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How much do you REALLY care about backwards compatability?
- Thread starter Total Cereal
- Start date
Quite a bit. I've still got some PS3 games in my backlog that I haven't been able to play because I don't have the room to set up my PS3 for a significant amount of time. Got the PC version of a couple of them, but outta luck for most others without just buying a remaster, if it exists.
I care. It was a major reason why I stuck with the Xbox One and got an X1X. And it's pretty much what I primarily play on the X1X. PS4 BC on the PS5 isn't enough IMO - I want them to go PS3, PS2 and PS1. There's no reason in this day and age good games should die on old console generations.
As such, my PC has been my primary platform for good reason.
As such, my PC has been my primary platform for good reason.
I do take BC support into consideration, even thought sometimes I decide against buying third party games on Xbox. If I want to play with a friend only owning a Switch/PS4.
The best part about owning all consoles, beside being able to play all these great exclusive games is the fact that I am free to decide which version to get and every plattform has their benefits. Switch is great, because it's portable and I dunno why, but I prefer to play some games portable like World of FF.
Having said that, Xbox is nowadays my preferred plattform for third party games, because One X delivers the best performance usually and for games like RDR2 the achievement progress tracker is really good. I hope PS5 will have this feature. And obviously Xbox BC approach which goes above and beyond the expected BC solution, which PS5 has.
That's great and I am looking forward to play Spiderman, The Last of Us, ... again. However the BC team is one of the reasons I decide to buy my games on Xbox mostly after playing the majority of time on PS this gen. So yes BC and what enhancements are made with the BC solution are under consideration when choosing the plattform I buy games on.
There's games I've never played on older consoles. So BC is a very appealing to me on the XBO so I can finally play Lost Odyssey.
But also I want to replay some of my favourite games ever like God Hand, that will NEVER get a HD port. Originally I would've said a bunch of Atlus games but who knows now after P4G and Nocturne HD ports.
But also I want to replay some of my favourite games ever like God Hand, that will NEVER get a HD port. Originally I would've said a bunch of Atlus games but who knows now after P4G and Nocturne HD ports.
I'd like not to give a fuck, but with the sparse launch lineups, BC may be an unfortunate necessity.
I don't replay many old games, but one of the benefits of playing on PC is that the catalog of titles is astronomically larger than for consoles. I'd beaten Knights of the Old Republic 2 shortly after it came out. A few years back I was interested in the first, so I picked it up and I was able to play through that one as well. I also played through the old Deus Ex games and Vampire The Masquerade long after their initial releases. I'm sure I could pull up plenty more old titles that I've dug my teeth into.
I feel like now that games are BC with graphical and resolution upgrades (xbox for previous gens, and upcoming with ps5 games on ps5) it's way way more prevalent and important than ever before. Especially because even just a few years ago, they would just repackage games as remasters just with upgrades resolutions and shadows and charge full price, again, for it.
A lot. It's much more convenient to play games on my latest piece of hardware. I much prefer playing 360 and OG Xbox games on my One X. And there are so many great games I haven't played yet from all those generations.
It's a fantastic feature.
It's a fantastic feature.
I'm not gonna skip a console because it isn't backwards compatible with its predecessor but it has an influence on where I buy my multiplatform games. I buy few multiplatform games on PlayStation because of how they treated the PS1/PS2 legacy games on PSN and I will continue to do so until they get better. No way I'm missing out on a PS console though, they are the absolute best publisher in the industry. I trust Xbox with carrying my games forward so that's where I buy the multiplat games when given the choice.
If I could only afford one console then I would go with the one with better games and just keep my older consoles instead of BC.
If I could only afford one console then I would go with the one with better games and just keep my older consoles instead of BC.
Big time. Especially when the games are enhanced. This gen has shown that there's a tremendous appetite for remastered releases across the board. To get games that you already own basically remastered for free? Amazing.
See things like RDR, Skate 3, Ninja Gaiden Black, KOTOR, Banjo etc for how good these BC games look in 4K with solid performance.
See things like RDR, Skate 3, Ninja Gaiden Black, KOTOR, Banjo etc for how good these BC games look in 4K with solid performance.
