Can someone explain to me exactly how backwards compatability is going to work?

[sirlancelot]

I'm experiencing a bit of an ultimatum here, back in the day I owned a ps2 and I loved it, but I made the foolish decision to sell it and buy a wii. As my wii sat unused on my entertainment center I dreamed of owning and playing a ps3 like the other cool kids. Unfotunately, I never got around to buying one and missed out on a lot of great games. The main thing holding me back from buying the ps4 now is Dark Souls 2, that game looks right up my alley, but I don't know if I'd ever be able to stream it on my ps4. Any explanation on how this works would be greatly appreciated.

 

[schoat333]

No one knows yet. Sony hasn't released any details at this time.

 

[don_bidarian]

Playstation now is the streaming service as you might already know.
I dont know whether there is any specific release dates or not, and I believe first it will be launched in US.

So far therw is no list of what games will be supported at launch, as far as I know only Last of Us is confirmed.
Also there is no mention whether ALL games will be supported or just some games.

Anyway if you can pick up a PS3 second hand so it, lots of great games there while on PS4 onlg 2 3 games worth playing.

 

[Railan]

As of now, there is not going to be backwards compatibility with neither disc nor digitally downloaded games. You can search in google for "IGN PS4 backwards compatibility" for an article where they explain it and cite the source (the president of Sony).

The main issue is that the PS3 architecture was based on parallel processing while the PS4 uses the typical modern PC x86 architecture. This way, PS3 software can't run as is in a PS4.

 

[AB9100]

As of now, there is not going to be backwards compatibility with neither disc nor digitally downloaded games. You can search in google for "IGN PS4 backwards compatibility" for an article where they explain it and cite the source (the president of Sony).

The main issue is that the PS3 architecture was based on parallel processing while the PS4 uses the typical modern PC x86 architecture. This way, PS3 software can't run as is in a PS4.

I heard about this also.

I have to say it completely broke my heart. I was looking forward to this feature. That way my old games would still be relevant. People would still play PS3 games online if they could access them from their PS4. That would have been awesome. It was to good to be true i guess.

I also think this was a business move my Sony. They know that people would play their old games instead of buying new ones. Not to mention that they would have to pay to maintain both the PS3, and PS4 servers.

I can understand that from a business standpoint, but i would have loved to have that feature.

 

[baracksyndel]

I wish we could always have backward compatibility but it's safe to say that that feature is a thing of the past. The future is now streaming or repurchasing older games at a much lower price. See the Wii U virtual shop and PSNOW when that service finally becomes available outside of beta. It's a shame but as a business decision it makes sense that backwards compatibility was going to go away.

 

[Legendoflore]

Yeah. I wish that they would have kept it since back in the day it was a viable thing. But now, I'm not surprised that backwards compatibility is a thing of the past. There is no way that companies that want to make a profit would have allowed it to continue. The best we can hope for is the upgrading process that the PS4 has.

 

[Railan]

I'm not sure backwards compatibility is a thing of the past. It is true that the Xbox one and the PS4 are not, but (I know, most people here don't care) the Wii U and the 3DS are. The case of the 3DS is very interesting. It actually has two processors inside, one for each screen, in a way. The processor for the lower screen is fundamentally a DS processor, while the other one is much newer and powerful. The DS processor is used to run the lower screen, normally with much less information, and usually static, as well as sound, internet connectivity, etc. The other processor is used to render the two images needed for 3D in the top screen. The 3DS can play all DS games, but loses some of the 3DS operative system capabilities. There is, in fact, a DS inside the 3DS.

What I'm saying is that the architecture is a huge factor in whether a console is backwards compatible or no. The first PS3s were backwards compatible, and probably that feature was removed with the slim models because of some redesign in the internal architecture (I haven't been able to foun the information).

Why would things change in the future? Well, for starters, the PS4 is x86, so it can't run PS3 software... but if Sony keeps using x86 for the "PS5" or whatever, it's much easier for them to maintain the compatibility.

It is a huge factor in buying a new console for anyone with a large game collection from the previous generation. It also encourages brand loyalty, as you are more and more invested in Sony hardware line. Therefore, I think, at least on the beggining, they'd rather have the console be backwards compatible, but in this case it was impossible without huge size and price distortion