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Why the PS4 will be just fine without backwards compatibility

Stick Skills says, "Sony began the current generation extremely confident that the PlayStation 3 would be a given. Everyone would buy it because of the Sony name, no matter the price, and games would come, no matter the difficulty of development. They were wrong. A series of mistakes, one being the decision to continue with their often maligned cell processor, caused a number of hiccups in the PS3's early life. The most notable on the consumer side was backwards compatibility with the PS2. Early models had varying degrees of backwards compatibility, but the process was difficult, and within a few years Sony was scrambling to lower the price of the console. One of the quickest to do this was to drop compatibility. It was a financial decision made to help the consumer with a lower price point, and a reality of upgrading consoles."

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stickskills.com
Abash4829d ago

Either way, BC will be coming via streaming thanks to Gaikai

NewMonday4828d ago

or just keep the PS3

it's not like they will impound it when the PS4 is released.

crxss4828d ago (Edited 4828d ago )

i will be selling my ps3 when i get my ps4. any amount helps. will also sell my 360 once i get the next xbox.

LAZL0-Panaflex4828d ago

I know what a bunch of dorks. "I wanna pay $400 so i can play twisted metal 2 and other $2 games"

NewMonday4828d ago

you can't have the cake and eat it too.

BC of PS3 games can't be simply emulated, they would need the same Cell chip/GPU setup from the PS3, they would have to stick an extra card on the PS4 that would rise the price up 100$-150$.

joab7774828d ago

I dont understand why everyone wants to sell it. It isnt like past consoles that only played games. If they implement backwards compatibility, it will cost more to produce, especially since the architexture is entirely different. Yeah, it may help with transition but if it costs more to produce, they will have to charge more. Maybe not as much as someone may get for selling their ps3, but if its a $75-100 difference, then whats the point. Wouldnt it be better to pay less and keep the ps3. Remember too, that the price will drop for the ps3 so u wont be able to sell urs for as much, especially a used one without a warranty. And heres the kicker, asi mentioned at the beginning, it does a lot of shit. It streams everything. It has netflix, obviously but also streams all the movies on my pc. Also, the store is full of stuff to buy yet. And if u r a ps + member, i am sure u have a backlog of stuff u have not got to. Its great for kids too. Oh, yeah, and its a bluray player. I will throw this badboy in my bedrroom so i dont have to move my ps4.

And, i understand how the industry works. I love playstation and i want them to be successful. They are not doing well because samsung is kicking their ass. I want to support them. The ps3 will remain strong for awhile and with a price drop, many ppl will be able to get one if they couldnt before. I guess i would prefer if the money went to Sony right now. I am not against used games etc. But i know how important the ps4 is to sonys success. I just wish they had offered some type of incentive for ppl to keep their ps3. Some type of cross play or something.

princejb1344828d ago

I don't want the extra clutter in my apartment
Especially all this money I spend on games

I would love if bc is included but if it isn't than say bye to my ps3 games as well as my ps3

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4828d ago
Peppino74828d ago

That's good news unless they somehow start charging you for it. I like the idea of putting in the physical disk that you own so the system knows what you have. Digital media should just come down too your purchase history. I don't see what would be so hard about that.

Donnieboi4828d ago (Edited 4828d ago )

But how will Sony make any money from letting us stream old games via disc readings? I mean, we can all just simply buy the games used at gamestop, couldn't we? Then how will Gaikai tell the difference? THEN, there's also the cost of running cloud servers 24/7. The cost of renting the data centers that hold the cloud servers. And finally, IF the reason why we can't play our ps3 games on PS4 is due to the fact that PS4 won't be using the IBM Cell chip, then doesn't that mean that the Gaikai has to use Cell technology back at the data center it rents, in order for the PS3 game to be emulated properly, before it is streamed into our houses? Wouldn't the ironic use of Cell Chips back at the cloud data centers cost just as much for Sony, as it would have cost to put in each PS4? Also, the streaming 24/7 and rental of data centers will cost Sony even MORE money. At the PS4 conference last Tuesday, even the Gaikai guy didn't seem entirely sure as to how practical this plan is. It really is a tricky one to turn a profit from.

What I wonder is: Could Sony make a special attachment (with a cell chip in it) that connects to the PS4 externally to allow us to use our PS3 blu ray discs in our PS4 blu ray disc drives? Also, allowing us to save PS3 psn games on our ps4 harddrives, yet using this Cell Chip external attachment to let us still play downloadable ps3 psn games.

Maybe that's a better solution, because the cloud solution (for old games; new, paid-for games is at least somewhat profitable) is far too costly for Sony to run.

gta28004828d ago

If it doesn't come, it won't change anything for me. I'm getting a PS4 for PS4 games! I love my PS3 but once I transition over to the PS4 I probably won't be looking back. I'm ready for the next gen.

