Why Sony Won't Announce PS3 Backwards Compatibility At E3 2018, Or Ever

The PS3 was a powerful beast for its time, but also so complicated that it's just a nightmare from a development standpoint.

[Neonridr]

just give up on PS3 backwards compatibility. Assuming the architecture remains the same, there's a really good chance of seeing PS4 backwards compatibility with the PS5 though. So there is hope in the future.

[manabyte77]

OT: Do you sit and camp on the N4G home page, constantly refreshing for new posts? You must hold the record for number of first posts in these forums.

[Neonridr]

me? Hardly..

[blacktiger]

I do, any problem?

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

No problem. It's just fucking sad.

[Skull521]

Microsoft was able to do backwards compatibility because of the genius engineers there. Emulators for older consoles can't play games well on exponentially more powerful hardware on PC but somehow Microsoft was able to accomplish it on a console which is staggering. Sony could never pull it off, especially because of the mistake of the Cell processor in the PS3. The best we can hope for is going forward is future Sony consoles can play PS4 games, which should be doable if they make it a priority.

That being said they do love selling you remasters of old games so they may never choose to include the feature.

[johndoe11211]

@Skull521
And on the flip side, Microsoft does love getting people to pay 500 bucks for a new system to play old games so they may never choose to make good new ip's.

[Rhythmattic]

Skull521
I was playing Power PC games on a new Intel mac pro at higher quality way before MS did PPC emulation.
PPC Architecture is easy to do BC, Cell architecture is not.

[mikeslemonade]

I don't want BC! How many times do I have to say that. It's not needed. The most overrated feature every created.

[TheSplooge]

Well he beat GoW, so he has nothing left to do until the next singleplayer game comes out 😆

[UltraNova]

@john

Haha dude you are ruthless...

[IamTylerDurden1]

Obviously PS5 will have PS4 BC due to x86. Obviously PS3 emulation is difficult due to Cell architecture. We know this. We are 5 years in and currently inundated with quality games, i wouldn't have time for BC at the moment anyway. BC on day 1 next gen will be great, but right now it's not quite as relevant.

[getbacktogaming]

I don't know that it's "obvious" but I really hope PS5 is backwards compatible day 1 purchase for me if it is.

[Bobafret]

Even as an Xbox only gamer I can't finish my current gen backlog.

[Neonridr]

yep, there's a really good chance for it. But as you said, my backlog with current gen titles for my PS4 and Switch is a mile long.. lol

[isarai]

Can't really say it's "Obvious" seeing as how yeah, the PS3 might be too complex to emulate anytime soon, but nothing is stopping them from doing BC for PS2 and PS1 games on PS4. Especially since the emulator that does so for the PS2 games on the PS4 store has been found by people hacking/modding the ps4 and data mining. Yet here we sit unable to use it without buying the game off the store

[sinspirit]

The only chance of emulation is with PS5 and if they'd be generous enough to have a CELL processor as the secondary processing unit for background tasks, downloads, recording last 15 minutes of gaming continuously, etcetera like the PS4 does.

Otherwise, we'd never have it since the architecture is so different and exceptionally difficult to emulate, as said above.

[kakashi81]

I dunno know about being irrelevant, but we're 5 years deep in the generation.

[DarXyde]

I can understand no PS3 backwards compatibility, but there's no good reason for Sony releasing the PS4 Pro without backwards compatibility other than seeing there's money to be made. Funny enough, Xbox One offers it, likely with the intent of selling more consoles and it doesn't appear to be working. PS4 should be able to at least play PS2 and PSOne. And, again, Pro was a chance to go back and give us a device with backwards compatibility. I guarantee that it would fly off the shelves. Sony offering backwards compatibility is very different from Microsoft offering backwards compatibility in that PS2 and PSOne are bloody legendary. PS3 is also great, but I imagine Pro would destroy everything if it played PS2 games. Instead, you must pay for it.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Sony doesn't split its base like Microsoft does. That's why they're more successful than Microsoft.

PS1 and PS2 is definitely possible. But Sony is going forward with games and VR than looking backwards.

While Microsoft looks backwards at games that sold previous systems than making new games for their console base.

Sales speak to what gamers want more. Which is new games for new systems. That's why you buy a new console in the first place.

[DarXyde]

Apocalypse Shadow,

If that was the case, Definitive Editions, Remastered games, and reboots wouldn't be a thing on PS4. Instead of letting us play games we already own from the past on PS4, we're paying for them through PSNow and PS2 classics. Are you really going to sit there and tell me it's not about capitalizing on a market? I stand by what I said: Pro could have had emulation software/ hardware for past games. It's not about alienating A an audience. It's about paying for a PlayStation that can play past games. It would definitely do a better job of selling people on the whole "Pro"thing. I love PlayStation, but it's definitely financially motivated. And honestly, it's kind of a crappy thing to do considering Now is expensive.

