We’ve had this discussion before but there’s just no escaping it (at least until we actually get it). So let’s take a look at how Sony deals with the whole Backwards Compatibility feature.
Sony doesn’t really like the idea of backwards compatibility compared to Microsoft which I give them props too. Instead of getting their old games to be readable to the current generation of consoles, they spend a lot of time and effort on remastering them instead. Now I’m all for remasters, especially if they’re a collection but when you take a look at how fast Microsoft gets each of their old titles to be readable compared to the developers remastering their old games, then the difference is pretty clear. While Microsoft can’t do them all in one go, they are doing them at a steady pace and each month or two we get to see some new compatible titles whereas Sony takes months or even more than a year just to remaster 1 series.
Sony is also fond of releasing their old games on PSN and some of them are actually compatible with the PS3, PSVita, and even the PS4. However, their number is quite low, especially the PS2 games that are playable on PS4. The best-selling console’s games are so few in the PSN that it doesn’t even seem like Sony is trying. They have stated before that they really aren’t looking into backwards compatibility but their is definitely a market for that. There are plenty of gamers who can no longer play games they wish to play anymore since they probably sold or even lost their old consoles.
There are also some of us who still have the original game discs of our old consoles. While remasters are good and all, do we really have to shell out $60 just to play the same game that we already own just for the graphical upgrade and a bug that may or may not be fixed?
Having the old games be released in PSN isn’t always good as well since there are instances where some people have bought the games, downloaded them, then deleted them for certain reasons, then Sony pulled out the games from the store so they are unable to redownload them even though they bought them digitally. One guy went all the way to pirating because of that and there could be others who suffered the same fate and went the same route out of anger.
There is also the issue of our accounts being banned or hacked thus leading us to lose all our purchases throughout the years. There is a chance Sony can just transfer our purchased licenses to our new accounts (there are people I’ve seen who’ve done this) though that will depend on how well you can get the support of their customer service.
While digital games are quite convenient there really is nothing like the feeling of holding or better yet owning the physical copy of a game, even more so if the game happens to be rare and can probably sell for big bucks in an online auction in the far-off future.
If the PS5 will get the much awaited feature, how far back do you think it should go? Do you think we will be content with just PS4 compatibility or should it go back even further to PS3, or even PS2, or all the way to PS1? Will Sony invest in the chips or emulation software needed for backwards compatibility like the 60GB and 20GB launch PS3’s as well as the 80GB “Metal Gear Solid PS3” which used the aforementioned software?
The Xbox Two will most likely feature Backwards Compatibility from all of its predecessors so one can only dream if Sony will follow suit, at the very least they should add more titles to the PS2 category. So what do you guys think? Should the PS5 have the Backwards Compatibility feature or are you just fine with looking for the old consoles to replay/play your old games again/for the first time? Let us know in the comments below.
