Sony Confirms Backwards Compatibility Is No More
Written by John 
Onwards to better things
Well, it seems the last nail has been hammered into the proverbial coffin of backwards compatibility in future PS3 sku’s or updates. Read more for the quote from an email exchange between The Koalition and Sony.
Thanks for your email
When we removed backwards compatibility from PS3, we said that it would not be coming back as our priority was to make great next generation games. I am not sure where you are getting your information from, but at no point did we say that there would be some sort of emulation being brought to PS3. At no point has this strategy changed and therefore I can tell you that there are no plans to bring back backwards compatibility to PS3. I think you will agree that the list of 1st party exclusive games for PS3 is growing quickly and the quality of them is great. Games such as LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Resistance 2, GT5: Prologue and the up-coming Killzone 2 show that we are very serious about bring exciting, innovative and fun games to PS3.
Many thanks
Thoughts?
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January 26th, 2009 at 7:57 PM
it would be nice if they had backwards compatibility…..but realistically, without it Sony makes more of a profit of Ps3 sales, and my Ps2 still works so it doesn’t really effect me. Sony should focus on the future.
and i dont think non-ps2 owners are buying a ps3 and then wanting to buy ps2 games.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:06 PM
In an odd way, this may sell consoles now. Lets say there were people waiting to buy a PS3 in case a new SKU with BC comes out. Now they see there is ‘not’ going to be one. They might stop waiting and just get one now. Or maybe not at all. lol
Regardless, I dont think it is a big issue anymore as it once was.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:17 PM
You know when I first bought my PS3 I was really looking foward to backwards compatbility. But I used it maybe once or twice and thats it. Surely everyone’s already played GOWII already right? Whats email says is true focus more on “next gen” and let the water flow under the brigde already
January 26th, 2009 at 8:24 PM
Aren’t they still manufacturing PS2’s? Honestly, there aren’t many new PS2 games coming out – so the majority of PS2 game sales are going to wind up being used sales that Sony doesn’t see a dime from. By removing BC, they’re at least selling consoles and getting SOME revenue from them.
All the same, though, I’m glad I managed to get my hot little hands on one of the MGS4 80GB bundles with BC.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:39 PM
I got the MGS4 80GB bundle and I have yet to play a ps2/ps1 game on my system. I bought the next gen console for next gen games. If I wanted to play ps2 games I would play them on my ps2.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:40 PM
I really don’t care about BC. I still have my PS2 and if I ever want to play it, I can plug it in and use it.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:51 PM
“Thoughts?”
I liked their “This is a PlayStation console and we want all the PlayStation family to be compatible on it” philosophy much more.
They even bashed Xbox360 once or twice saying Microsoft forgot about their Xbox1 fanbase due to no backward compatibility.
Now not only has X360 has great backward compatibility, Sony confirms PS3 will in no shape or form ever have one……
The irony is too painful.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:59 PM
Hey people Do you reckon i could make quite a bit off my 60gb backwards compatible ps3?
January 26th, 2009 at 9:38 PM
I’m on the fence on this one. I have quite a collection of PS2 games — but I rarely play them. It would be nice to be able to pop one in my PS3 and play it, but really I would rather play PS3 games.
I do have a 60GB and an 80GB motorstorm unit, both of which have differing levels of BC. But I also have 2 PS2’s still.
I think the only time I ever play PS2 games are to catch ones I missed.
That being said, my son still has a LOT of PS2 games that he likes to play. And he has a 40GB unit with NO BC. So he keeps both his PS3 and PS2 in his room.
I’d say, stick to the no-BC strategy. The PS2 is pretty solid, and if you end up wanting to play a PS2 game in 10 years, it will probably still work just fine. But it’s a slippery slope. Will the PS4 have no BC with PS3? Am I going to have to keep a PS3 around for as long as I might want to play PS3 games?