[ILostMyMind]

Pro is a PS4 overclocked.

PS.: And seriously, if PS4 runs PS1/PS2 games... would you buy them? You can have all of them on your laptop for free.

[Z501]

Why don't you just play your PS3 games on the console you bought it for?

[twiggytree12]

"Instead, you must pay for it."

I don't have to pay for shit, it doesn't cost me a dime to play the games I purchased 15-20 years ago. You need to quit acting like people have to repurchase games just because they show up on PSN. If people truly cared about their old games, they would've kept them and the systems that play them when they bought them. You also neglect the fact that people can buy BC PS3's that play all PS1 and PS2 games, hook that up next to your PS4 and you can play all 4 generations of Playstation games with only 2 consoles under your TV. That would cost a helluva lot less money than buying a new upgraded PS4, just so you can play old games.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

BC was never intended to sell consoles. It’s just an extra feature.

[DarXyde]

343_Guilty_Spark,

And Pro is an "extra" console. It literally exists for people who want "more" out of a PlayStation, otherwise, save yourself the money and get a slim.

[CurbStompin]

PSNow, says it ain’t gonna happen.

[Thomaticus]

That's a mandatory feature or else I won't be buying a PS5 day one.

[Z501]

Wait. You won't buy a ps5 if you can't play the games you're already playing or own? (Assuming you already own a ps4)
No one loses in the situation. You still get to play the games you already own. You've already paid Sony if you've bought a ps4 and games. Right? Am I missing something?

[kevnb]

Considering Sony builds emulators and “remastering” tools for ps2 and psp games (hackers have exposed them). Chances are they will build emulators but then charge you per game to use them.

[crazyCoconuts]

"Ever" is a stretch. Any hardware can be emulated, it's just the PS4 doesn't have the power to do it. Might be doable for the PS5/PS6

[Araragifeels]

Even PC having a hard time emulating the PS3 which have been working on the emulator for couple of years.

[darthv72]

But that is a couple of people doing some reverse engineering, trying to make it work. Just imagine if Sony gave it a whirl.

[zeuanimals]

@darth

If Sony gave it a twirl, they could probably get it working on PC. But that's PC. The PS4 Pro isn't as powerful as something that can emulate the PS3.

[kevnb]

A few people working in their spare time, no low level access, no driver support, tons of overhead the ps4 wouldn’t have... yet it still already works on pc.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

PC has a very large overhead.

[rainslacker]

Problem is more the clock rate of the cell. Even though current processors can process more data, they can't process single pieces of data as fast as the CELL could. Would take a lot of speed in current processors, and some fancy processing tricks to make it happen, and it wouldn't be consistent.

The cell was very good at processing certain kinds of data that the x86 processor struggles with. That's why most of that kind of data is done through gpu compute nowadays

Even if Sony tried to give it a whirl, they can't just make a processor do something more than it's designed to do and when it comes to emulating the cell, they'd have to defy the laws of physics to get it to process the data at the same rate the cell could.

I think a lot of people really don't understand cell architecture to know why it was ahead if it's time, and extremely powerful for the way game design was going. What it did, is also the reason why its so hard to emulate at a speed that would be practical .

[Shineon]

So wait The ps3 cell cpu is actually more powerful than Whats in ps4,and xbox1?

[rainslacker]

No.

But people misconstrue power with the speed with which a single instruction can be processed.

Newer processors can process more data per cycle, but it doesn't mean that it can process a single piece of data faster than the CELL could. In theory, a single piece of data may process the same speed if it could match the clock speed of the CELL, but with x86 it wouldn't process some data as fast because of how the x86 processor handles some kinds of data.

X86 in particular isn't very good at processing the kinds of data that CELL is exceptionally good at processing...namely complex floating point. The current generation, and even with PC, devs are using GPU compute more for these kinds of processes, because they're much more efficient. In fact, much of what is included with GPU compute on current GPU's was started with the CELL chip.

[kwijgaming]

Your posts are really informative. I'm one of those people who don't actually know how the Cell works and this was really fascinating. Thanks!

[AspiringProGenji]

No one cares

[super_cuddles]

Amen

[pinkcrocodile75]

Correction:

You don't care!

Don't speak for anyone other than yourself.

[KratosKonundrum]

I think he meant it holistically.

If the market cared about BC then you'd see xbox outsell PS4. That isn't happening. In fact, ever since BC was announced the sales gap has actually grown wider.

If anything an argument could be made that BC is harmful to a system's competitive viability.

