Rumor: PS4 won't be backward-compatible with PS3
According to the latest rumor, "select developers" have already received dev kits for the PS4. Inside the box is an AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU--a drastic change in architecture from the IBM/Nvidia core in the PS3.
Whereas the rumor mill has been quite active regarding the next Xbox console (codenamed "Durango"), there's barely been a whisper of the next PlayStation. With signs pointing to the next generation of consoles launching in 2013, what has Sony been up to?
According to the latest rumor, "select developers" have already received dev kits for the PS4 since the beginning of this year. However, "finalized" beta kits won't ship until the end of 2012. Inside the box is an AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU--a drastic change in architecture from the IBM/Nvidia core in the PS3.
Switching to a unified architecture developed by AMD would certainly be more attractive to developers, who have continued to struggle with the odd, proprietary nature of the Cell chip. By giving developers a more familiar environment to work with, multiplatform games might not struggle as much as they did in the current generation. In addition, third parties will be able to ramp up development for the PS4 quickly--crucial for playing "catch up" if Sony's next system launches later than the next Xbox.
However, a consequence of switching to the new architecture will be the complete lack of backward compatibility. While launch PS3s offered backward compatibility with PS2 games, the feature was eventually removed in later revisions of the hardware. Kotaku's source claims that "Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backward compatibility for its existing catalog of PS3 games." That will obviously hurt anyone that's managed to amass a large collection of PSN games over the five-plus years of the current generation.
Shacknews has reached out to Sony for further comment.
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replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, Rumor: PS4 won't be backward-compatible with PS3.
According to the latest rumor, "select developers" have already received dev kits for the PS4. Inside the box is an AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU--a drastic change in architecture from the IBM/Nvidia core in the PS3.-
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Uh, did you miss the part where it said this is a "Rumor". Why let something like that ruin what you have been enjoying. There is no proof that this will happen. History has shown that Sony has at least provided backwards compatibility at launch but we shall see what actually happens. I have 2 PS3's and will most likely trade in one but I will keep the other. Unless you plan on trading in your PS3 for the new console, you can still play those games on the PS3 you currently have. All in all, this news is listed as Rumor and not fact to the exact hardware to be included.
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I also hope this rumor doesn't pan out. While BC becomes far less important to me over the long-term, I'm really enjoying replaying some of my PSP games on the Vita--especially as the current Vita library hasn't really caught my attention.
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seriously . shit like this is just so they can sell more games on psn
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"If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date."
"it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game."-
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My guess it wouldn't matter to gamefly since the trail period and rental period will be similar. GameStop will just have some deal where you will get a reg code on your receipt.
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Really? This early I have to start putting up with <1% of the people this matters too? The couple guys "who still love to play [insert one (maybe two) game(s) from previous system]" and have sworn up and down in the comments of every news story about the new system that they are most definitely NOT buying the new system because they won't be able to play said game(s). Thanks, Mr. Yoon, for firing the starting gun on that crap. ;)
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So what? Are you all throwing out your PS3's? The 360 won't work either. If you want progress you need to lose the old shit. They can port them on the PSN if need be.
Remember when the NES worked on the SNES? Me either. The SNES on the N64? N64 on the GC?
Why are gamers entitled all the sudden? Backwards compatibility is a bonus, not an automatic. Wait till you realize your PSN, VC and Live games don't carry over. Then you'll really lose your shit.
Same with iOS. I have zero doubt one day older iOS games won't work on the iphone 7, 8, 9, etc. It's life. Software isn't eternal.-
The Wii is backwards compatible with the GameCube and the PlayStation 2 is compatible with PlayStation games, and the original PS3s were compatible with PS2 and PS1 games...It's not our fault they made this an option for so long within certain generations of consoles.
I personally think the RPG games have gone to shit and the only good ones are the OLD ones. So yea...I want backwards compatibility. THANKS
First they give it to us, then they take it away due to manufacturing prices...cheap bastards.-
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Yeah, that's not the same at all. It would be more like how many XP games work on Win7 and tons do.
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Yeah? How about the Windows XP games that use heavy DRM? The Vista ones? Will they work in Windows 8 and 9? How about 10?
There's always going to be a point where shit stops working, and that point is closer and closer when you have complicated software and protection systems. Making Mario Bros work on your calculator isn't as hard as making a AAA PS3 game work on the next console.-
I am talking one generation and you keep bringing up 2 or 3 generations out. There's a difference.
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Yea, but people will ALWAYS find a way to make those work on the new OS's. Just like how Dungeon Keeper didn't work on Window 7 for a while but someone found a way to patch around it.
Backwards compatibility will always be in demand. People will always want to play old games on their new machines. Just because it's new doesn't mean you should move on from your old favorite games. ;)
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DOSbox, virtualization of Win 3.11, etc...you can run most old stuff on a PC.