Not very much but I do keep a hold of my past consoles and games so I get some enjoyment from getting the urge, finding the box, plugging in the console, finding the box, loading up the game, play for 30 mins and ah my itch has been scratched. I tend to replay games I really enjoy within the console gen itself so by the time the next-gen comes I am ready for new games. Like yeah it's nice The Witcher 3 will be BC but I've played it twice and Geralt is Level 100 with no Quests left. I'll load it up maybe and see if the load times are better or whathaveyou but any game I would want to take forward there is a very huge chance I have already played it multiple times already and am ready for new games in that series or just new series in general. So BC is low on my priorities when the next-gen comes around. It's nice added value but I want new.
I care about 1 generation backward compatibility a lot, but nothing beyond that. Especially when PS4 will still be getting games.
The first couple months, maybe a bit. After that, pretty much not at all. To be honest, I've not touched my PS3 or 360 games. I've gone back to 1 or 2 Wii U games, but that's it. There are so many games to play these days that I find it less likely to go back.
Not much.
The idea of continuous ownership is something that gets my attention but in the end I know that when next gen gains traction I won't look back to replay games that are tied to my account.
BC will only serve me in the first months to play some games that I own and haven't played not to replay my catalog.
The idea of continuous ownership is something that gets my attention but in the end I know that when next gen gains traction I won't look back to replay games that are tied to my account.
BC will only serve me in the first months to play some games that I own and haven't played not to replay my catalog.
A lot.
PS4 disappointed me so much in regards to PS1 and PS2 titles.
I still have a heap of games I definitely want to get to on PS4 that I purchased and quite a few I am interested in and own* (with a valid PS+ subscription).
If PS5 wasn't going to be great for PS4 games I would honestly reconsider getting it in the first year. I am expecting PS4 Pro+ but quieter (lower load) and a bit faster loading at times.
PS4 disappointed me so much in regards to PS1 and PS2 titles.
I still have a heap of games I definitely want to get to on PS4 that I purchased and quite a few I am interested in and own* (with a valid PS+ subscription).
If PS5 wasn't going to be great for PS4 games I would honestly reconsider getting it in the first year. I am expecting PS4 Pro+ but quieter (lower load) and a bit faster loading at times.
Lack of backwards compatibility is why I never jumped in on buying a PS4 and instead game on PC. If PS5 wasn't BC I wouldn't be looking at getting it either, but since I can pick up Bloodborne and other PS4 games for it it's looking tasty.
Consoles must become like the PC:
BC for everything ever released.
The endless port begs of the great games of your past will be not nessesary anymore.
I love replaying old Mario / Zelda games and other Nintendo titles but if you want to do it on current hardware you depend on whatever they decide to port.
BC for everything ever released.
The endless port begs of the great games of your past will be not nessesary anymore.
I love replaying old Mario / Zelda games and other Nintendo titles but if you want to do it on current hardware you depend on whatever they decide to port.
A lot. I still play some Xbox 360 games via BC.
Also I will definitely want to replay some current gen bangers down the line without my console sounding like a Jumbo Jet about to take off.
Also I will definitely want to replay some current gen bangers down the line without my console sounding like a Jumbo Jet about to take off.
I care about it a lot more now than I did ten years ago. Very old games are hard to go back to, but this gen we've seen huge strides in graphics and design, and our libraries are increasingly digital. I wouldn't want to have to keep an old console just to play Forza Horizon 2 or Dishonered, both of which are relatively old now but perfectly playable, and will remain so for many years.
Digital preservation is also very important.
Digital preservation is also very important.
A lot.
I should be able to maintain access to the content I have purchased without relying on hardware that will age, become obsolete, and difficult to repair.
The lack of PS3 BC on PS4 was embarassing.
I should be able to maintain access to the content I have purchased without relying on hardware that will age, become obsolete, and difficult to repair.
The lack of PS3 BC on PS4 was embarassing.
I really care about it. For me it's a game changer. I'm already going with PS5 first Next gen but I'm going to be seriously disappointed if they don't offer nearly full BC with PS4 at launch.
Might want to add a poll.
For the early part of the generation decent back-compat is pretty great. If you're new to the platform you get access to a whole library of games from previous generations, if you already had the previous console you get to cut down on the amount of hardware that you're using at any one time and there is the possibility of improved performance in past gen games.
