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How important is backwards compatibility to you?

E

enigmatic_alex44

Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
It's not a feature that new hardware often has built in. Nintendo seems to be at the forefront of including this feature (the Wii U still plays Wii games but not Gamecube games for some reason, and the 3DS still plays DS games) which is one of the reasons I picked up their latest systems day 1. I also picked up the George Foreman $599 ugly as sin PS3s with Spider-man logo @ launch since it allows you to play PS1 and PS2 games instead of waiting to buy the system like I had originally planned to, though it eventually broke down and I ended up getting one of the special edition colors of the Super Slim later on.

Had the PS4 included PS1/PS2 (and possibly PS3) compatibility I would have likely bought it @ launch instead of waiting a full year (couldn't resist that sexy glacier white version). I now worry if Nintendo's next portable will include backwards compatibility though as that would require them to keep dual screens and possibly 3D as well. Or the Wii U, as their next machine would need a tablet controller system to be able to play the previous gen's games.

Backwards compatibility can extend to digital titles as well, since we can't play our PS1 classics on the PS4, and I believe they stuff you purchased on the 360 doesn't transfer over to the XBOne

How important is this feature in new hardware for you? "Dealbreaker", or "doesn't matter at all"?
 
Pretty much doesn't matter at all. It's convenient, but my old consoles aren't going anywhere.

I'd much rather lose BC if it meant paying less for a new console.
 
It's really nice to have, but it probably wouldn't prevent me from buying a console now since I always keep the older consoles anyways. It's not really feasible now anyways since new consoles aren't powerful enough to emulate the previous generation as well.
 
Not very as I rarely replay games. And if I do it's years later and it's probably been remade or is cheap on a virtual console.

Only benefit to it for me is being able to sell/trade sooner in a new gen since I can finish up last gen games with the BC.
 
It's not really that important as the number of game I'm interested in has gone down quite a bit these days.

It was awesome with the Wii U because I could essentially make that into the ultimate local multiplayer machine with my Wii collection. It also provided a way to play Wii games through HDMI including the slight graphical bump. Finally the ability to use old controllers including the classic controller allows me to be equip to play any 4-player Wii U game as well as 7 players in Smash 4.

On the 3DS though it really wasn't that beneficial. It only allowed me to give my DSi to my cousins.

I would hope both future Nintendo machines don't have backwards-compatibility so they can share architecture as well as keep costs down.
 
I like it and would love if it was a default feature on all consoles.

But I can live with it, and if I see a new console with features and games that I'd enjoy I will get it even if it doesn't have BC.


With that being said, the lack of BC on most systems is the main reason I will never go fully digital on consoles.
 
It's pretty good when you want to play your old games and don't want to setup an emulator for that...

Too bad PS3 can't run Valkyrie Profile 2 =(

I'm actually thinking about an old TV to play it in a PS2
 
Not at all. Everytime there is a big deal about it. But i never have the urge to play a old game again when i made the switch to next gen.
 
Pretty important, the more consoles i can play with one console the better because i don't have a forest of money trees just outside my door
 
Given that almost nothing has the feature anymore, I'd say it doesn't matter.

I think I might have played 2 or 3 PS2 games on my launch PS3 (which I still have), and maybe a large handful of PS1 games on my PS2 back in teh day. The reality is, I'd rather just play new stuff for the new system.

I don't see BC being included in future consoles either, if for no other reason than the amount of money we're collectively spending on remasters. If we've shown pubs/platform holders anything this gen, it's that we're more than willing to re-purchase games to make them compatible with new hardware. Why give that to us for free?
 
I consider it to be very important, especially with digital libraries now.

It's one of the reasons I don't care about Xbox One or PlayStation 4 very much.
 
I want it, but if it was truly important to me I wouldn't game on consoles at all. As it is, I use my PC for older titles, and can preserve many games I play on consoles within my Steam library at a later date for next to nothing. I have many games on PC now that I played on consoles, and have still never played on PC. This is also one positive of remasters.

For example I bought FF7 on PSN so I still had a copy, but now have a better version on steam.
 
meptrep said:
It's really nice to have, but it probably wouldn't prevent me from buying a console now since I always keep the older consoles anyways. It's not really feasible now anyways since new consoles aren't powerful enough to emulate the previous generation as well.
Click to expand...

???

The Wii U emulates the Wii just fine, and the 3DS emulates DS games just fine. I mean, they both have the actual previous gen hardware built in I believe but their consoles weren't overpriced.

Is the PS4 really not powerful enough to emulate PS3 games? Certainly it could do PS2 though... (I got excited at the rumor a while back about them adding PS1/PS2 bw compat. in a firmware update but who knows if that will actually happen)
 
I sold my PS3 and 360 like a dumbass, so it would be a great feature to have right now. As I actually miss those systems quite a bit. But hey, at least the Wii U is doing it and allows me to play games on Wii that I missed.
 
If a console/handheld doesn't have actual 100% backward compatibility, it's a deal breaker.
No digital download backward compatibility is unacceptable at this day + age. When phones can do it, everyone else should do it as well.

3DS even fully integrates DS games into the activity log. I love that.
 
Omaha said:
Remasters scratch the itch of B.C for me.
Click to expand...

