XBox One and PS4: Backward compatability on digital content?
Well the new systems are finally coming, and while I upgraded to the PS3 and XBox 360 as soon as they came out, I think I'm going to hold off for a while on both of these buggers.
Also, yes, the only reason I'm discussing this in my blog is because it gets me hitsI want to sell you books. These books:
Both of which are available on your Kindle and free Kindle apps on devices everywhere. And coming soon:
Anyways, that shameless advertising aside, my interest in both new systems was weighing somewhat heavily on one thing. Backwards compatibility.
I know. I know. Eventually we all stop playing our old games and move on to new ones. Out with the old. In with the new. If you like them so much, just keep your old systems and play them until they die.
...Until. They. Die.
Can you guys imagine if Apple said, "All the music you purchased on iTunes is incompatible with the new iPhone. Yes, the new phone is better designed, more powerful, and clearly an orgasmic celebration of cutting edge technology. But if you want to use it listen to all those Celine Dion albums you purchased from us for our previous model, you're just going to have to go fuck yourselves."
...No, I don't listen to Celine Dion.
Not to make a big fuss about it. I'm sure by the time the next-gen Uncharted or Batman game is released, I'll talk myself into purchasing one system or another. But as far as current gen goes, I'm on my fifth XBox 360. Granted, I only paid for the first and last one due to some excellent customer service in the face of a lemon of a product. But all that time, I've been purchasing content from their online stores. Add-ons and games. I'm one of the suckers who purchases all the costume packs and horse armor. So I've put a serious investment in getting the most out of my gaming systems. With the new XBox coming out, when this latest one dies I'm suddenly given the option: Do I give up the brand because clearly they make crap hardware? Do I purchase another 360 because, my god, there isn't enough Castle Crashers in the world to satisfy my appetite? Or do I say good-bye to the glory days of Castle Crashers and ummm... I don't know... Hexic(?) because the next gen is where it's at and despite my earlier purchases, I probably wasn't going to play them that much more anyway?
Or as another example: I purchased several Final Fantasy games on the PlayStation Network Store. They were PS1 games available for $5-$10 and emulated for my enjoyment. On the PlayStation 4, when those games are inevitably made available because they're cash cows, will Sony honor my previous purchase and allow me to download those games again for free? Or because it's new hardware and probably some different little emulation trick, are they expecting another five or ten bucks? Because that's pretty sleazy. And it doesn't just go for older titles available on the current system. This generation we've all blown plenty of money on HD remasters of our favorites. Such as Shadow of the Colossus, which is a game that came out late in the last gen cycle. It wasn't even that long ago, and already many of us were willing to throw down another $20 to download it. Or pay $40 for the disc that included Ico. Anyway, these are games that I loved years ago, that I still love today, and that I want to be able to play for years and years. I want to be able to sit down with all my little nieces and nephews in ten or fifteen years, put in Shadow of the Colossus, and say, "All right. Check this shit." I refuse to believe people will be remaking and remastering this game over and over for years, making it HD-ier(?).
I know it's different technology, but blu-ray players still play DVDs and CDs. Surely Sony and Microsoft could've just designed their new products with their customers in mind. They easily could've said, "You've been supporting our companies for generations of hardware cycles, all of us enjoying a good thing. We want to make sure you can still get the most out of everything you've already invested in us. Yes! Of course you can still play all your old games on our new systems. Why would you even have to ask?"
Rather, the matter was handled by both companies in saying, "Nah." And then metaphorically shrugging and putting out their big ol' corporate cigars on our eyeballs.
...There's probably also a few teabagging jokes to include afterward.
Anyways, it's a crap decision. Both companies know it. We'll see how they handle the inevitable release of digital content. Something tells me we'll be pretty disappointed.
Also, yes, the only reason I'm discussing this in my blog is because it gets me hitsI want to sell you books. These books:
Both of which are available on your Kindle and free Kindle apps on devices everywhere. And coming soon:
Anyways, that shameless advertising aside, my interest in both new systems was weighing somewhat heavily on one thing. Backwards compatibility.
I know. I know. Eventually we all stop playing our old games and move on to new ones. Out with the old. In with the new. If you like them so much, just keep your old systems and play them until they die.
...Until. They. Die.
Can you guys imagine if Apple said, "All the music you purchased on iTunes is incompatible with the new iPhone. Yes, the new phone is better designed, more powerful, and clearly an orgasmic celebration of cutting edge technology. But if you want to use it listen to all those Celine Dion albums you purchased from us for our previous model, you're just going to have to go fuck yourselves."
...No, I don't listen to Celine Dion.
Not to make a big fuss about it. I'm sure by the time the next-gen Uncharted or Batman game is released, I'll talk myself into purchasing one system or another. But as far as current gen goes, I'm on my fifth XBox 360. Granted, I only paid for the first and last one due to some excellent customer service in the face of a lemon of a product. But all that time, I've been purchasing content from their online stores. Add-ons and games. I'm one of the suckers who purchases all the costume packs and horse armor. So I've put a serious investment in getting the most out of my gaming systems. With the new XBox coming out, when this latest one dies I'm suddenly given the option: Do I give up the brand because clearly they make crap hardware? Do I purchase another 360 because, my god, there isn't enough Castle Crashers in the world to satisfy my appetite? Or do I say good-bye to the glory days of Castle Crashers and ummm... I don't know... Hexic(?) because the next gen is where it's at and despite my earlier purchases, I probably wasn't going to play them that much more anyway?
Or as another example: I purchased several Final Fantasy games on the PlayStation Network Store. They were PS1 games available for $5-$10 and emulated for my enjoyment. On the PlayStation 4, when those games are inevitably made available because they're cash cows, will Sony honor my previous purchase and allow me to download those games again for free? Or because it's new hardware and probably some different little emulation trick, are they expecting another five or ten bucks? Because that's pretty sleazy. And it doesn't just go for older titles available on the current system. This generation we've all blown plenty of money on HD remasters of our favorites. Such as Shadow of the Colossus, which is a game that came out late in the last gen cycle. It wasn't even that long ago, and already many of us were willing to throw down another $20 to download it. Or pay $40 for the disc that included Ico. Anyway, these are games that I loved years ago, that I still love today, and that I want to be able to play for years and years. I want to be able to sit down with all my little nieces and nephews in ten or fifteen years, put in Shadow of the Colossus, and say, "All right. Check this shit." I refuse to believe people will be remaking and remastering this game over and over for years, making it HD-ier(?).
I know it's different technology, but blu-ray players still play DVDs and CDs. Surely Sony and Microsoft could've just designed their new products with their customers in mind. They easily could've said, "You've been supporting our companies for generations of hardware cycles, all of us enjoying a good thing. We want to make sure you can still get the most out of everything you've already invested in us. Yes! Of course you can still play all your old games on our new systems. Why would you even have to ask?"
Rather, the matter was handled by both companies in saying, "Nah." And then metaphorically shrugging and putting out their big ol' corporate cigars on our eyeballs.
...There's probably also a few teabagging jokes to include afterward.
Anyways, it's a crap decision. Both companies know it. We'll see how they handle the inevitable release of digital content. Something tells me we'll be pretty disappointed.
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