PixlBit

And that's why you don't adopt early.

I tend to doubt somewhat this new console generation will be as apocalyptic as everyone thinks, but I'm not going to have to find that out for myself until I know it's not as apocalyptic as everyone thinks. Cause if it is as bad as the internet thinks, the early adopters will have found that out for me.

I was planning on waiting a while before deciding to make a purchase. Most new games I want are on current gen this year, so there is that.

I don't think Sony had much of a choice unless they wanted their console to be very expensive. It isn't cost effective. I think cloud computing will take over and at least digital games will likely give us a chance to own them. Although cloud computing in my opinion sucks worse than digital ownership.

Adding DVD playback is still expensive for Xbox and PS4, so if they wanted to "reduce the cost" of the hardware console why not remove DVD altogether, why support it? Why put in an outdated backward compatible technology to support video and not games? Microsoft themselves said backwards compatibility is "thinking backwards".

I dont see removing the dvd playback for a cheaper console guarantees much. Physical media still is a major force and it leaving would just give an advantage to Sony. Movies themselves can be over 4 gigs to download HD episodes of The Walking Dead before in the Philippines, it took me over 20 hours for ONE episode. We don't have the best internet and has some really terrible areas and many other countries are not outfitted with great internet. Going all streaming would just shrink the market by cutting out consumers that want to feel ownership of what they buy and more importantly a stable infrastructure.

Now apply your theory to video games. After all these systems are designed with "gamers" in mind. 

The thing is the guys calling the shots are not gamers themselves and are out of touch with the culture. A quick visit to ebay, amazon, or a store like Game & Trade might make them realize just how wrong they are when it comes to backward compatability. Older past gen games selling for upwards of $100 or more, retro boxes for NES and Genisis games are getting more popular. Especially since Sony and Nintendo both dropped the ball on their virtual consoles. Where are TMNT 2 and 3? Where is Super Double Dragon III? There are more than 80 games in the NES liabrary, there are hundreds completely unaccounted for never mind SNES, and PS1. Its like movies. People who really love movies can enjoy watching a black & white that was made 70 years just as much as a movie that came out today. People who really love video games are no different.

Totally agree. And that's why places like eBay have ridiculous prices for earlier generation software.

I think you got the gist of the article. It may not be an end to gaming, but what is supposed to happen to the games of the last 8 years on PS3 and 360? Some new games aren't even out yet. Just throw them to the wind or swap them all in at gamestop to buy a next gen console?

If they want to impress me with a system they need to have an inboard screen capture to post game vids on YouTube nowthats a great idea not tv dvd espn juicers etc lol!!! And i agree the sales on retro games is through the roof so are oldergen systems so if these suits who know nothing about games want to make entertainment systems with gaming capabilities someome is going to wise up and put out a real gaming console thats going to put all of them out of business,

Well isn't Sony's gakai streaming just video anyway? If you are goint to stream PS3 games and play them in a video format, is that even a game still? What exactly is it? 

I love the older games myself. The only thing I think we can do is preserve likable things for posterity. The day the government outlaws emulation will be a sad day, indeed.

Well, we know we can't rely on the game industry leaders to pick and choose what to preserve and what to throw away. I don't really agree with pirating but I'm starting to feel sympathetic, for old games I mean. If only we had a GOG.com for console games.

Well, sites like coolrom dot com aren't all that bad. They have a ton of files for retro games up to the sixth generation consoles. Personally, I don't agree with pirating the current generation of systems either, but for the discontinued systems, it's worth it for the video game community to take charge in that regard. It's definitely a grey area for sure. I really don't think they should be outlawed.

Yeah. It seems as though pirating might be the only form of preservation at the moment, old games of course.

I hear ya.  The Wiiu may be my last new console.  I will eventually buy it, even if I only use it for the new Xenoblade game (and I for see some good HD remakes).  If the Xbone rumors are true and the ps4 is similar, ima sit them out.  My biggest issue is the future.  I want to be able to play and buy these games in ten years.  I have bought an assload of ps2 games over the last 10 years.  Most of them used because they aren't available new.  If MS or Sony are out of the game system biz in ten years, then we are shit out of luck.  Sega was gone with a quickness.  Sony has lost billions of dollars over the last few years and are likely to spin off their entertainment business.  They cannot continue to bleed cash.  I hope consoles don't go download only, because that is not future proof.  And I cannot display downloads on my shelves.

That's the thing though, in particular with Nintendo, as the only console supporting backwards compatibility with Wii games, but not Gamecube games--well actually I've read in a few forums that the WiiU is capable of playing physical gamecube games but was "blocked" from doing so because Nintendo wants you to rebuy those games through VC. Speculation though. Nintendo hasn't done such a great job with VC games either, except on 3DS. They kind of suck too.