Sony knows what it's doing. Every move or non move they've made has led to more sales.

[pinkcrocodile75]

I'm willing to bet he/she was making a "sweeping statement", you know, like "all women make sweeping statements"... or "All sony fans are arrongant"... or "All xbox fans are childish".

Doesn't actually mean anything just a big rousing statement, like "There was no collusion with Russia"

LOL Sorry, it's a red rag to a bull.

[Gaming_1st]

@pinkcrocodile75

I don't care either. I do not have enough time as it is to play all current games, much less worry about some old last gen game. And i play a fair amount too.

If for some rare occurrence i wanted to play a last gen game. I'll turn my ps3 on.

[hulk_bash1987]

@Kratos
Just because the PS4 is selling doesn't mean BC isn't wanted. Those two things aren't connected. Sony would have put BC into the PS4 if it wasnt for the PS3's cell architecture.

[Gunstar75]

You only don't care because you don't have it

[Silly gameAr]

Or, maybe he really doesn't care and doesn't feel the need to have it?

[AspiringProGenji]

Oh I have it natively; It is called PS3

[sprinterboy]

80% of gamers are casuals who don't give a flying fuk about bc, I bet the number of gamers with a actual ps3 game disc or collection is in the 10s of thousands, maybe? I respect its a option for bc but I just don't think it's worth it at least with ps3 (cell).

[ILostMyMind]

Your statement is as wrong as his.

[Z501]

OR (get ready)
He has a PS3.

[hulk_bash1987]

"I don't care" There you go, I fixed your comment.

[AspiringProGenji]

is that why nobody been talking about it for months up until now?

[Kribwalker]

people have been talking about it though. There was just a inside xbox all about it, there’s conversations everytime more games become BC, so even tho you don’t care genji plenty of others do

[hulk_bash1987]

Just because you're ignorant to the conversation, doesn't mean other people are.

[AspiringProGenji]

I am not ignorant. New games are taking the spotlight and rightly so every month. MS announcing BC barely gains attention. And when BC games is all they can talk about you know there’s a problem. With all these new games coming there’s no need to talk about last gen games

[starchild]

Quit speaking for me. Backwards compatibility is a very important feature for me. I love it on the PC and I loved it on my fat PS3 and I would love if the PS4 or PS5 supported it.

[brianunfried]

Would be a nice feature, but I already have three PS3s. I would prefer PS2 backwards compatibility.

[meatnormous]

Ps2 and ps1 would be great and could be done by the ps4. I'm a little irritated it wasn't done.

[super_cuddles]

Ps2 is super old and cruddy

[InKnight7s]

New generation who knows games from Twitch trends, triggered!!!!

[Imalwaysright]

PS2 is the best console ever made.

[quent]

Watch the usual suspects be dismissive of the importance of BC on this one

[showtimefolks]

Quent

Watch these Xbox fans without exclusives be dismissive about exclusives or not being interested in ps4 exclusives

[jukins]

If it's a big deal why is the xbox being outsold by so much? Big deals make big differences and xbox bc is not making any differences

[IamTylerDurden1]

Shadow_

You do realize that XB1 didn't launch with BC, right? It was multiple years after launch until XB1 got it and by the time there was a substantial library of BC games the generation was already humming with actual new games. It would've meant much more had it actually launched alongside the XB1 on day 1 when there wasn't nearly as much to play.

Truth is, BC is extremely valuable early in a generation because it helps supplement the inevitable lack of games in the first 1-2 years. It's now 5 years in. Monster Hunter, FC5, Yakuza, Ni No Kuni, God of War, Detroit, Spiderman, RDR2. Big games are spilling out faster than we can play, most people aren't going to stop God of War to go replay a last gen game they already own.

[darthv72]

Sony is treating BC this gen similar to how they treated rumble (or lack of) at the beginning of last. Saying its old and no one will miss it. They they were able to add rumble back into the controller and that is that. They changed their tune and the fans embraced it.

Are you telling me that if they change their tune to BC that fans wouldnt also embrace it???

And yes we all know why they lacked rumble at the beginning, but they tried to play it off as nobody cared when people really did care. People care about BC despite Sony saying they dont but Sony either cant make it work or wont because they paid a huge amount of $$ for Gaikai and want to use that instead to get their return on investment.

[quent]

Don't own an xb, but I do own a slim and some common sense in knowing that games I own outlasts the systems I own, BC also make sense for those who are interested in trading in they're old consoles for the newer iteration

One final thing, if BC wasn't so important and not a topic worth of discussing why has this comment section blown up as much as it did ?, because I only see you Sony Zealots here, who are in fact trying to dismiss and defend the absence of BC on the system that's been going on for such along time

you fanboys sure go out of you're way to defend and support something that so obviously a con to you, but still got to suck that Kaz dick don't ya

[rainslacker]

@quent

Better question to ask is why this wasn't a big issue of contention until ms announced their bc solution?