For the mid part of the generation I have the sense that you are probably focusing on the AAA and other high profile titles that are available for that particular console generation, so I feel like back-compat becomes less of a factor during that time.
For the latter part of the generation it goes back to being pretty cool again. You can revisit earlier games in a series that you might have enjoyed back in the day or missed out on at the time.
I'm glad that MS made a big push during the Xbox One's awkward years and that Sony appear to be following suit with the PS5. I hope that we get to see a similar approach with the Switch in the future.
For the early part of the generation decent back-compat is pretty great. If you're new to the platform you get access to a whole library of games from previous generations, if you already had the previous console you get to cut down on the amount of hardware that you're using at any one time and there is the possibility of improved performance in past gen games.
For the mid part of the generation I have the sense that you are probably focusing on the AAA and other high profile titles that are available for that particular console generation, so I feel like back-compat becomes less of a factor during that time.
For the latter part of the generation it goes back to being pretty cool again. You can revisit earlier games in a series that you might have enjoyed back in the day or missed out on at the time.
I'm glad that MS made a big push during the Xbox One's awkward years and that Sony appear to be following suit with the PS5. I hope that we get to see a similar approach with the Switch in the future.
Plenty, as I rather not just consume and waste games. I've build digital library of few thousand games during last 17 years. And I prefer platforms and service providers that support my collection and investments, like what Microsoft is doing with BC.
I care a lot for it. I don't have too much space at home, and having multiple old consoles connected is a bit of a hassle. I would love to have more and more OGXbox and 360 games added to BC in the near future (and I'm sure that I would buy PS5 day1 if it had back compat with PS1-PS4).
Switch has done such a great job of creating/curating my own personal "greatest hits" library that it'd be a damn shame if it didn't carry over. I find I replay old games about 50% of the time if they're available. Great games are ones that I want to replay. So, yeah, it's important.
Every gen I move to the next wanting it, but I end up not being interested in replaying earlier gen games for the most part. Specially since I've already played most or all games I was interested in, and with limited play time I end up mostly playing new games on next gen rather than older.
On PC I mix playing new games with really old ones, but I don't think I'll be doing that on PS5.
Even then I still own the mini-FC and mini-SFC and play them here and there, but I consider that very different.
On PC I mix playing new games with really old ones, but I don't think I'll be doing that on PS5.
Even then I still own the mini-FC and mini-SFC and play them here and there, but I consider that very different.
Current gen, really didn't care much. Next gen though I fucking do, too much money invested and this time they ain't excuses going from PS4 to PS5 ain't as hard as going from PS3 to PS4
Also I have a shitload of backlog waiting for PS5 lol
Also I have a shitload of backlog waiting for PS5 lol
Previously it has never really been a big deal to me, I dont think I ever really took advantage of it with my PS2 or PS3 for example, but it is an appealing point for PS5 because I am not interested in very much of the launch line up but I still have a lot of things I still enjoy playing / need to finish / have wanted to try which are PS4 games so if I can buy a PS5, get maybe one new title, but keep on with the stuff I have been playing, that is a plus. It is something I was previously worried before it was confirmed and having it is better than not having it for the transition for me.
Enough that if the PS5 supported PS1/2 id buy it at launch. Otherwise I can wait until it builds up some must play exclusives.
It's important at the start of the gen if I end up getting PS5 at launch, because there's quite many PS4 games I still want to play and of course it's nice to have them with possible upgrades.
Definitely not important at all after a year or so, I just don't play games multiple times and PS5 games are the reason I'm buying the whole thing.
Definitely not important at all after a year or so, I just don't play games multiple times and PS5 games are the reason I'm buying the whole thing.
Let's put it this way: If BC is easy and doesn't in any way mess with next gen, then fine. It's nice to pop in an old game without having to switch systems.
But i buy a next gen console for next gen games. I never have BC in mind when i buy a next gen console. I rarely return to older games. But wouldn't mind the option.
But i buy a next gen console for next gen games. I never have BC in mind when i buy a next gen console. I rarely return to older games. But wouldn't mind the option.
I only care if the games are enhanced somehow. But I hope that Sony ends up supporting the old systems eventually and properly.