Backwards Compatibility: How Much Do You Care?

[Moonface]

Apart from Xbox, backwards compatibility in consoles has become somewhat of an afterthought although it can be argued that in the case of a company like Nintendo that it's unavoidable when their consoles change medium entirely.

Regardless of the reason though, how important is backwards compatibility to you? Do you wish all new consoles would include it unless absolutely impossible to do so (see: aforementioned Nintendo point) or would you not care if no future console ever included it again?

[ShiraNoMai]

I'd prefer if consoles at least tried to either: 1) emulate their prior hardware on all future consoles and have a way to preserve your unique copy via ROM or some other executable dump, OR 2) emulate just the prior generation's hardware on the new generation's one.

Just having a way to extend your purchase of a material good from beyond its hackneyed methodology would really benefit the history preservation of this medium.

[Moonface]

I'd prefer if consoles at least tried to either: 1) emulate their prior hardware on all future consoles and have a way to preserve your unique copy via ROM or some other executable dump, OR 2) emulate just the prior generation's hardware on the new generation's one.

Just having a way to extend your purchase of a material good from beyond its hackneyed methodology would really benefit the history preservation of this medium.

The trouble with either of these is if the console changes formats like Nintendo always does, your physical purchases are redundant because the system would have no way of reading it. For Sony and Xbox it would work though given they have always stuck with discs.


I only wish there was a modern day option to play old games I own only because I worry about the day any of my old consoles stop working. At least for Nintendo fans there's Analogue (and probably other companies like it) that provide hardware capable of reading older physical games, but eventually those and even any official options are going to run into the problem of save data. PS5 could offer backwards compatibility to PS1, PS2, and PS3 physical games tomorrow but it means nothing without a memory card reader or a way to get PS3 saves over to it so while I could play my old games on it, that's only any good if I don't need the save data I already have. That was why I didn't care that PS3 offered BC, because it didn't have a memory card reader built in so I was better off just continuing to use my PS2.

[ShiraNoMai]

Okay, let me rephrase cuz I was unclear: Emulate the hardware via software. I don't mean to put the old physical media data unit in the new console; I mean having it digitally able to run on the new one, probably via an account system via the console manufacturer (Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, etc). The consoles already read your physical carts/discs and download the data (most times) to the memory drive, so it should "validate" your unique media and through your account have access to it in next gen via a software emulation.

[Moonface]

@ShiraNoMai: That only works for more modern generations that used a HDD; PS2, GameCube, etc. have no way to have your games from those systems get ported forward with a digital signature.
Even then that would never be an approach taken. PS5 games only use the disc to validate a digitally stored install, and without the disc you can't play the game and it's that way to stop people installing a game and then getting rid of the disc. That wouldn't get changed for older games.

[Mr EliteL]

I used to care quite a bit about Backwards Compatibility, but just not bothered whether or not stuff can these days. I'm never going to use emulation or pc versions of exclusive console games, so I don't care about that stuff. I've got no idea when I'll be bothered to even play PS4 games though know the PS5 can play them if I transfer saved data over. So I'm fine with seeing how digital versions of past games or remakes become available, though I'm not getting 99.9% of stuff of myself either.

[Moonface]

I'm never going to use emulation or pc versions of exclusive console games, so I don't care about that stuff.

I don't know how it exactly works, but because I know they can be stupid fun and we used to play them when I'd visit, I know there are ways to make all of the old WWE games function with online play even if the only way they could be played originally was via local multiplayer. Just something you might not know of but wanted to keep in mind if there are older games you would want to play with others but can't because they require local multiplayer, but might actually have a way to use that function via online connection through emulation. I only know this is a thing because newLEGACYinc on YouTube have done videos with older WWE games playing them together and I know the people of that channel do not all live in the same place or country.