Truly the gen of the microwave reheatable previously released game

tumblr_m0xuwmp8sM1qcxtm5o1_500.gif


I won't lie though, as much as double-dipping irritates me, Majora's Mask 3D, Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition and Final Fantasy X HD were amazing ;_;
I'll own my fourth copy of Final Fantasy X when the PS4 version hits *sigh*
 
enigmatic_alex44 said:
The Wii U emulates the Wii just fine, and the 3DS emulates DS games just fine. I mean, they both have the actual previous gen hardware built in I believe but their consoles weren't overpriced.
Click to expand...

What Wii U and 3DS do isn't emulation, they're actually built on the same architecture as their predecessors and can be "dumbed down" enough to be identical to them. PS4 and XBone are radically different platforms from their last-gen counterparts.
 
It's more important to me on handhelds than on consoles, and more important to me in theory than in practice.
 
enigmatic_alex44 said:
???

The Wii U emulates the Wii just fine, and the 3DS emulates DS games just fine. I mean, they both have the actual previous gen hardware built in I believe but their consoles weren't overpriced.

Is the PS4 really not powerful enough to emulate PS3 games? Certainly it could do PS2 though... (I got excited at the rumor a while back about them adding PS1/PS2 bw compat. in a firmware update but who knows if that will actually happen)
Click to expand...

I believe the 3DS has DS hardware in it, and isn't emulating the games? The Wii U is the only 8th gen console that can emulate the previous console. The PS4 and Xbox One definitely are not powerful enough to emulate the PS3 and Xbox 360, but the PS4 could easily do PS1 and PS2 emulation.

I just meant that hardware doesn't improve by some crazy amount like it used to, despite the longer generations.
 
Backwards compatibility is very important to anyone who cares about gaming's lineage and has enough taste to not want an inevitable cluttered mess in their entertainment center.
 
I thought it was important and went out of my way to buy a PS3 with backwards compatibility only to realise I wasn't all that interested in playing last gen games anymore once I had tasted current gen games.

It's a little different with PS3 / PS4 as there isn't a huge difference in fidelity, and have been playing last gen games of late on PS3 but it was cheap enough second hand that it wasn't much of a problem to buy.
 
it is not reall important to me. Quite the opposite. I noticed that i really like to rebuy old game classics with upgraded visual and / or enhanced gameplay.

Persona 4 Golden, Persona 3 Portable, Resident Evil HD comes to mind. I really dont look back once a new console generation is at my door.
 
If the PS4 was PS3 BC I'd have one already simply because I'd be able to replace my PS3 on my shelf with it.

But as is my PS3 is much more valuable because of the massive backlog I have on it compared to the 2 PS4 games I'd play.

Same /w 360 to xbone.

It's not that it's important, it's just that I see no reason to buy either console for a long time since they don't have it and will take up space.
 
I own a PS4 so it wasn't a deal breaker obviously but I would be a lot lot happier if it was BC. I can understand why it isn't though.
 
PixyJunket said:
I consider it to be very important, especially with digital libraries now.

It's one of the reasons I don't care about Xbox One or PlayStation 4 very much.
Click to expand...

That, and your digital games don't even carry over from the previous gen is complete bullshit.

BC is important. Not having the feature hurts a brand because you're pretty much jumping in to a totally new and small library.

This is part of the reason I made the switch to PC.
 
Backwards comparability is nice, but sometimes it isn't always realistically possible when there are drastic changes made to console architecture between newer iterations.
 
got rid of just about all my old consoles and could care less about backwards compatibility. I played and enjoyed the older games for the time being and I am now more so looking forward to what the future has to offer.
 
As someone who doesn't have much space. It's rather important, but that doesn't mean I'll not buy a console because it doesn't have it.

I've had to hook my 360 up to my monitor since there's no space around my TV. >.<
 
enigmatic_alex44 said:
Truly the gen of the microwave reheatable previously released game

I won't lie though, as much as double-dipping irritates me, Majora's Mask 3D, Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition and Final Fantasy X HD were amazing ;_;
I'll own my fourth copy of Final Fantasy X when the PS4 version hits *sigh*
Click to expand...

I can't help that the remasters are better than the current AAA being released. I hope this year will prove me wrong though.

shrug.gif
 
I have to be honest...I'm sort of pissed I need my 360 around...Before it launched, I assumed all those games would work on XB1 since it's "PC-based," etc...I wasn't expecting that for PS4 going from Cell to x86...But shit, man...Xbox? Disappointed...
 
It makes absolutely no sense to me that they removed PS1 compatibility from the PS4 though. Every Sony machine since the original Playstation can play PS1 games, then they release a 20th anniversary PS4 and made it resemble a PS1 somewhat, yet it can't play the games of the event it's made to celebrate?
 
When PC ports and HD revisions /remasters became the norm, I stopped caring.


Only 2 games I still own and wish I could play on current hardware are Outrun 2 C2C (PS2 and Xbox discs, plus the bare-bones XBLA version) and MGS4.
 
For me it bridges the gap when buying a new console and knowing there will be a drought of new games for the first two years. Historically, this has always happened...
 
backwards compatibility will never be a problem for me because I have the consoles for the games that I play.

the end.
 
It heavily influences me when entering a new ecosystem. The reason I was willing to pick up a 3DS near launch was because I had a huge back catalog of DS games I had never played. However, I never get rid of my old consoles so once I'm already established it means basically nothing. It's not that much trouble for me to have a couple extra consoles hooked up to a HDMI switch.

It really bothers me when digital classic titles (that are just being emulated anyway) don't get support on new systems. Particularly on handhelds where updated hardware makes a significant difference. PSP->Vita digital titles only having limited support for example.
 
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