Blogcritics Comments on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Comment by ShooPoo on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:35:20 EDT

BC will be a lesser problem as newer firmware updates are posted. It's just a matter of time.

Comment by Justin McGuirk on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:43:15 EDT

@Mark Buckingham Just to curb your misinformed understanding of 'backwards compatibility', being a software developer and a businessman myself, these decisions that Sony made are simply 'transitionary'issues which can be rectified in a short period of time. The Sony Playstation 3 is machine that: -has full software upgradability (you can install other OS as well as patch up defects through regular system updates). Software emulation would consistently be upgraded in cumulative patches until 100% backwards compatibility is achieved as if it has an Emotion chip installed again. In fact, DVD/PS1/PS2 upscaling is one of the sweet features of the PS3 which is a big bonus not present with previous generation consoles. -partial hardware upgradability (HDD only but in a generous way because Sony actually makes the user choose his/her preferred compatible hardware component to replace the one that comes with the machine). On the 360, the user would have to buy a 'Microsoft only' hard drive as an add on to their diminutive disc space provided at a hefty price. -Backwards compatibility is not determined by the sales quantity of the games but rather on the technical specifications and complexity within the timeline previous generation games were released. Some higher selling games have the same probability of not being supported by PS3's software emulation when compared with lower selling games. Then again, this is completely rectifiable through cumulative or even single system updates. -Another point you misunderstand, if Sony didn't care about PS1/PS2 gamers, they would have killed off the production of PS2 hardware. But as you know, that is not the case and they are still actually releasing some games for the previous generation system. Your assumption that Sony is killing off backwards compatibility because it wants to force people to accept only PS3 games and PSN titles is completely baseless. You have no proof, and this is basically your accusation of the matter. Mircosoft already killed the original XBOX. So did Nintendo with the Gamecube. Only Sony is still producing and supporting previous generation and 'current' generation systems completely. "If you're on the fence about getting a PS3 and really want FULL compatibility with your PS1 and PS2 libraries, you'd better get moving. Go figure, Ken Kutaragi retires, and they do away with his promise to keep universal PlayStation brand compatibility. Coincidence? I think not. Factor in Sony's unsavory PSP graffiti scheme and viral blog campaign, and it almost seems like Sony wants to alienate and insult its fan base." - quoting from your own statements, your writing seems to be more of a product of rumor mongering, technical incapacity and lastly, malicious ignorance on your part to opinionate about an issue that you don't fully understand A lot of people already understand the implications of this issue so what you're doing now by writing this so called article/blog dated August 10, 2007 is just beating on a dead horse. It's gotten old. It stinks.

Comment by Ken Edwards on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:39:03 EDT

Yea we all make typos, don't we ;)

Comment by Mikael W. on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:09:19 EDT

and of course i meant 1080p. it's a typo for you people who didn't understand. point moot.

Comment by brandon on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:26:33 EDT

Ken is correct. NTSC SD format is 720 by 480 (vertical bars by horizontal bars) hence "480i" That is a 4:3 ratio though. HD is 16:9. 16/9 = x/1080 x=1920 You end up at 1920 x 1080 The reason they use the horizontal number as the name of the resolution is because they are the lines that are interlaced when the signal is on the move.

Comment by brandon on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:20:05 EDT

*it's not true. maybe i should proof read before I write.

Comment by brandon on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:18:49 EDT

Brandon... "First of all, I just Googled "playstation 3" and BlogCritics isn't even in the first 30 results" Google NEWS. You were #1. Not you're number 5. It would not be bad if you were in the regular list but you are in the NEWS group so more people are going to think this is real news. Google is not to blame. You should thank god that this happened because soo many people who would "have no idea this page existed are redirected here. You should not be so ignorant to web technology esp. since you are a blogger. "Second, what's "irresponsible journalism" about this? The title tells exactly what the article's about" It's true mark. The PS3 is not losing backwards com. It's a big lie. It was irresponsible of you to use that title to begin with and now everyone who googles ps3 news is going to see it. Blame google? That's weak. "Think before you comment." Think before you write.

Comment by Ken Edwards on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:09:57 EDT

Last I checked the PS3 displayed 1920x1080, and that the HD standard was called 1080p. That would be 1080 lines of vertical resolution.

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:53:29 EDT

The negativity comes from Sony going back on their word, sniping Microsoft for doing things they ended up doing themselves, and their holier-than-thou attitude towards their consumer base. There is a whole paragraph in the piece about how software emu could be a very good thing for whatever games they do it for. The downside is, as of this writing, there's no full list for what US releases are going to be supported, but it will almost surely be less than the list supported by having the EE under the hood. And if your PS3 hard drive fails, needs replaced, etc., you lose your emulation files and have to redownload. This was a FYI for people if they wanted to get the hassle-free emulation, or take their chances with the unknowns later.

