PS3's Backwards compatibility in doubt?

[Shifty Geezer]

This is bound to get certain elements talking.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=12554

Speaking to the IDG News Service, Sony spokesperson Reiko Sakamoto said: "It's hard to say the PlayStation 3 will be 100 per cent backwards compatible."
"But as we said earlier this year, we aim to make it so as much as possible."
Sakamoto's comments came after Sony published a list of games which are not compatible with the new silver slimline PS2 console, due to go on sale in Japan next month. A total of 38 PSone and nine PS2 games were listed, including Tekken 5, Hitman: Contracts and Resident Evil.

The Silver PS2 had gone into production before compatibility testing occured, hence the bugs. Stupid Sony changed their hardware and broke it!

Of course this could just mean a couple dozen titles might not work on PS3, out of 13,000, but some will say 'it's not 100%, Sony at the liars!'. And I'm sure some will jump in around now and say 'see, it can't be BC because the hardwares different. It'll be like XB360'. There's no real info to go on though and there's really nothing much to deabte. Just that this news would get posted sooner or later so may as well get it done with!

 

[one]

At least for PS3 they'll try to fix 38 PSone and nine PS2 games that don't work properly on the new PS2 :smile: I wonder how they found the games with problems. 50 guys playing old games all day long?

 

[Guden Oden]

Anyone playing 100% of the total back-catalog on a PS3 would be a complete freak anyway so who cares if not every game works. It's not too hard to keep a PS2 for old titles that might not work on a next-gen machine. Backwards compatibility is overrated; nobody cares that no stationary nintendo console has been backwards compatible for example.

 

[London Geezer]

Anyone playing 100% of the total back-catalog on a PS3 would be a complete freak anyway so who cares if not every game works. It's not too hard to keep a PS2 for old titles that might not work on a next-gen machine. Backwards compatibility is overrated; nobody cares that no stationary nintendo console has been backwards compatible for example.

I kinda agree, but when *the only game u're gonna try cuz u just like it so much* is not gonna work, you won't feel any better by thinking that there are many others that do work. Then again i think that anyone buying a PS3 will most likely have a PS2 by then, although i don't think that's a valid excuse.

 

[hey69]

we saw the same with ps2 actually, a dozen or so ps1 games worked with flaws (and a couple wouldnt work at all)

 

[Phil]

It's not too hard to keep a PS2 for old titles that might not work on a next-gen machine. Backwards compatibility is overrated; nobody cares that no stationary nintendo console has been backwards compatible for example.

You're right, it's not difficult - it isn't really convinient either. I refuse have multiple consoles stacked up (especially old ones) in my living room if I could have it all in one.

 

[Rolf N]

Backwards compatibility is overrated; nobody cares that no stationary nintendo console has been backwards compatible for example.

I think it's wonderful. I just pulled a brand new Final Fantasy IX out of my mail

 

[rabidrabbit]

I'm pretty sure I'll be playing Final Fantasy XII on PS3 instead of PS2.

I played the FFIX on PS2, as it was released in EU just a little before (or was it after?) PS2, and I already had given my PSOne to my brother which was a bit broke anway, would only work standing vertically.

 

[Gholbine]

There will probably be software fixes for a lot of the games that aren't emulated properly on the PS3.

 

[Qroach]

I'm expecting the compatability to be lower than PS2 was with PS1. I don't ecpect sony to include much hardware to insure backwards compatabilty, so it will come down to emulation formost titles. It will be verinteresting to see how this compares with MS's emulation.

 

[Carl B]

Well I don't feel too out of line saying that Sony's backwards compatability will be leaps and bounds over MS's - at least numerically speaking. Execution wise, a la glitches, we'll just have to see.

 

[London Geezer]

Well I don't feel too out of line saying that Sony's backwards compatability will be leaps and bounds over MS's - at least numerically speaking.

...why? genuine question here...

If both are going to be using emulation, i expect the PS2 hardware to be much more difficult to emulate than the Xbox hardware.

But we've been over this so many times i think i'm growing mushrooms under my armpits.

We still don't know how "hardware" the PS3 BC really is. We just don't know dammit. I expect we'll get all kinds of info a couple of days before X360 launch

 

[Carl B]

Why? Well, because they've claimed it will be backwards compatible whereas we know MS is only giving it a half-ass effort. Even that article's claims of 90% backwards compatability would offer a massive B/C library advantage to MS's. I don't have any way to prove this, but I will say I'm confident enough in my claims of 'numerically superior' that I will bet anyone that wants to $1000 that PS3 will play more PS2 games than 360 will play XBox games.