Before that, neither side seemed to care that much beyond the normal outlayers that will always complain

[Kribwalker]

why would you implement BC when they’ve been making a killing selling “remastered” versions of the same games you already own. Just makes financial sense

[Ricegum]

So why did MS do it then? They get the same remasters buddy.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Krib

Are you actually implying that Sony's remasters aren't legitimate by putting quotes around "remastered"?

Sony has consistently released the best remasters this generation through the use of Blue Point.

TLoU Remastered
Nathan Drake Collection
Shadow of the Colossus
R&C

Two fantastic, legitimate remasters and two phenomenal technical remakes highlight the 'remasters" this gen. And now Medieval is on the way. Sony has done a spectacular job overall with the handling of these remasters.

What is the downside to these well made remasters and remakes? Did you criticise Crash when they announced it would come to Xbox? Did you criticise Spyro?

[Kribwalker]

@tyler

some are legit remasters, some, like we recently found out with parapa the rapper, are psp/vita emulated titles with resolution bumps for quick cash ins.

I bought Crash last year because i never played the OG ones, and i’ll do the same with Spyro, but again, I’ve never played or owned them so it’s not like i’m buying them again this gen. And those ones like Ratchet and Shadow and UC Collection are legit redone, but TLOU remastered was just a bumped up ps3 game for the ps4 version. I bought that one because i never owned it on the ps3 either

[Gaming_1st]

@Kribwalker

You think people are going to keep rebuying the same game? Sure some will. But it's exactly for people like you that never got to experience some amazing games in the previous platform, that bought a current gen console.

[Stogz]

"but TLOU remastered was just a bumped up ps3 game for the ps4 version. " oh you mean like Gears of War ultimate edition? You need to stop pretending it's only Sony dude, make yourself look foolish.

[Kribwalker]

@stogz

at no time did i say it was just sony, but MS are also giving us a way to replay old games at no cost, even upgraded when playing some on the OneX (freemasters?) which sony isn’t doing, even though there’s a ps2 and psp emulator on the console

[IamTylerDurden1]

Krib

You say people are rebuying the same games they already own by buying the "remasters" yet you yourself bought TLoU Remastered, Crash N Sane Trilogy, SotC Remake, and you will buy Spyro Remastered because you never played the originals. Contradict much? You damn Sony for making them yet you buy them. Also, if you bought them because you never played the original don't you think that could be the case for other people..?

You question the legitimacy of the Sony remasters and remakes this gen yet you consider the XB1 backwards compatibile games to be free remasters? You consider those to be remasters but not a completely upgraded and reworked game like The Nathan Drake Collection? You question whether those are remasters but a backwards compatibile game that gets a non native 1080p up rez, that's a remaster?

[Z501]

1. Buying the same game you already own is a personal choice. No one forces you.
2. Most people with ps3 GAMES have a ps3 to play them on. At no extra cost.
3. Tell me. Who are these people that kept these ps3 games they love so much, but got rid of the console after M. Cerny said at the ps4 reveal the ps4 wouldn't have BC?

[lnfiniteLoop]

Sony wont give free backward compatibility to any Playstation, if they do provide it, it'll be a paid for service...

[showtimefolks]

OG ps3 says hello. Their study showed so few people using it that it wasn't needed

You know actual stats not some made up numbers by Xbox fan Boys

[Kribwalker]

well only the early ps3’s used it, then it was removed to cut down on cost of production so they could lower the price of the PS3. So when only a small percentage of your users have access to it then only a small percentage would use it.
That and they spent a tonne of money on PSnow to play ps3 games. So the real question is, if no one uses it, why would they have gone out and spent that cash to supply PS3 games?

[gangsta_red]

@showtime
Was it an actual study or was it just Sony execs telling you an excuse?

@krib
Hmmmmm....not to mention the PS2, PSP and who knows what other emulators are in the PS4 now.

A lot of work for Sony to provide something where the studies say hardly anyone uses it.

[MarineLineman]

@KribWalker Yeah, and I’m sure you were one of the consumers that was all about buying a $500/ $600 PS3, and totally didn’t attack it like the rest of the gaming community. /s

Be honest my guy, you know that you were one of the many that didn’t care for PS3 early on, regardless if it’s BC.