Comment by Mikael Wedlund on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:35:50 EDT

Matt, it's interesting that you choose to only dispute 2 things of what i wrote, 1. 1920P, seeing as the PS3 is highly capable of it i think it's a legitimate remark, the fact that the emotion engine is not capable of it is also legit. running a PS2 game in high resolution makes it a hell of a lot nicer, maybe you should try it. 2. i mentioned that all games i've tried on it works perfectly and for me that give ME a 100% bc. i didn't say it did for everyone else, in the writing moment the EU PAL software BC percentage is the same as the US NTSC hardware BC percentage, if not higher since each firmware update adds to the BC, while the hardware stays the same. everything in this article is trying to point to how negative it is with software emulation, no one running software emulation for PS2/1 titles on the PS3 is complaining about it because it is working more or less flawless, so what's so bad about it. i'm sorry matt but i'm not buying your point in this. the emotion engine does NOT support "full backwards compatibility" and software emulation is probably the only way they can ever reach a "full compatibility" which you seem to be so interested in. and my point being, if you own a US PS3 and decide to push the button to enable either upscaling or smoothing on your PS2 game, then you ARE NOT using the emotion engine anymore, so why even try to make it a point that the lack of the emotion engin is so bad? the point is obselete. the Emotion engine is obselete. why try to tell people how negative it is when software emulation is working at least as good as the EE, if not better. you may not agree with me but i have a valid point here. sure, the they're cutting the chip because of cost reductions, they are still loosing money on it so your point is flawed.

Comment by Ken Edwards on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:24:25 EDT

I know, who reads the words under the headline anymore. Its so overrated. Maybe The Washington Post should only write headlines from now on. And Mark, he was talking of Google News, of which it is at the top, with the original headline. And Brandon, it was an honest mistake, headline fubars happen all the time (even in The Washington Post!) so lay off (not just you) this "irresponsible journalism" and the "anti-Sony" crap. The FACT is that Sony has taken out hardware emulation. If you read the article, you would have known that is what this article was about. Now on earth is it anti-PS3 to complain about not having full hardware backwards compatibility? Am I being anti-360 when I bitch that I can't play all the original Xbox games on the 360? I am I being anti-Wii if I write a news piece about the latest firmware upgrade disabling the Freeloader disc, and complaining about it? No, I would not be anti-anything. Mark owns a PS3, and you think he is hating on the PS3 because it is losing hardware emulation in N. A. I just do not get your logic, and am not going to try and figure it out. Oh, one more thing, I love the commenter who used the Xbox 360's large power brick as a "valid" reason in his/her argument. Really, that made me laugh, thanks for that one. The power brick INSIDE the PS3 is tiny, isn't it.

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:30:52 EDT

Brandon... First of all, I just Googled "playstation 3" and BlogCritics isn't even in the first 30 results, let alone topping the chart. Bzzt, wrong. Even if it did, blame Google's search heuristics. Second, what's "irresponsible journalism" about this? The title tells exactly what the article's about, and reading comments and counterpoints isn't required to get the gist of what the piece is about. Think before you comment.

Comment by brandon on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:20:22 EDT

It's a shame that this is the first thing that pops up when you google "playstation 3" and it has the original title. You need to be more responsible as a journalist. Many people just look at headlines. They don't go in and read the articles themselves and 80 percent don't go in and read the comments to see all the counter points.

Comment by Matt Paprocki on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:23:41 EDT

Mikael, To go and shred someone like that claiming they don't know what they're talking about and toss something out there like 1920p doesn't exactly make your point. And this statement: "true it's only around 20 games, but IMO that gets me a 100% BC factor." So because it plays the 20 games YOU own it's perfect? What if the 20 games I own don't play at all? Should I start spouting off that it's not BC at all? It's amazing to me how people only think of themselves sometimes.

Comment by Mikael W. on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:10:42 EDT

Alright, seriously, this article is totally misleading and clearly anti-sony. get your facts straight before you talk shit about a product. i have a EU PS3, without the EE. it plays every game i've tried on it perfectly, true it's only around 20 games, but IMO that gets me a 100% BC factor. AND, something you've obviously missed, if you use the AA or upscaling features that came in FW 1.8 then your PS3 with EE bypasses the emotion engine and runs the game on software emulation instead since the EE chip is incapable of running AA or upscaling. software emulation BC is increasing with every firmware update and right now it's somewhere around 90% on PS1/PS2 PAL titles. AND they run AA in 1920P resolution on those titles. how is that inferior to the emotion engine? the emotion engine should have been left out of the machine to begin with.

