Did it help the PS3? Nope. And like the WiiU it even probably made it worse for the launch PS3 (higher price).
Backward compatibility in the home console market is over. The last backward compatible home console was the Wii U. It clearly didn't help that console to succeed, quite the contrary in fact (lower specs due to inclusion of Wii compatible hardware)
Did it help the PS3? Nope. And like the WiiU it even probably made it worse for the launch PS3 (higher price).
PSNow is not a BC service.Sony should be able to adopt a similar model next gen unless they decide to continue fleecing customers with PSNow.
PSNow is not a BC service.
Quite the opposite.
MS' method of emulation via VM's means there is no reliance on previous gen hardware in next-gen consoles, and the move to PC-like architecture (assuming no swing back to custom silicon next gen) means even less work to do for BC next gen.
Inexpensive BC should be a given going forward for MS.
Sony should be able to adopt a similar model next gen unless they decide to continue fleecing customers with PSNow. I don't see PSNow surviving long though, at least not in it's current form.
Maintaining a fleet of PS3's as servers has got to become an Albatross at some point. It would have to go virtual, and when it does they have their solution for in-console BC, further reducing the need for a streaming service.
Nintendo I'm not so sure about.
I think the God of War and TLOU remasters are awesome.
Quite the opposite.
MS' method of emulation via VM's means there is no reliance on previous gen hardware in next-gen consoles, and the move to PC-like architecture (assuming no swing back to custom silicon next gen) means even less work to do for BC next gen.
Inexpensive BC should be a given going forward for MS.
I was talking about (strict) backward compatibility. You take any game, insert in the box and you can play your game 100% like it played on its original hardware. For cases of one generation of BC (PS2 -> PS3, Wii -> Wii U etc) That's only possible if you include the hardware (somehow) from the previous console in the new.
The XB1 is not backward compatible. I see it more like a Virtual Console + cross-buy on a few selected X360 titles.
I'd agree that the days of hardware BC are over, although I still couldn't guarantee Nintendo won't go down that route.
Eh, poh-tay-toh, poh-tah-toh. If I can put an Xbox 360 disc in my Xbox One and play it (admittedly after a one-time download) then I'm gonna go with the majority and call it backward compatibility.
With the 360 emulated model at the moment, most games aren't supported. Only when the emulator runs the vast majority of titles can it be considered a proper BC solution.
Except I'm not criticising MS. I'm just making the distinction between a partial library support and full BC because the two are clearly different. Let's look at what I actually said...I'm almost wishing Microsoft hadn't made it available to Preview users. Great fan service & makes for some good buzz, but after awhile people are just going to use it to take pot shots at them for not doing more.
That takes nothing away from what MS provides or what they may achieve. But it's as wrong to say the emulator as it is at the moment without any assumptions as to how it'll turn out is as comparable a BC solution to full hardware as it is to say emulation will always be limited to a small percentage of titles. We don't know at this point.With the 360 emulated model at the moment, most games aren't supported. Only when the emulator runs the vast majority of titles can it be considered a proper BC solution. After all, what good is BC if it doesn't work in 8 out of 10 of the old games you own?
But it's as wrong to say the emulator as it is at the moment without any assumptions as to how it'll turn out is as comparable a BC solution to full hardware as it is to say emulation will always be limited to a small percentage of titles. We don't know at this point.
And we wouldn't call the half-solution full BC. XB was also emulated on 360 but only for a number of titles before it was abandoned.In many ways Microsoft's Xbox One 360 b/c solution is as limited as Sony's first revision PS3 b/c solution. The initial Japan and US launch PS3 had full PS2 hardware support by including PS2's GS and EE chips but by the time the PS3 launched in Europe the EE chip was replaced by software emulation but the emulation was not complete and only games that Sony's emulator was specifically written to handle would work without issues.
I imagine it is a fairly painless process. If the emulator doesn't need per title profiles, it should just be a case of packaging the 360 title in an XB1 friendly package, which is as it's been described.It'll be interesting to see how long Microsoft persevere with this. I firmly believe Sony had a good idea of how little people played PS2 games on PS3 and dropped their b/c efforts for this reason alone. Microsoft can only collect this information having deployed a solution but if barely used I'd be surprised if they didn't drop it as well unless the re-packaging of 360 games is virtually time/resource free.
I firmly believe Sony had a good idea of how little people played PS2 games on PS3 and dropped their b/c efforts for this reason alone.