The Great Melon4828d ago (Edited 4828d ago )

Depends. Can I play the plethora of disc based games I own across all three generations of Sony products? Or will I have to buy the Gaikai versions to "unlock" backwards compatibility on all my games?

Though I do think this is a great feature to have going forward, I cringe every time people call streaming games backwards compatibility. If we have to repurchase (speculation) everything to play what we already own in a physical format -- that is not backwards compatibility in any way. They are just selling us the games in a new format that has lag and video compression artifacts.

MikeMyers4828d ago

What Sony should do is have Gaikai take care of it. That way they can have the full PSOne, PS2, PS3, PSP, Vita and PS4 games running through it. They could easily tie it with the Plus service as well. A great revenue source that's for sure.

What we also may see is most games being online only aside from the bigger PS4 titles. Sony and other companies will slowly get consumers to buy digitally which of course will help reduce piracy and second hand game sales.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4828d ago
clintagious6504829d ago

I understand that ppl love BC including myself but lets say sony did put it in the ps4 & sells it for $700 there is just no way i will spend $700 just for BC. Im buying a ps4 to play ps4 games & have 3 ps3's i can use for ps3 games.

crxss4828d ago

i would buy a ps4 w/ BC for $600 though

gta28004828d ago

You know...maybe Sony could of made a PS4 only console and a backwards compatible PS4 and just put the higher price tag on it...it seems like it would be a win win situation for Sony and it's customers who want to keep their PS3 games. I have no idea if that would work but it seems pretty cool.

The Great Melon4828d ago (Edited 4828d ago )

Does anyone know if PlayStation games run on the PS4? I know that it can't play PS3 games, but given that I can play PS2 and PSone games on a computer made within the last five years I would hope they implement such non-demanding emulation on the console. Sony would win major points in my book if they added PS2 and PSone emulation to the PS4. There really isn't anything technical preventing that.

cloud4954828d ago

I'm not 100% sure but on IGN's wiki it says that it doesn't play any previous Playstation disc games including PS1 and PS2. Don't know about digital.

But I'm pretty sure PS1 and PS2 emulation wouldn't be hard to pull off so we'll just have to wait and see.

Temporary4828d ago

I dont understand the big deal about BC...it just makes the console more expensive. Just dont get rid of your PS3. SImple as that ... I plan on keepig mine after I get the PS4.

4828d ago Replies(4)
golsilva4828d ago

i wonder how gaikai bc would work. Lets assume it works. For psn purchases, it should be easy because gaikai can check your account download history and find which games you own on psn.

Yet for ps3 retail games, how can they check if you own the game. Yes, you can check game save data or trophies but that doesnt mean you own the game. You could have rented a game and still have some record on your account.

I was thinking if you insert the ps3 game into the ps4 and then use gaikai to recognize but doesnt that require the system to actually recognize the ps3 disc which means emulation which the ps4 likely wont have. So it gets tricky with retail ps3,ps2,ps1 games you own.

The Great Melon4828d ago (Edited 4828d ago )

I like that implementation. Rather than having your previous physical games tied to your account, the PS4 just checks the authenticity of your disc and allows you access to the Gaikai version of the game. Therefore, if ownership of the game transfers to another, so does access to the game. Bubbles for what I think you were saying in the last paragraph.

colonel1794828d ago

I used backwards compatibility on my PS3 when it launched, because I finished playing Resistance: Fall of Man and there wasn't another game I wanted, because the launch games were very few and not so good. So I bought God of War 2, and Shadow of the Colossus. I never had a PS2. After that, I played Kingdom Hearts II and I never used BC again.

With the games that have been announced so far for the PS4 (Killzone: Shadow Fall, inFamous: Second Son, Watch Dogs, Destiny, and all others that are yet to be revealed, I don't think there will be a reason to even need it in the first place. If you have a PS3, I don't see why would you need it, and If you never had a PS3, you can enjoy a great launch line up so far.

Show all comments (38)
80°

(For Southeast Asia) New Price Changes for PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal remote player

For Southeast Asia, new price changes.

Prices effective starting May 1st, 2026.

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blog.playstation.com
17d ago Replies(1)
BeHunted17d ago

Looks like PlayStation took a hit with Marathon and is now quietly adjusting prices worldwide to recover the losses

andy8517d ago

Lets be honest raising prices doesn't do that when no one's buying it. I imagine the profit it greater selling 10 times more at a lower price

Pergele16d ago

Whatever you say buddy, let's all wear the tinfoil hats.

IceKoldKilla16d ago (Edited 16d ago )

LMFAO Your comment alone says a lot more about you than anything else. When has one game not selling 10 million copies made a company raise the prices of their console? Then Xbox would be costing $5000 by now lol. You remind of the crazy drug addicts on the street rambling on about conspiracies. xD You sure you don't need a hug, buddy?

