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

A weak feature + BS headline = ?

[Anonymous Coward]

A useless feature

I think the Sony memory-card features from the PS1 and PS2 isn't even a weak selling point. The reasoning seems to be, for example, that you throw in your GTA disc and carry on where you left off, thanks to the import feature, on your new PS3.

Why? You didn't buy the PS3 to play PS2 games. If you have a PS2 (or PS1) memory card, you probably have a PS2, and you either own or can rent the PS2 game related to that data.

It is a possibility that the PS4, which doesn't exist except in imaginations, won't use optical media, not a certainty like the headline suggests.

The only reason I can think of to do this is so that you can import your data from a previous game in the series (such as franchise data from a previous Madden game, for example) to the next game in the series on the PS3. And that, I gotta say, is at best a weak selling point.

BS Headline

The article states that a Sony exec would "be surprised" if the PS4 used optical media.

And?

Sony's company-line states that they believe the PS3 is good enough to last until well through the next decade. This means that the Sony president would be surprised to learn that we haven't evolved past optical media in 10 years from now.

Eh yeah because the gamecube was compatible

[SmallFurryCreature]

with all or indeed any previous nintendo game console? Oh wait, it isn't. Neither is the Wii compatible with anything but the gamecube. Or is nintendo going to accept my catridges and give me a free download instead?

Hate Sony all you want but they are the only console maker to really make their next generation console capable of playing previous generations. Granted it is far fewer generations and they didn't have a media shift but still.

I think this time it is definitly Nintendo who is the one doing the looking. Looking at sony and realizing people don't like having their living room cluttered with consoles and expect the new one to play old games and looking towards MS and its live service and the option to download games as a way of getting money from games that do not warrant a full box price release.

Backwords compatibility

[richcoder]

So let's get this straight... PS3 is backwords compatible with memory cards and XBOX360 is backwords compatible with games.

I can see why a lot of people are worried about the PS3.

-rich