like downloading them (and it took way too long), I hope in the future I don't have to dig out the old 360 when I need to scratch that itch.
 
Yes. I have a lot of old games that I played and want to go back every now and then. There's also a lot of old games (varying from recent to really old ones) that I've never played but intend to one day.
 
Absolutely still angry at Sony for reselling me the same games to play on Ps3 that I own on Ps2. They didn't have to pull BC especially at this stage. It's just greed. Also microsoft should have done a better job on their BC compatibility list.
 
Yes.

Because I like games, and there's no garuntee that I'd have played all on said console before the new one comes out.
 
I don't just care about it, as a "veteran" PC gamer and an occasional but consistent "retrogamer" I consider it a given; being able to access my old collection to me it's a mandatory feature.
Even the idea of owning barely one platform able to play just modern products makes me very uncomfortable.
 
I miss a lot of good games every gen because I don't quite have the time and can't be arsed to connect three or more consoles to the same tv so yes, I do care

handheld-wise, I could do without, because of the opposite reason
 
Blue Submarine No. 6 said:
I remember when Sega released the Power Base Converter a while after I bought my Genesis and I was suddenly able to play Phantasy Star, Zillion, Wonder Boy and Fantasy Zone II on my Geni. That was my first experience with backward compatibility, and even though it required the additional hardware to get the older games running, it seemed like an amazing feet of engineering at the time (the Master System games were actually running off the Genesis' 8-bit ZX8000 sound chip, iirc). Anyway, the advantages of backward compatibility hit home the first time I didn't have to use my old, uncomfortable, twitchy Master System controllers to play these games.
Click to expand...

The Genesis actually had a Master System in it. The music mixed the new YM2612 chip and the old PSG from the Master System.
An extreme case of this is the Z80 in the original Game Boy. For BC the Game Boy Advanced had it, but AFAIK used it in games, so the DS had to have it as well! Think the DSi was the first to remove it.

I think we will see more stuff like the Xbox 360 emulating Xbox games, but with the architecture getting more similar. The WiiU might be the last console (after 360 and PS3) to use weird HW. All three current consoles use GPUs that are pretty much found in PCs. It is nice to brag about eight core CPUs, but it is much nicer to show off awesome looking launch titles.
 
I went from PS2 to 360, so backwards compatibility wasn't really important this generation. Going forward, I'd like BC in the next Xbox so I'm not just tossing my 360 games aside at some point.
 
Backwards compatibility is really important to me. I play older games all the time and I don't want to have my living room filled with old consoles.
 
yep

for me sony has the perfect solution next gen (streaming). especially if they incorporate it into PS plus then you've got a netflix type subcription type service that microsoft and nintendo cant compete with. that coupled with the weird controller has me very excited about next gen

i've got a feelin sony will fuck everything up with a late launch, exorbitant price andretardedly high/unneeded specs but that streaming shit has me very excited
 
DBT85 said:
my PS3 won't stop working when I buy a PS4.
Click to expand...


That is an extremely weak argument. Some people don't want or have space for 10 systems hooked up at a time. Others like to sell the older console to fund the successor system relying on backward compatibility to do so.
 
MichaelCorleone said:
That is an extremely weak argument. Some people don't want or have space for 10 systems hooked up at a time. Others like to sell the older console to fund the successor system relying on backward compatibility to do so.
Click to expand...

I never told anyone else what they wanted, just offering my opinion which was the point of the thread was it not?

To me BC doesn't matter on home systems for the reasons I stated. There are no others consoles under my TV, we had a Wii but it hasn't been used in 3 years so I took it out. My Fat PS2 is at my in laws house still going strong apart from the front of the DVD tray being missing.

I get why other people might want BC, but I don't need it. I was asked if I cared about BC, not if I thought the consoles should offer it or not which would have been granted a different answer as I think they should offer it. I just won't care when they don't as is looking likely with at least the PS4.

Since I don't work for Sony or Microsoft I doubt very much that my opinion is actually going to hold any weight with their design process though.

I suppose it would have been better if I had replied to the thread with a simple "No" and not given any reasoning behind it?

EDIT: it seems I was editing and expressing further views on the subject while you were constructing your post Michael.
 