And for all the bickering and back and forth on this board, I guarantee you no one in their right mind would take me up on that bet.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Or if they did they wouldn't honour it. Though you'd have to fairly make the bet "at launch, PS3 can play a higher percentage of it's back catalog than XB360 can play at XB360's launch."

 

[London Geezer]

Why? Well, because they've claimed it will be backwards compatible whereas we know MS is only giving it a half-ass effort. Even that article's claims of 90% backwards compatability would offer a massive B/C library advantage to MS's. I don't have any way to prove this, but I will say I'm confident enough in my claims of 'numerically superior' that I will bet anyone that wants to $1000 that PS3 will play more PS2 games than 360 will play XBox games.

And for all the bickering and back and forth on this board, I guarantee you no one in their right mind would take me up on that bet.

But then wars will be fought over the fact that "there are more PS2 games than Xbox games so the percentage is off!!11one" and things like that.
People will never be happy.

Personally, i expect to be buying ONE console game until PS3 comes, that is SOTC for PS2. I just can't bring myself to play current gen games anymore, they hurt my eyes. SOTC will be worth it and i don't expect anything else to be, though i'd love to be surprised!
EDIT: And Sony better keep pro-scan on the PAL version or i will be REALLY pissed off.

 

[Carl B]

Well, but percentage wasn't my bold claim that L-B queried me on though, was it?

I simply said 'numerically superior.' That's not to say that I don't indeed think percentage-wise it will be the winner (at launch) as well, but I'm only willing to toss out the $1000 bet things on matters I feel supremely arrogant on. For 'percentage at launch'... I can do... a $100 bet!

 

[London Geezer]

Well, but percentage wasn't my bold claim that L-B queried me on though, was it?

I simply said 'numerically superior.' That's not to say that I don't indeed think percentage-wise it will be the winner (at launch) as well, but I'm only willing to toss out the $1000 bet things on matters I feel supremely arrogant on. For 'percentage at launch'... I can do... a $100 bet!

Hehe i was saying that we will have countless threads on here with people fighting over "total number" of playable games on PS3 will be higher so Sony is teh better, and the other faction saying that even though the "total number" is higher, the percentage is lower so MS BC is more efficient!!111elevenone.

You know how these things work on here..

 

[Phil]

Why? Well, because they've claimed it will be backwards compatible whereas we know MS is only giving it a half-ass effort. Even that article's claims of 90% backwards compatability would offer a massive B/C library advantage to MS's. I don't have any way to prove this, but I will say I'm confident enough in my claims of 'numerically superior' that I will bet anyone that wants to $1000 that PS3 will play more PS2 games than 360 will play XBox games.

And for all the bickering and back and forth on this board, I guarantee you no one in their right mind would take me up on that bet.

I pretty much agree - in addition, I think PS2 hardware should be easier to emulate since most of the units are quite simple and "raw" in terms of what kind of functionality they offer. It's not without reason that many see CELL as a larger evolution of the EE and its "small bucket, large bandwidth" philosophy. The GS is quite simple as well, sans the eDRAM issue. Xbox360 on the other hand is using a very different CPU design and has to go through lengths to emulate the Intel "complex-instruction-set-computer". Also a full blown GPU as the NV2a is probably more challenging to emulate, given it has its quirks that are specific to Nvidia hardware and are not found on ATi cards.

 

[Carl B]

Well all of it aside, I do hope PS3 B/C comes as close to *full* B/C as possible. Like Phil I'm not one who likes to have several obsolescent consoles lying around, yet I do like to play an older game now and then.

(Rampart on 'Arcade Treasures' in particular has been keeping my attention of late!)

@Phil: And then you post just as I'm writing! Well for myself I don't actually expect GS emulation to be all that simple - I just expect them to get the job done. I won't lie and say I won't be dissapointed if they fail at it - that's for sure!

 

[London Geezer]

Well all of it aside, I do hope PS3 B/C comes as close to *full* B/C as possible. Like Phil I'm not one who likes to have several obsolescent consoles lying around, yet I do like to play an older game now and then.

(Rampart on 'Arcade Treasures' in particular has been keeping my attention of late!)

@Phil: And then you post just as I'm writing! Well for myself I don't actually expect GS emulation to be all that simple - I just expect them to get the job done. I won't lie and say I won't be dissapointed if they fail at it - that's for sure!

I think having an old NES lying around in the livingroom is a very classy piece of Retro furniture. Better if open with the cart sticking out.