Utility of Backwards Compatibility
- Thread starter London Geezer
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Prophecy2k
Veteran
Pretty damning for BC in future consoles.
I think it's the same thing as the whole 4k bluray debacle. People seem to want the feature but in reality, how many 4k bluray movies are being played on the console?
It's 'nice to have' but then if nobody uses the bloody thing, what's the point.
It's 'nice to have' but then if nobody uses the bloody thing, what's the point.
Playing last gen games isn't interesting, you'll get the same updated games on your system. The real appeal is generations n-2 and older, but that's emulation rather than backward compatibility then...
(At launch though I think it might help to be backward compatible as the new catalog is rather small.)
(At launch though I think it might help to be backward compatible as the new catalog is rather small.)
RancidLunchmeat
Veteran
What would those figures be like if it worked better? Running the emulator, including launching into another instance of Xbox live, having the old control scheme being mapped to the new XB1 controller, not having the same menu/chat functionality, etc..
It's pretty obvious that BC was cobbled together by MS and it feels that way to the end user. I only use it to play single player games, my experience is the annoyances with BC increase as you attempt multiplayer titles.
Maybe if I'm bored at lunch, I'll read their sampling methodology bit they linked in that article to see if their sample was representative, although right now I have no reason to believe it is not.
I can imagine a scenario where BC numbers would be higher if everything wasn't remastered. Considering that BC is now a real thing, I'm expecting less remasters. People will not go into next-gen looking for remasters imo, if PS5 fails to BC. I'm not going to buy it.
There are too many titles on PS4 that can now upscale to 4K with Pro, that if I have to pay full price for a remaster, it's simply not going to happen, I will definitely pass on PS5.
There are too many titles on PS4 that can now upscale to 4K with Pro, that if I have to pay full price for a remaster, it's simply not going to happen, I will definitely pass on PS5.
Prophecy2k
Veteran
iroboto, you'd pass on a PS5 because it doesn't allow you to play the PS4 games that you'd already played?
No offense intended, but that sounds rather illogical to me.
I'll buy a PS5 to play PS5 games, and if it also allows me to play PS4 games then that's cool. If it doesn't, I'm happy enough to keep my PS4 around.
I mean, you said it yourself... with PS4Pro and Scorpio able to do current-gen games at 4k, there's even less of a need to have BC on PS5 imho... especially if the main value in BC/emulation for you is playing your old games with increased fidelity.
No offense intended, but that sounds rather illogical to me.
I'll buy a PS5 to play PS5 games, and if it also allows me to play PS4 games then that's cool. If it doesn't, I'm happy enough to keep my PS4 around.
I mean, you said it yourself... with PS4Pro and Scorpio able to do current-gen games at 4k, there's even less of a need to have BC on PS5 imho... especially if the main value in BC/emulation for you is playing your old games with increased fidelity.
Digital libraries change the calculus here, IMO, and once one vendor offers it, it will be expected of the other whether it is used or not.
I think there is some long-term utility from a historical or archival sense, although that's a vanishingly small consideration save for future historians of tech.
Truly compatible platforms can leverage tools and software bases longer or reduce the shock of generational transitions, so there is utility from a non-user standpoint.
As to consumers, I think the utility is along the lines of avoiding a death by a thousand cuts, or helping reach a critical mass of goodwill.
The direct utility may be limited to a subset of people who may not have room for another console, or are reluctant to pay for a new console if they cannot get some resale value from the current box.
A person might not ever play a 4k bluray in the end, but right now they might be considering it or hope to someday have the setup for it.
There is a product that might match the aspiration or grant the possibility, versus one that denies the chance. Also, those willing to spend for 4K may be few, but they would probably be the ones more willing to evangelize or be enthusiastic with what they've purchased.
From a numbers standpoint, it may not be that many. However, consoles are a luxury good that are often bought for emotional reasons rather than dispassionate evaluation of their likely utility--so live by the sword, die by the sword. The dream scenario is that enough hype or good network effects are focused on a console to encourage sales on a product that would be for the vast majority of the user base be interchangeable with the other.
Hype or positive reception can be a bit like nuclear fusion. You want energy unified and focused at a single point, and you don't want to give too many little opportunities for it to dissipate.
You might have enough slack, which Sony apparently thinks it's banked in terms of 4K bluray.
I've been pondering if the mid-gen consoles have an uphill battle with regard to not being able to gather their own share of hype, without continuously losing a bit of hope or enthusiasm here or there on the "well it would have been nice" or "it's not that big a deal" or "it's sort of better here" and so on.
I'm passing on PS5 cause I don't own PS4 (heck or PS3) and i'd like to play those games! if ti's got BC, I've no reason to pass on it
And that 2% is all RDR.
More seriously, it suggest the value of GamePass is diminished. 60% of titles on that are XB360 titles which apparently aren't of interest to XB1 owners, although of course the service could attract its own audience of players more interested in these old titles.
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did Jim Ryan from Sony write that article? So BC isn't useful but selling remastered games is okay? Like Wipeout and FF7 and winning conferences showing games like that? Are they taking us for stupid human beings?
I have like 70 XB1 games and there were days where I played my X360 games like Defense Grid or Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes rather than most XB1 games. In addition, Amazon sales statistics went through the roof when games like RDR were BC or CoD: BO.
Ask Steam or GoG about how many titles they sell on PC from yesteryear. In fact, playing the game you loved as a child at glorious 60 fps or full HD/4k is a great experience.
Imo, the reason for that 1,5% stat is that most people sold their X360 games -retail copy-, in the X360 era digital wasn't at its peak so many titles didn't sell digital copies, and most Xbox userbase went to PS4 instead.
For people like me BC brought to the XB1 some of my favourite games, because the closest Game store is 40Km away from here.
Just because you do use BC a lot doesn't mean that the article is fake news and that the whole stat is wrong.
why are remastered games so popular tehn, when they charge you for the same game once again?
Are they? Do you have stats on exactly what proportion of time gamers spend on remasters? Also, remasters may (or may not) be more popular than BC because they are the old, beloved gameplay spruced up with decent modern graphics, whereas the originals can look pretty horrible to the modern HD eye. As a final point linking to Rodéric above, it's probably the older games people are most interested in (nostalgia) rather than the last gen which they've recently moved on from and where there are more likely contemporary sequels or analogues.
at launch... i agree. As the service matures, I assume this ratio would change significantly, or grow larger in size.
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