[Kribwalker]

@marine

I bought the 40gb when it first came out because it was the cheapest bluray player around. I like my physical movie media. I had a PS2 still and a 360 at the time

[Imalwaysright]

showtimefolks

Sony removed the emulator that came with the 80GB phat model in an update only to sell PS2 games on the PSN later. PS2 games that ran on every PS3 SKU including the ones that didn't have the PS2 chip using most likely an updated version of that very same emulator. in the PS3 days sony also had a working PS1 emulator which is why PS3 skus without the PS2 chip could run PS1 games

This gen, the PS4 is again running PS2 games on an emulator, probably on another updated version of that very same emulator but they went for the monetizing route again and they didn't do it because of some made up numbers. They did it because there is demand for them whether sony fanboys such as yourself like it or not.

Due to these actions I would be surprised if the PS5 was BC with PS4 but let's wait and see what Sony will do next gen.

[Imalwaysright]

MarineLineman

What does the price of the PS3 have to do with BC?

[sprinterboy]

^^ someone gets it

[Gaming_1st]

@MarineLineman

Are you serious? Lets see the PS3 had HDMI, WIFI, Free online, Bluray player, Largest HDD, and was the most powerful console. And was only 100 bucks more then the RROD box. Which had non of that at launch.

And Btw, the PS3 was the cheapest bluray player you could get at the time.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Krib

PS Now is not a backwards compatibility service. The purpose of it was to widen the reach of the PlayStation brand. It was to give people who otherwise wouldn't have access to these games chance to play. The original idea was to have PS Now running on Smart TVs and a variety devices as to introduce people to the brand. PS Now is also just a different type of service. MS calls game pass the Netflix of games but in truth it really isn't. There is a small variety of games and you must wait for them to download before playing them whereas PS Now is a streaming service with instant access to hundreds of games featuring no lengthy download.

[darthv72]

Wait... I havent tried a Ps2 game in my 80gb PS3 because i usually keep my fat modded PS2 hooked up but did Sony really remove the PS2 bc via an update??? Like they did with linux support???

If true then that f'd up and means i need to hunt down an old school 60gb fat ps3. I like having hardware that is complete and figured the 80gb was close enough but now it seems (as others say) it is no better than the other non PS2 bc units regardless of its initial design.

[rainslacker]

@krib

Sony didn't include it this gen because they were trying to keep the cost of the system down. Cell processor would have cost them $50 more to include. Everyone would have to pay that, even though only a small portion of the market would use it. Given how Sony got so much grief over the price of the ps3 can you blame them for focusing more on what was more important....namely a powerful enough system with an attractive price point.

You act like Sony is raking in money hand over fist with psnow, but I bet you'll be in other threads saying how it's an utter failure. That doesnt seem to be a good reason to exclude bc, particularly since ps3 bc wasn't even available until recently.

Psnow.is.not a bc solution. It's a separate platform. If people want to use it to play old games, they can. But it's not bc, and Sony never sold it as bc.

@gangsta

Back When the ps3 released a Sony exec said that bc wasn't used by a lot of people. They still included it because they felt it was important. I imagine when they were losing money and people were complaining about the price they realized that the cost to include made it.less important.

[Imalwaysright]

darthv72

Yep https://www.lifewire.com/ca... PS3 80GB BC was removed by an update and later Sony started to sell PS2 games on the PSN that were most likely running on an updated version of that same emulator. Dick move by Sony that shows how they feel about BC and yet the majority around here believe that the PS5 will simply have BC even when they downplay it at every chance they get. Well, I'm not convinced but fingers crossed that the PS5 will at least be backwards compatible with PS4 games.

[Araragifeels]

PS2, Original PS3, PSVita(digital) had backward compatibility so you statement is invalid. PS4 was an exception and PSNow is not the answer to backwards compatibility since is a service for people who missed out or want to try out PS2(currently started to add), PS3 and PS4 games.

[MarineLineman]

Exactly. PS Now is simply Sony’s hand in the games streaming market, so that they can be ahead of the curve if and when it finally takes off. It’s not a product that is indicative of Playstation’s future. I can’t for the life of me figure why Sony ever switched to x86, if they didn’t fully intend to make use of it for the long term. Needless to say, they clearly have every intention of sticking to it, seeing how well it’s worked out for them.

[sprinterboy]

They should have a 2nd tier ps plus imo which is like a extra £50/$50 to have access to all ps now games because atm it's too expensive for the yr sub. Just half the price and those who want bc have no excuse then or at least a option

[rainslacker]

@marine

Sony switched to x86.because it became capable to handle current games, was cheaper, and is.more widely understood among programmers.

Sony worked with IBM to.make the cell into a.processor which would be a long term solution and they intended.for it to last more than one generation. Ps4 would have had cell if it had been more widely accepted. When Sony first talked about the cell, one reason they gave for going with the architecture was the ease with which it scaled, and stating that it would be a fluid solution to bc in the future.

