Now, as Sony has promised backward compatibility on the PlayStation 5 - for both discs and digital copies of PS4 games - that PS3 cell processor looks like the greatest misstep in creating a greater ecosystem of games. While Sony used this generation to look forward – developing stunning console exclusives and even releasing a (relatively) affordable VR headset – the Xbox One team focused on making more and more Xbox and 360 games backward compatible, even enhancing many of those titles, to boot. Not only did it mean that players had to start buying digital versions of games they already owned on disc, but because of the PS3’s proprietary processor and the decision to make the PS4 a more developer-friendly console, the PlayStation 4 does not have the ability to play PS3 discs, either. The PS3 was supposed to be an awe-inspiring system, one that could play any PlayStation game - from 1995 to 2006 and beyond - it was to be the ultimate PlayStation. PS3 Creates Backward-Compatible ProblemsĪt launch, the PlayStation 3 – like Sony’s previous generation – supported full backward compatibility as well. The Wii had just as much physical design as the PlayStation 2 dedicated to playing games from the previous hardware cycle, letting players carry over their save data and continue to use their trusty WaveBird. Despite the Wii’s emphasis on motion, it fully supported Gamecube games – even including ports for Gamecube controllers. Historically, backward compatibility has primarily been a console launch feature, one that - as a console’s native library grows - becomes less relevant as the generation goes on.īy the time the next generation - the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Wii - rolled around, both of Sony’s competitors had implemented backward compatibility into their console designs – though it was in a super limited capacity, some original Xbox discs could be played on Xbox 360. In that sense, Sony was years ahead of the curve. It was the first console that was an upgrade, not a clean slate. Letting players use their original PlayStation memory cards and DualShock controllers to play their old games was crucial to branding the console as the successor to the PlayStation.

To prevent Tomba! from crashing, for example, players had to watch the entire intro sequence play out every time they launched the game.Īnd for the first time, it wasn’t just the games that carried over to the new generation. The PlayStation 2 could play every original PlayStation game at launch, even if some games, like Metal Gear Solid, suffered from compatibility issues. “They knew PlayStation was a huge name and deliberately named it the PlayStation 2.” It wasn’t the ‘Super PlayStation’ and it didn’t take on a whole new name like the Dreamcast. “With PlayStation 2, it was the first time was a big selling point in the marketplace,” Jeremy Parish, Media Curator at Limited Run Games, said in regards to the naming scheme.

Nba street vol 2 backwards compatible