PS3's Smart Back-Compat, PS4 Doesn't Play Discs

Good news for Sony fans looking forward to the PS3. Eurogamer reports that the system will feature backwards compatibility with memory cards as well as games. From the article: "An update to Sony's PlayStation 3 website has revealed that you will be able to use older PlayStation memory cards with PlayStation 3 - providing you buy an adapter. An entry in the official PS3 FAQ states: 'To use saved data on a PlayStation 2 memory card, you must copy the data onto a virtual memory card within the hard disk.'" Microsoft could have really used something like that for the Xbox/360 switchover. Relatedly, Sony is looking ahead ... way ahead, even to their next console. Wired has a piece looking at the future of downloads in the games industry. From that article: "Microsoft is releasing an HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. Both companies are even touting the ability of these new discs to play movies in even higher hi-def. That struggle, however, is ultimately meaningless. 'I'd be amazed if the PlayStation 4 has a physical disc drive,' [Sony's Phil] Harrison says."

Comments

If Sony's got a foot left, they'll be shooting it.

[Gothic_Walrus]

'I'd be amazed if the PlayStation 4 has a physical disc drive,' [Sony's Phil] Harrison says.

Considering the reaction to the PS3 thus far, I don't think it's safe to make ANY predictions about the PS4. There will almost definitely be one, yes, but who knows what Sony will have to do to make it successful?

Actually, scratch that - it's an idiotic idea. No longevity once Sony moves on to a new console, no physical ownership, no used games market to help make the hobby more affordable...and there's that fact that broadband still isn't widespread enough or fast enough to support the massive game downloads that this generation of consoles, let alone the next one, is going to demand.

Something tells me that, if Sony eliminates the disc drive, it'll be an even bigger blunder than anything they've done to date.

You know they're getting really desperate....

[ciw42]

....to find some good news when they're making a big thing about being able to your old PS2 memory cards. Especially when you consider that you need to buy an adapter, and that you can't use the data on the card as such, only a virtual version of it copied to the machine's HD. Therefore what this *actually* means that you in fact *can't* use your old cards, you can only convert the data, assuming you're prepared to shell out for another piece of optional hardware, and I dread to think how much these adapters are going to cost.

This is hardly a major positive for the PS3, but they're trying desperately to dressing it up as one.

If you've got a memory card with game data on, then I'd say it's more than a little likely that you've also got a PS2. Why not just save yourself the effort (and additional cost) and run your old saved games on that?

I guess that's the end of backwards compatibility.

[Blimey85]

I can understand Sony wanting to move to a diskless system. That should help with piracy and a lot of other issues however they forgot one huge thing which is backwards compatibility. The reason I bought a PS2 right after it came out was that it could play all of my PS1 games and it had a dvd drive. The reason I'm wanting a PS3 right when it comes out is that it can play all of my PS2 games and it has a BluRay drive. The reason I won't be buying a PS4 is that it can't play my old games (unless of course they do what Nintendo is doing and release them all online but that's for a fee... why should I pay to dl games I already own) and won't have some spiffy new drive. For a while my PS2 was my only dvd player and I expect my PS3 to be my only BluRay drive for quite some time.

I think Sony should focus on making a cheaper console when it comes time to design the PS4. I think Nintendo will do quite well with the WII partly because it's the cheapest and partly because of the access to old games. Old games aren't as much fun as they were when we first got them but a lot of them still have many hours of fun left in them. Sony and Nintendo both seem to understand this, although this is the first time that Nintendo has offered anything like this. Sony knew backwards compat was important with the PS2. It's a damn shame MS missed the boat on this. I know the 360 is somewhat compat but I've heard everything from some games don't work at all to they all work great so I don't know who to believe. I have a lot of XBox games but they weren't all mainstream games that were uber popular so I've no idea if they will work. I never had a problem with any of my PS1 games in my PS2. Here's hoping the PS3 doesn't dissapoint in that area.