I really do want a console that can do everything, I know it's unrealistic of me but only because of the money involved with selling more hardware, consoles and games. I kind of understand it and it's a double edged sword as far as I'm concerned. The issue now lies with user support in my opinion. There are so many games released now with strong multiplayer components that they effectively become absolete (in many cases) after a few months. COD and the like have regular online communities supporting them for years but lots of other titles fall by the wayside because something else just comes out. Older titles provide quickplay opportunities and single player focus with campaigns that regularly take 20 plus hours (particularly in single player modes) with massive ammounts of replayability. The FPS genre suffers the most here, Goldeneye (my fave FPS of all time) is still fun to go back and play. This title alone will fade into obscurity because of the arguments of licsensing. It's a crying shame that the fat cats rule the roost as being able to play my 360 games on the X Box one would have been an immediate selling point for me.

That's the thing with those types of games, COD and even MMOs like World of Warcraft. I don't think people would be interested in playing those games as they are now like 10 to 20 years from now, but games like Super Mario, probably yes. But the COD and Halos rule gaming and dictate pricing models for the rest of us who don't care.

This gen is shaping up to be a very interesting case study when it comes to used games, and their broader implications for the industry as a whole.

Will the money publishers finally get for used sales make up for the loss of trade-ins and new game purchases due to restrictions on how resales are handled? Will it make a difference either which way in the wake of budgets that, inexplicably, are set to increase yet again? Despite many companies struggling to turn a consistent profit this gen, and some companies failing to adjust to HD gaming altogether?

One thing's for sure; if this stuff blows up in the industry's face, they aren't going to have any convenient scapegoats left to blame. It'll be all on them, and this time they won't be able to deny it. I expect them to try anyway, though.

Well I don't want the gaming Industry to implode, but it does irk me that they don't expect to support older games as they move forward with their master plans.

Between all the BS we saw this gen, and how it stands to get even worse on next gen consoles, I honestly wouldn't mind if there was a sharp industry contraction in response to all this nonsense. It's not like the industry doesn't have it coming--indeed, when you look at the studio closures and poor financials for a lot of publishers, it's already been happening.

Here's hoping Microsoft do something decent at E3. If they don't they're kind of doomed. Seriously. Also, this is why the PC is superior, as I can play any game from just about any date. I have access to all the classics.

What? PC offer you all your gaming needs? 

No, it doesn't offer mnay JRPGs or Tactical RPG's like Fire Emblem....

Honestly, Backwards Compatability doesn't bother me that much. By that I mean; other than PS2 (And PS3 to an extent), Wii/U, 360 (Limited BC), and DS, we haven't really had that many BC consoles in the short history of gaming. Perhaps later whenever they settle on a medium (Blu-Ray seems to be a sure bet), we'll see more BC than before!

The whole disposability of games has been a huge concern of mine this generation, too, mostly due to the nature of digital distribution and the inability of license holders to see the big picture.  For the latter, everybody wants their cut, from the voice actors to the musicians (which is understandable), but their demands are too high and it's blocking the release of older works.  I've seen this happen far too many times with DVD releases (look up The Odd Couple or Batman with Adam West for good examples) and it's doing a tremendous disservice to their preservation.  It's tragic that so many old/classic shows and broadcasts are forever lost, and the same thing is going to happen to games (well, it already has happened with games like Princess Crown and the Game Boy Mega Man) if something isn't done.

Of course, the nature of video games does make preservation harder than it has to be.  I don't like that being used an excuse, though.  If enthusiasts and studios alike can build accurate emulators, there is no reason for games to be lost.  Software emulation should have become a major point of interest for every company, hardware designer or not.  As for hardware-based compatibility, if the PS3 was able to include components for three separate consoles, there's no reason why the PS4 couldn't have kept going.  At least for the PS3, anyway.  The power of the new console should be more than enough to properly emulate the PS2, while providing the hardware just for the previous generation.  Yet, if they don't care enough to do it, then it is their loss.  All these companies want to complain about piracy and the theft of their back catalogs, but do little in the way to stop it.  If it's too much work and too much trouble for them to keep their games available, then they should let the games go.

Anyway, now that we know that backwards compatibility is being axed for the next generation of consoles (except for the Wii U, 3DS, and somewhat for the Vita), it stinks for the industry, newcomers, and those who want the convenience.  Backwards compatibility makes it easier for customers to adopt new hardware while continuing to push the sales of older releases.  Despite Microsoft's statement on the matter, producing hardware that can play the games of the previous generation allows them to discontinue the older hardware faster and sell their new games.

Finally, I want to say that the absence of used games will hurt the industry.  Still, let Microsoft (and possibly Sony) carry out their little experiment so they can get proof of that.

I feel ya. Aka,excitement with simultaneous fear. lol. I'm sure I'll see some games that tempt me but I want to stand strong and not budge. Microsoft needs to make changes and if sony is also on board with all these "anti-consumer/anti Mom & Pop store practices" I'll be keeping it old school & pc from this point onward. (Hoping I'm wrong though! E3 please,turn this cynic into a believer!)