Obviously that didn't work out, but they have also said that x86 would give a fluid solution to bc going forward....as is evidenced by the mid gens.

[MarineLineman]

Sony didn’t want to release a $600 PS4 and sell it at a huge loss just to appease the 1% of the console gaming community that ever used BC. You can be sure that PS5 will feature 100% BC with PS4 games because it’ll be far easier and far more cost effective to implement.

[BlaqMagiq1]

Umm PS2 and OG PS3 says hi.

[terstomp]

Not interested in backwards compatibility.
However, there are many games which I'll like to see improved, enhanced and remastered for the PS4 and PS4+n.

[Smokehouse]

This is obvious stuff here. The good news is that it will be much easier to have PS4 games on ps5.

[Fist4achin]

PS3 was a great system. It was probably a little more complicated than it should have been.

[MarineLineman]

Too complicated, wasn’t Beta tested, most developers didn’t even receive dev kits long enough before launch, etc.

The CBE was a cool idea, and could’ve produced some incredible games, but it should’ve been implemented a lot better.

[windblowsagain]

PS3 Could be Emulated if Sony wanted it.

That RSPS3 emulator is coming along but if it was done by Sony. it would easily run PS3 games.

[Araragifeels]

They would have waisted so much money emulating the PS3 on the PS4. PC is having a hard time running PS3 emulator and even maintaining the framerates so just imagine the PS4 running it. I don't even think PS4 is capable of running it.

[nowitzki2004]

Those people dont have the knowledge about the PS3 that sony does. It could be 1 guy working on that emulator.

[starchild]

It's not the PC "having a hard time running PS3 emulator", it's the fact that it's being made by a few guys in their spare time. It is at a certain point in development and of course it would be further along and run better if they had more time, money and inside info about the system they are emulating.

[Eonjay]

Running on top of the line Rigs, the PC emulators struggle to run the CBE. Its a fact.

[rainslacker]

It could be emulated. I could write an emulator myself for the cell processor. It wouldn't run the code very well though, and the ps4 specs are much lower than the pc required to run the current ps3.emulator.

Jusy.because Sony could be faster at writing an.emulator.doesnt mean that they can defy the laws of physics to get an x86 to.execute a.process as.fast as the CELL, when that x86 processor runs a clock speed 1/3 that of the cell

[RainbowBrite]

Because they don't need to. If they were like behind in sales (like Xbox) They probably do it.

[ONESHOTV2]

console gamer mindset if my overlord cant make money off of it then it's not good for me wow just wow PC has over 30+ years worth of games and I play both new and old games which some are even better than the games they are creating this gen so why wouldn't you want to experience those games

[starchild]

It's strange isn't it? They basically work against themselves.

I love backwards compatibility on the PC and I would love it on the PS4 and PS5, but we probably won't get it because Sony would rather make extra money and there are too many fanboys arguing in favor of not having backwards compatibility. Makes me shake my head.

[MarineLineman]

They’d probably be even less likely to do it then, tbh.

[FallenAngel1984]

That’s bad logic

Sony allowed backwards compatibility on PS2, PSP, PS3 & Vita regardless of sales

[showtimefolks]

They could do it if it was demanded but ps4 fans get actual new games and plenty of them to where we don't need to wait months for new games

[gangsta_red]

In the mean time they charge you for remasters and BC services for the ps4 fans that actually do want it.

[showtimefolks]

What no one I know use BC bro good for you that you use it. I got so many new games why would I want to replay the old ones

And I out of all the games I own on ps4 maybe 2-3 are remaster and ratchet and clank is a remake not remaster

The uncharted remaster bundle with ps4 slim helped sony out sell the Xbox one during holiday season 2016

If ms cared enough about BC it would have been there day one but BC came into play only after Xbox one sold so poorly don't change facts

Enjoy what you play

[DillyDilly]

At most it will be Backwards Compatibility with the PS4

[Majin-vegeta]

Would it be nice?Sure...but i don't have time with all these new PS4 games coming out.
If I want to play PS3 games I'll just pop up my PS3

[KickSpinFilter]

Sony will... PS5 BC with PS4
But PS 1,2,3 will be with PS Now.
At launch of PS5 in 2020
Sony had BC before with previous systems they will have it again.
With digital downloaded games, x86 architecture, and MS BC it's kind of a no brainer going into a new launch of a system instead of 3 years in when it does not matter as much.

[GamesMaster1982]

Here is an idea for anyone who really wants to play PS3 games. Buy a PS3 they can be picked up cheap. Here in the UK i picked another superslim up recently for £45 and the games can be bought from as little as £1 each, Problem solved. As much as BC compat would of been a nice feature i'm glad it's not Sonys main feauture unlike the X1. I mainly buy new consoles for new games.