Right, You're entitled to it but your still functioning ps3 shouldn't warrant thinking BC as an unnecessary feature. Let's say your ps3 breaks & you have a yearning in your loins to play your favorite Ps3 game, Wouldn't it be a nice feature to have it play in your shiny new Ps4?
Not to mention often times successors often add texture smoothing or higher res than it's native hardware.

If Ps4 & Next Box don't have BC then I am content to wait a couple of price drops with this huge backlog.
 
I would be annoyed by the lack of BC (especially in the PS3 given the PS2's arguably GOAT library), but with PCSX2 and Dolphin allowing you to run games even better than on native machines it ceases to be a problem for me.
 
It's really important for me. My 360 bricked about a year ago, and I don't really want to buy a new 360 this late in the cycle, so I want to wait for the nextbox and play 360 games I missed like Halo 4, MGS/ZOE collections, and so on...
 
Yes, I care. Specially because I'm getting now a shit ton of great games with PS+ for PS3 and Vita that I won't have time to play, so if the next console allows me to do it, would be great.

Specially if adds extra resolution with an additional filter or extra framerate. I traditionally have a good backlog and don't like to have too much consoles there plugged to the TV. In my case I skipped PS2 and enjoyed some of its main games thanks to PS3 BC.

It's also an additional value for your console launch for users who didn't have the previous one or had it but missed some of its important games (see Vita with PSP/PS1/Minis BC), it helps to build a good library.
 
I care about it to the extend that "it is nice to have", but nothing outside of that. If a system doesnt have backward compability, this is hardly a deciding factor for me if i want to buy it or not.
 
Not really.

I never played Ps1 games on Ps2, or Ps2 games on the Ps3. Never booted up a NGC game on the Wii either.

But it's a nice option.
 
Considering I still have all of my older systems - nope, doesn't matter to me in the least.

Alright, backwards-compatibility on the GBC is nice, since it also adds some color to original GB games, and so I don't really use my GB Pocket very much. And, I don't have an Atari 2600 or PS1, just an Atari 7800 and PS2. So, I do use some backwards compatibility.
For the most part though, I just play the games on the system they were originally released for.
 
It's VERY important. I have like 40+ digital games on my Playstation account. If those all become inaccessible down the line due to incompatibility and my PS3 breaking, which it eventually will due to the quality of consoles this generation...I would be furious. They won't make the PS3 forever. Sony will probably quit producing the thing ASAP.

I would pay a $200 premium for backwards compatibility in my PS4 just to ensure my PSN purchases and free games from PS+ still work.
 
I always think that I do until I actually get the next system and never use the BC at all. Now that said, I've always not cared because it was available, it will be interesting to see what happens to my downloadable games, if they stop working on the next gen systems I will probably stop being so lax about it.
 
I don't care one iota. I still have the old systems, they work fine. I prefer HD remasters. That said, if backwards compatibility is included and works well, then sure, why not, I'm not gonna say no to it.
 
Nah, I probably used it once or twice for two sets of consoles so far. And when I did use it for those two times, it was only for a few minutes.
 
It wouldn't have mattered in past gens since you could always exchange your console and games toward credit for a new one. In this gen we have invested a lot of money in digital titles, and without any form of BC it would render them useless on a new console. There is also the fact on market trends, and if iOS and Android have taught something to their customers, is to expect their purchased apps to be usable across it's universe of different devices, be it a phone, a tablet, a music player, etc. So to tell those same people that it's digital library just doesn't works going forward would be a huge mistake.
 
I based my decision to buy a 360 over a PS3 due to the lack of BC & unless the new consoles have (good)BC I will in all likelihood become a PC only gamer(if Steam continues to make PC gaming more user friendly) for the majority of the gen.
 
I do very much. It's not so much a problem of not having access to the old games as it is a matter of convenience. I don't want 50 systems to play all the games I love. It would be nice if the newer systems just allowed backwards compatibility.
 
Yes. I still enjoy going back to older games, and it's nice to have one box that plays multiple generations of software. With all the digital content/purchases these days I'd say I want it even more than I did before.
 
Nope, not at all. I have all the current gen consoles and even with PS4/720 the old machines are going nowhere.
 
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