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i'm not sure how good an example that is considering that
1.) that's a 17 year gap
2.) it was a huge problem when 64-bit dropped support for the 16-bit layer. it continues to be a problem to this day. it was dropped because of overwhelming technical difficulty in making it work, not because nobody needed it -
pfffft.... DOS games work under Win7!... PC's are hardly the same environment as a console, with you know, freely available emulators and the like.
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The 360 is still compatible with a lot of Xbox games.
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So is console gaming...iPod Shuffle games are the future.
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I don't disagree with your points but at the same time, the very act of not "throwing out" the previous consoles is the only way to play the previous generation of games. These days, having a significant collection of games is a significant investment, and it would be NICE to be able to play them (at least) on the next console, even though it's not mandatory. I've used BC a lot in my consoles. I would personally pay up to ~$100 extra to have full hardware BC in my next gen consoles and won't have that option.
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Well, I don't usually pay full price, I normally wait for a sale and only buy a few select titles at the full retail price. At the same time though I personally (I realize I'm in the minority) enjoy going back to earlier games that I loved and playing them again from time to time to appreciate them (like art basically). Only way for me to do that fully is to keep the original console, which I guess just is what it is.
Like I said though, I wish the option was there for hardware BC in future generations. I guess at some point they'd have to shut it down as it wouldn't be practical after a while anyway. -
So the effect of this move is to discourage people from buying as many games...because that's not a wise move from a business perspective.
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Early on, MS said that the next Xbox (720) would be fully BC.
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I heard it was powered by the souls of Japanese orphans using a hybrid neural/spirit matrix.
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Next gen is going to be terrible.
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Rumours have it pegged as being more powerful than the current gen.
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That doesn't really say much and they're wanting to do something special with the controller. From what I've heard, the Wii U is pulling double duty. It's got 2 screens, not 1. You're doing everything on the TV at a minimum of 720p 30fps (supposedly 1080p is doable), but also rendering additional full scenes on a 480p screen.
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Wii U CPU will be on par with current Gen. The Wii U GPU will be more modern but nowhere near the GPU rumored for the PS4 in this article. Also the CPU for the PS4 will probably be better than current gen and Wii U CPUs. As long as the Wii U has a good chunk of fast memory its GPU will allow better lighting, 1080p resolution, better anti aliasing, better shadows and better texturing. I expect to see Wii U versions looking a good bit better than current gen games while running at a higher resolution as well.
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Yup the tech demos that were shown for the Wii U were all 1080p @ 30fps i believe
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I don't see why they shouldn't at least make it an option. Have 2 different ps4 models, exactly the same, only one is backwards compatible. They could even make it preorder exclusive so they don't need to make more than they have to. I would gladly pay an extra $100-$150 for it.
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You'd like be paying a LOT more than that... if they change architectures they would pretty need to put the Cell CPU in the box to make it backward compatible. There is no way you could emulate that chip in real-time on any current CPU.
If they go this route I'd guess you'd be looking at close to $200-250 more for a model that can run PS3 games.
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Is that image super low rez?
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I would think at this point, backwards compatibility should almost be a staple.
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If they give me a way to hook my PS3 up to the new system (as a sort of pass through) so I don't have more and more shit hooked up to my system I'd be ok with this. Otherwise I'll probably hold off on buying a PS4 (I tend to buy *all* the systems when or shortly after they release...whenever I can manage to easily get one).
This is something I've been watching, as this sort of a move disincentivizes the purchase of games I'm on the fence about...because I know the long term value isn't there...games become a disposable thing that I don't put much value on if they have an expiration date. -
LOL, just one more reason not to buy one!
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ZOMGLOLDERP!
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Even if so, I like owning all my old consoles, I don't even like playing gamecube games on the Wii.
So don't really care either way. -
I dont get what all the fuss is about. I have a PS3 why do i need my new console to play PS3 games. Thats what my PS3 is for! If it will keep the price a little lower screw backwards compatibly. I'm worried about this no rental/ no used games. If the next gen xbox allows used titles and the PS4 does not. Then I will get an xbox and not a PS4. And this is coming from a guy that camped out for a PS3 at launch and got a Vita at the midnight launch. This will destroy my company loyalty!
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Would be nice to take advantage of superior hardware to improve the older games. Even the PS3 models that were backward compatible fucked this up, they did not really upscale the PS2 games, at least not properly. They deinterlaced everything, then upscaled the deinterlace, so every goddamn thing looked blurry. If there is anybody who just does not understand the point of this kind of work, it's Sony.
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Well, then maybe Sony should design the PS4 to have a additional slot that will accepted Additional CPU that will run the "older" version of PS3 and PS2 games. If not, they should be forced to release the source code so other players can design CPU that will run the latest graphic capability of the PS4.
It should have the ability to upgrade RAM using Standard PC ram sticks now and hard drives since hopefully the prices are starting to come down now.