[Artemidorus]

First it's Playstation 5 now it's Playstation 3 BC.

Which one should I laugh at first??

[Lokii]

No need for it. Too many excellent games being released in the future. Besides leave it for the PS5.

[PS3Freak]

I still play my ps3. Made the mistake of creating an impossible to complete backlog a long time ago, got about 3 or 4 games left to play. Then i can finally retire my 10 year old ps3.

[jokerisalive]

The PS5 hopefully will have BC for all the great games on PS4.

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

Why give away what you can sale?

[Einhander1971]

Luckily I still have the beastly PS3 and all the best games, so not worried about dodgy emulation.

[cd1]

We know, the architectures are too different to to be feasible. No click from me.

[OffRoadKing]

lol,ok.

[Bobafret]

I don't really see any of their fans clamoring for it.

[KickSpinFilter]

It's to late. At the start of a generation it's a great feature to have, four years in no need for it at least on PS4 this gen.

[starchild]

Don't confuse the zealots or fanboys with normal fans. I've owned every Playstation console and I really like what Sony offers overall, but I wish they would go back to offering backwards compatibility like they did on the PS2 and fat PS3s. There are lots of regular fans that would love to be able to carry our library forward on Playstation hardware, but unfortunately the mindless zealots will always cheer whatever their favorite corporation happens to be doing at the time, regardless of whether it's good for the gamer or not.

[Z501]

No offense, but, 'I' don't care about gamers. I care about me. Which is why I kept my ps3 for this exact reason. Sony does not owe me BC. Fact.

[MarineLineman]

They don’t need to. We’re long passed the point where PS3 titles are relevant. It’s time to move away from that era, and hope Sony continues to implement forwards compatibility in future hardware.

[Silly gameAr]

The media is really trying to push BC like it's a must have.

[1nsomniac]

As usual the corps, Microsoft & Sony both said it wasn’t even possible. Microsoft was failing miserably with the xbone all of a sudden it happened.

Basement coders have now miraculously got a running PS3 emulator working on standard pc architecture. So I can imagine Sony won’t want to look stupid or like liars. So with the end of this generation soon to be on its way I can see the possibility of them releasing one in fairness. To be fair I would imagine they already have one That heyve been sitting on.

[Majin-vegeta]

Umm have you seen how those games run on the emu??They're like damn slideshows.and I'm sure you need a beastly PC just to get it running.
http://n4g.com/news/2169486...

[DigitalRaptor]

1) It's taken these people years to get up to that point, and it's far from ideal.
2) The emulator runs on very high-end PCs. PS4 is not capable of emulating PS3 in any way that would pass QA.

There's no way Sony will dedicate the resources to release broken games. If it happens somehow, it will happen on PS5, but even that's slim.

[OpenGL]

I'm confident PS5 will be powerful enough to emulate the PS3, the question is if Sony believes the endeavor to be worthwhile. PS4 BC on PS5 will be the most important.

[rainslacker]

They'd be better off putting a CELL into the system if they were really interested. Unfortunately, CELL production costs more than it did when this generation started, and I think the vast majority of customers would prefer to not pay more for the system because of a small portion that want BC.

It'd be nice if they did PS1/2 emulation in a manner similar to MS, or even with hardware in the system, but I can't see Sony enabling CD compatibility, which is one reason why physical BC wouldn't be possible with PS1 titles in PS4, although digital may be nice.

In any case, I think any emulation feature for BC would be the same as how MS has it set up, where the publisher has to approve it, and that isn't going to always be possible with every game. Sony can bypass that with the hardware in the system....which is how they did it with their first three systems.

Sony knows what bad press they get from not offering it, and the implication that it's only because they think they can profit more by not having it is pretty meaningless in the bigger picture. When push comes to shove, a good price for the system is going to be much more attractive than a feature that not many people use.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

it's simple really...Sony wont offer real BC because they want to force you into their PSNow ecosystem.

[corroios]

Another news tryng to make bc relevant when sales show it isnt much less 5 years in the next gen. Bc is great on the start of the gen when there arent many games

[ErogeMaster]

If you want 100% ps3 backwards compatibility just play ur ps3, its just as easy as that.

[Master of Unlocking]

While BC of PS3 games on the PS4 would be much appreciated, it's never happening. The two systems don't speak the same language at all. It's a bummer we can't have the best of both worlds: buy an Xbox and you can play a selection of Xbox 360 games on top of the current-gen third-party games and no real exclusive games to speak of, buy Playstation and you get to play some of the best exclusive games of this generation with almost no BC to speak of. Decisions decisions...
Frankly, both Microsoft fans and Sony fans are right on this.
Everyone's a wiener! :D

[Skankinruby]

The general public simply doesn't not care. Even the ones that say they do typically are just trying to counter the growing insignificance of the xbox franchise. And if your gaming library is digital like mine this is a non issue anyway as they can simply make your existing library playable on ps5.