ChunkyMonk16d ago

One game that Sony payed $200 million for. lol
Also, you sure were quick to get triggered. Maybe your the one who needs a hug?

Eonjay16d ago

If nothing else, we should be united against the real issue here. AI and unnecessary tariffs that are effecting all gamers.

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Athlon10117d ago (Edited 17d ago )

The price increases are due to the RAM demand associated with AI and the US-Iran war. You can look to any business news website and local news to see that. Heck, even the 2026 Asus Zenbook Duo I've been eyeing has faced delays and has had a price increase of $400; that laptop has two specs. Asus is doing a staggered release with per-orders for the lower spec now and shipping in May and pre-orders for the higher spec that I'm eyeing starting in June. Basically, all computer manufactures are affected. It'll most likely start affecting smart phones too if it hasn't already. I can't remember the last time any major console maker (Nintendo, Sony, Sega, etc) increased the price of their console mid cycle outside of Microsoft just to make more profit.

S2Killinit16d ago

Its not the war. Its the RAM issue.

jznrpg16d ago

War is causing gas prices to rise. Transport of everything requires gas so the prices of those items go up as well. So it does have an impact

Athlon10116d ago (Edited 16d ago )

The blockage of the Straight of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war has affected raw components used in semi-conductor manufacturing such as bromine, aluminum, and helium. Iran had attacked the liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in Qatar which is a large producer (1/3 globally) of helium which is used in semiconductor etching. So it's the both the war and the RAM crises.

badz14916d ago

Oh no...should I get the Pro now before the price increase?

80°

Former Xbox Exec Says Developers Didn't Want a Sony Monopoly

Former Xbox executive Ed Fries comments on the early days of Xbox, the opinion of Japanese game companies, and more.

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insider-gaming.com
30d ago Replies(2)
Reaper22_30d ago

I dont think that'll ever happen. But i must say back in the day, they were definitely trying because they were more cash rich than their competitors.

CosmicTurtle29d ago

I think MS were and still are the richer company. They tried to acquire Sega back in the day (and considered doing so again more recently), they obviously bought exclusivity to Halo which was originally shown as a Mac title. I don’t think as a company MS can claim the moral high ground here. It’s a wilful lack of self awareness.

Of course Sony would try exactly the same if they had the resources, but when the PS2 dominated the industry was in a much healthier place with an abundance of great third parties.

This has been a depressing generation as far as first party decisions are concerned. The fact we are debating business plans rather than which game is better is a sad reflection of the state of things.

Darkseeker30d ago (Edited 30d ago )

There was Nintendo as well, Sony wouldn't have had a monopoly. In fact, the world would be better today if Xbox never existed in the first place. They pretty much brought all bad practices we have today. We might have gotten all of it either way, but not this early. In term of franchises, I don't think there is anything Microsoft released that would actually be missed if it didn't exist. Even Halo the world wouldn't notice if Halo didn't exist.

S2Killinit29d ago

MS was definitely a bad influence on gaming.

raWfodog30d ago

I think almost everyone will agree that a monopoly is not good for the industry. But that being said, the competition needs to be smart and strategic with their business. Simply buying up publishers and traditional third-party studios just to keep them out of the other companies reach is not a sustainable practice. That goes for all parties so don't think I'm just referring to Xbox.

I'm no business guru by any stretch of the imagination but I firmly believe that the best way to drive consumers to your software and hardware is to invest smart in your first-party studios. Give them full support and guidance in making unique, fun games that are only available to play in your ecosystem and the gamers will come.

Reaper22_30d ago (Edited 30d ago )

But first party studios aren't enough. They only make up a small portion of the industry. Without 3rd party there would be no industry for Microsoft or sony.Developing games take time and money and sometimes you gotta make moves to stay competitive.

raWfodog30d ago

Nah, I never said first-party was enough. I said it’s the ‘best way’ to drive gamers to your platform. 3rd-party is a free-for-all and there’s no guarantee that gamers will use your hardware to play the game. If you want to push your own software and/or hardware you need first-party, or at least exclusive deals with third-party studios.

SimpleDad30d ago

They Shure did a great job... 25 years later Xbox is dead.

Reaper22_30d ago

Then why be so emotional and continue to talk about it. Xbox will never die be ause it stays in so many people's head.

lodossrage30d ago

How can you even see him being "emotional" in that comment?

If anything, you're the emotional one, constantly trying to go at anyone that says anything against Microsoft. So when you call him emotional, it comes off as deflection

Elda29d ago

I own an XBSX & I can say it's becoming irrelevant out of the 3 current consoles.

30d ago Replies(2)
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40°

Sony Shows Off 20 Minutes of Crimson Desert on a Base PS5

Sony uploaded gameplay footage of Crimson Desert on a base PS5 running in what appears to be Quality Mode at a stable 30fps at 4K.

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powerupgaming.co.uk
BlazedKong56d ago

looks god awful on the base systems