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:31:44 EDT

AzUlo I remembered reading about early quirks with the PS3--like not being able to download stuff in the background while doing other things--and thinking, "What oversights!" The X360 got that right at least. But with the firmware updates, they've added a lot of nice features to the PS3. Sure, I'd have rather had them out of the box, but better late than never. I also don't mind them adding content and new modes to games after release via DLC. What I don't like is when a company releases a broken game and HAS to patch it later just for basic functionality. PC users have dealt with this for a long time, but I'd hoped it wouldn't make the jump to consoles. Now I did hear some rumbling recently that Konami might port MGS4 to other systems for profitability's sake (since the PS3 isn't exactly selling out these days), but no indication as to when or which system(s).

Comment by Let's hear it for the facts... on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:16:13 EDT

The is NOTHING wrong with European BC!!

Comment by AzUlo on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:05:12 EDT

even though sony has lost the emotion engine, they deliver the goods and have kept their promise by updating their emulation through a majority of updates. PS3s are more reliable then the 360, why? because the ps3 didnt have to revise their console unlike the 360 that had to go 3 revisions to get it right! AKA the ring of death and that massive block power supply the x360 has. Sony is better if u look at it from this stand point. There is soo much content that u can do with the ps3 now then back then. I believe ppl who have the ps3 and say it suk is because they dont update their friggn ps3, if u update it to latest firmware it is awsome. i bought one and i dont regret it since MGS4 is exclusive to ps3 :D

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:21:53 EDT

RCM No hard feelings...there have been a lot of negative comments, so maybe it got to me a little more than usual. I understand timing is important, and I WANTED to have this story up when it first broke, but "real life" (i.e., those paying gigs) kept slowing it down. Better late than never?

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:10:16 EDT

Bill I agree, Sony has done a number of hypocritical things since the PS3 launch, many of the same things I mentioned here If I wasn't so wary of the 360 hardware failure problems, and so much of the 360 stuff wasn't also available on the PC (Gears of War is now coming to the PC, too), I'd be more inclined to get one of those.

Comment by RCM on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 22:53:05 EDT

My apologies, I didn't mean to attack or insult you. This news is just really old by net standards and sort of seems thrown together. Generally BC be it through hardware or software is something core gamers (those who frequent game-centric news sites) care about. As for me doing something about the lack of BC news, when they start paying me I'll gladly be their news guy. Again, my apologies if you were offended.

Comment by Bill on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 22:52:31 EDT

This is an overpriced console, sold in two SKU's,( criticized MS for two SKU's)...That promised full backwards compatibility,...(Criticized MS for not being backwards compatible), Has SH*T for software, and has now dumped what is their first two chassis (Known as SKU's) of this game for a lower cost to manufacture chassis,(Third SKU) that which is the Euro PS3 without the "(stupid marketing term)" emotiom engine... We didn't eat up the the original PS3 with the PS2 chips, so they DUMPED them to clear stock and saturate the market (Therefore LOOKING like the demand for the overpriced bloated console) hed gained acceptance. Now the latest Madden games come out at HALF the framerate - Again - This console cant do at $599 what an XBOX360 can do BETTER at $349. I bought one at launch like an idiot and paid WAY too much because I bought into the hype. Don't do what I did... My 360 is used daily, if not to game, but to stream Live and recorded TV like, but better than an Apple TV. My PS3, has four inches of dust, now that I'm tired of Resistance...ask PS3 owners (that aren't fanboys), you'll hear the same thing... (Can't WAIT for Bioshock and Blue Dragon) Thanks for listening...

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 22:45:48 EDT

RCM So just because it didn't happen five seconds ago, people that don't exclusively frequent gaming-news sites shouldn't be made aware or discuss it? BC doesn't have an overwhelming amount of gaming news as it is. If you have a beef with it and are such a proud "gaming journalist," why don't you fix that? Do something constructive at least instead of attacking me over it.

Comment by RCM on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 22:19:19 EDT

This is news? This has been known for a while. Way to be current. Can't believe this was published on BC, doesn't make me proud to be a contributer. Futhermore, doesn't make me proud to be a game journalist. Sorry to be harsh but this shouldn't have been published. Too late and too lame...

Comment by Mark Buckingham on North American PlayStation 3 To Lose Hardware-based Backward Compatibility

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:42:10 EDT

What makes the "best gaming experience" and "the best value in gaming" varies greatly from person to person. I have a Wii and a PS3 and play the Wii a heck of a lot more than the PS3 (not counting watching movies and playing old PS1/PS2 games...thanks Emotion Engine). That doesn't mean I don't like the PS3 or acknowledge that it's well manufactured. There just isn't much available for it that *I* want right now. But equal to or more than either of those I play my PC. Personal tastes vary. Deal with it. Fun is in the hands and minds of the beholder.