[starchild]

That's the whole point. Your existing library will NOT work on the PS5 unless it is backwards compatible.

I think most normal gamers do care about backwards compatibility. For some it's a must have feature, for others it would be a nice to have feature, but most would agree it's a positive. It's only idiotic fanboys that argue against it and claim nobody cares about it.

[CR7JUVE1897]

Unless the backwards compatibility included upgrades a la the Xbox One X, then no.

I already have 2 PS3 at home.

[Antnee534]

I just want to say yesterday i did see a best of ps3 tab on psn front page. I clicked into it then the store crashed so i dont know if this could lead to something.

[jznrpg]

Just keep your PS3 like I did. Cell processor is a pain to emulate and not really worth the investment imo. Maybe they do it someday but I don’t think they will , BC isn’t important enough to spend the money needed to do it correctly.

[blacktiger]

I look for new games only, old games are done. No need refresh my memory when much more great games coming out everyday!

[DA_SHREDDER]

So awesome to see the ps3 finally catch up to the ps2. I see it having even longer legs on top of that. The ps3 was def ahead of its time.

[PUBG]

That's OK, if Sony won't do it, then the RCPS3 emulator will, and appears that they are making some good headway.

[Psychosious]

Do people not understand the architecture differences in the cell processors? Ffs it’s not simple, not worth it. Bad repercussion due to system arch choice.

[ILostMyMind]

Good. But everyone with, at least, half of a brain already know that.

[Elda]

My PS3 is right next to my Pro when I want to play PS3 games.I went back to playing PixelJunk Eden on my PS3,love the game & it's Tech/House soundtrack.

[King_Lothric]

Because the majority of the PlayStation installbase is busy playing new and awesome games and doesn't care about playing old games so they have not asked for it. Is not needed when a consequent stream of amazing exclusive games is on the system.

BC is a good to have feature that help consoles the first years when there is no games still available.

[Mithan]

In the future streaming services will make all of this redundant anyways. It is FAR easier for them to just keep making the Playstation Now streaming service more robust, than offer backwards compatibility each time their is a new console.

I would suspect that at some point, we will have a lot of the PS1 through to PS3 and then PS4 games being playable on streaming services and that will be easy for them to keep up to date with new consoles. Much easier than recompiling or recoding specific parts of games to make them work on newer systems.

That being said, yes I would like to play the Resistance 1-3 titles on the PS4, without having to go find and hook up my original 60GB PS3, which was huge. I guess I could drop $100 and get one of the super slim versions, but whatever. I don't want a tonne of consoles in the house either.

[potedude]

Cash memory? I like the sound of that....

[EpicFruityPie]

TBH why the hell is backward compatibility such a big thing for ppl if you want to play old games keep ya old consoles I buy new consoles for new games jeez get over it

[FallenAngel1984]

Still doesn’t mean PS4 shouldn’t naturally be backwards compatible with PS1 & PS2 games

[LandoCalrissiano]

Playing through God of War now and kind of disappointed. I want to try the others and see how different it is. Guess I cant.

[Thomaticus]

Can we get PS1 and PS2 backwards compatibility?!

[DVAcme]

There's a particular gaming system making a big fuss about it's backward compatibility. How's it going for them?

Oh, that's right, NOT GOOD.

The PS5 will most probably have backward compatbility, since there won't be a radical difference in hardware architecturr like there was with the PS3, but make no mistake, this is just a nice extra. A system's main selling point should genits current gen games.

[Stanjara]

The only thing that I have problem with is that there are games from PS3 that are running on PS4 through emulation or a new engine, but they are separate in the PS store. Why Last of us isn't bundled so that the game is downloadable on PS3 and PS4 when you buy it? My question is what happens when ps5 arrives. Will we have backward compatibility but separate purchase for each system?

[Pyrofire95]

Are people still asking for this. It's impossible. The cell architecture is too funky for the ps4 to emulate.

[MeteorPanda]

havn't we already moved on from ps3 compatibility? why does this article exist? It used a completly different processing system

[C-H-E-F]

PSNOW exists, and it's not profitable. No reason to spend millions on something that won't benefit you this is where they messed up last generation 599$ ps3 because they added BC. I still can't get over the fact that I paid 599$ for the ps3 and 399$ for the PS4 smh.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Because of PS NOW

[SinisterKieran]

don't really care about it tbh
ps4 has a lot of exclusives to play.