Re:If Sony's got a foot left, they'll be shooting

[powerlord]

Considering I can buy a 2GB flash drive for ~50$ (on sale now at Best Buy), I don't see why the 'next gen' media couldn't be solid state again. Assuming the trend continues, the price in bulk might be competitive enough to make it happen.

They also could use something akin to Sony's MagicGate (tm) format, where the data is encrypted in the drive itself, except that the content is somehow tied to a TPM chip in the PS4. This would give them the advantage of a solid state memory design, combined with tying it to their platform and "securing" the data from piracy. I would be surprised if I'm the first to think of this.

The only reason, I think, that consoles moved to optical media was because of the density increase and price to produce. If solid state memory improves enough and is cheap enough I see no reason to think colsole manufacturers wouldn't jump back to making carts.

I just hope they throw in an add-on Optical Drive so we can play our PS1/2/3 games/movies on there as well.

Re:don't make the mistake

[Manchot]

But Price is almost never an issue for the "hot product" come holiday season (Remember when tickle me elmo's and cabbage patch kids were going for hundreds of dollars? Parents were fighting each other in Walmart just to get one) and consoles ALWAYS drop in price as time goes on. In a year or two this won't even be an issue.

You're mixing up cause and effect. Though the hot product has sold for hundreds of dollars in previous years, the reason it was so expensive was because it was selling so well that it was impossible to find. Most people who did find it paid for it at retail price, with very few people paying the hundreds of dollars. That is, what you hear about is anecdotal evidence, not the norm. For the PS3 to be the hot product of the year, lots of people would have to buy it in the first place, which isn't likely to happen if you can get a Wii and six games for the same price.

Re:If Sony's got a foot left, they'll be shooting

[mrchaotica]

See, for me it is ideological. Between the "you-don't-really-own-it" aspect and the lack of a Linux or Mac OS version, I can't bring myself to reward Valve by giving them my money.

Re:I'm with you

[badasscat]

And my grandma still insists on using her phone book, her home phone, radio for weather and the newspaper for the news.

I use the internet, the internet, the internet and the internet.

And she can do a lot of things you can't. Namely, look up a phone number in a power failure. USE her phone in a power failure. Read the news while sitting on the crapper or in the subway.

More importantly, she knows to diversify her information sources. You rely on one data path. That data path goes down, for any reason, and you're officially screwed.

Those of us who have been around long enough - even those of us who are just young enough to not really remember the days before the internet - all know the benefits of this data diversification. We also know the benefits of tangible goods vs. virtual goods, because we've all experienced the headaches that come from "losing" your virtual goods - even though we may still have the media that may contain them.

You're underestimating the number of people who would just never buy a console that didn't support physical media. I wouldn't, the guy you're replying to wouldn't and the guy he's replying to wouldn't. There are a lot of us out there. Add in the fact that there will probably always be at least one competitor willing to shuck the current convention and provide what the other systems lack, and I doubt any console will ever succeed without physical media support. I'm serious. Even if we're talking DS-size (or smaller) memory chips... there has to be something you can hold in your hand that contains the game on it, separate from the game console. Something you can buy in a store, trade with friends, borrow, collect, re-sell, back up or whatever. That's just for starters. I'm sure there are people who, like you, are perfectly willing to trust the internet and their connected consoles for all their gaming needs, but the fact that even a number of people here on tech-centric /. are not should tell you something. As far as I'm concerned, doing away with physical goods goes against human nature itself. It will not be a successful strategy, any more than e-books so far have been a successful strategy (or ever will be).

(It can be *part* of a larger successful strategy, but it is not a strategy unto itself. Games have to be available on physical media, end of story.)

Re:i've never much cared for backwards compatibili

[smash]

I disagree.

I would much rather have the one console that can play all my old stuff, than having 2-3 power strips, a heap of cables, consoles everywhere, a heap of switch-boxes, etc.

Maybe having electronics crap everywhere looks impressive to your nerd friends or something, but personally I think that a minimal amount of equipment in my living room to get the job done looks far less cluttered (and thus, better).