January 26th, 2009 at 9:40 PM
Good find, but, oh well… I’m just happy I still have my PS2.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Practically BC makes us all want a series that end on PS2 that wont come to PS3 (The Getaway, please sign the petition), I still have PS2 games that I haven’t finished, so I hope this is just like a negation with Home or something.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:04 PM
If PS3 with BC is so heavy ( i don’t know how it is with no- BC) think what it will be if next PS consoles will have hardware instead of software BC ! And size is always bigger than before. I know that for some it can be last thing that they will look at but… it’s important too.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:12 PM
The thing is that most people will tell you that they very rarely use the BC if they have it. It’s one of those things you want until you had it. However, I don’t think this out rules possible downloadable PS2 games in the future, since those could be ported to run on the PS3 natively.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:15 PM
Sony wouldn’t confirm this before any announcement anyway. This response is near boilerplate response they use about any rumor. The fact is we will know when they bring it. I bet we see PS2 games in the store sooner or later.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:16 PM
I have the 60GB PS3 upgraded to 320GB. It’s nice to have PS2 BC, but honestly I have only used it for 2 games just after I got the PS3. Probably safe to say I didn’t even play a PS2 game in 2008.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:17 PM
Good saying iluvps3. Sony often declined sth and few months later they are saying that they will do sth but in other way. I’m just curious what they will do in territory lock thing.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:44 PM
I have a launch 60GB PAL w/ BC and I used it right about twice. Once you go next gen, the PS2 seems so pale.
Anyone wanna buy the BC chipset?
January 27th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
I could swear I read somewhere a Sony executive saying that they’re working on downloadable PS2 games!? Maybe they’re just playing with words. Downloadable PS2 games at 15$ or so would make a huge profit.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:08 AM
Yeah and this shows how the internet turns rumor into virtual facts. There has been lamenting on the internet blogs about B/C but ever since the MGS4 Bundle Kaz Hirai and other Senior Execs have been tolling the bell on that round, lost. They have been saying that going forward with the new SKU’s would not have B/C since it reduces the cost of manufacture and allows for price reduction or like they did last September to bring larger HDD to offset the price reductions. Now there is confusion with that, but as time moves on that will fade.
As others have said the reality is that when we have the B/C we hardly use it. For me that is true as well, it was only one reason but a top 3 but I still have my PS2 for that reason.
But now I am worried that when I send my 80gb in for repair I will loose the other reasons for buying it. I like Digital photography with my Sony A100-dslr and the card reader is essential since I did not get one in my computer. Also the extra USB ports are nice because if you look at GH and RB they require a USB port for their hardware, also the same with GT5 if you use a wheel to play the extra ports allow to have these items plugged in and not have to remove them unless you have Home LoL, since they take the Port ID of #1 instead of the controller…
But B/C is gone “Officially” now let’s have a wake….
January 27th, 2009 at 12:26 AM
Look, i used to have a ps2 to like you guys, but now the laser has gone and i have more than 100 games, what im i going to do with all of them?
i will like to play them all in my ps3, i dont want to spend money on a ps2 nowadays… BC depends in the point of view of everyone. in my opinion that was the last thing i needed to have my perfect console!
January 27th, 2009 at 2:07 AM
I have the original 80 gig… so I am part of the small BC crowd. I like it, but to be honest, I very rarely use it. I have a handful of PS1 and 2 titles I’ll probably never part with, but I doubt I’ll spend much time playing them because the newer stuff keeps me too busy to revel in games past.
January 27th, 2009 at 4:04 AM
I care about Backwards Compatibility, but….
If you’re a big enough Playstation fan, you’d have a PS3 by now with Backwards Compatibility (like me)
TOO BAD THEIR UPDATES ARE F*CKING UP MY BC.
I just started playing Disgaea 2 and have been playing Yakuza 2, but after the newest update, when I load the game, on occasion, I have no sound, so I have to reset the game.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Ivo Pereira, while BC would be of much ‘apparent’ use, there is something else to consider;
If you use your PS2 a fair bit, and it’s laser has worn out, the reason is usually from that ‘use’. If you do the same thing with your PS3, it’s a helluva lot more expensive to replace (unless it’s still in warranty).
The PS3 has a much better quality laser diode, but it’s not really designed to play anything except bluray discs (which spin at 2x speed, not the 8x and up like DVD’s) so constant PS2 playback is not the best anyway
I’m certainly in the camp of “PRO BC”. I have a launch PAL 60G. I love the PS2 compatibility but I never owned a PS2, so my collection of PS2 titles is small (ok, borrowed off a mate
and hired). So like a lot of you, I’ve not really made a huge use out of it. Because of that, I fully understand Sony’s stance on the issue.
I do however believe, that they could make just as much (or more) revenue from offering a BC compatible SKU [to those that wish it] for a nominal ‘mark up’ price. Profit on the BC model, and spurring on any software sales.
To me, their launch, a two tiered system, was the better idea, unfortunately Sony appeared to have taken the wrong information from their sales data (in that the 20G model didn’t sell that well). Their take, seems to have left them selling only the 20G models equivalents, for cost reduction, when it was in fact the extra features that enticed the majority of buyers.
So IMO, they should ‘at least’ sell the offer of BC (hardware would be best, then they don’t have to waste their money/time on emulation) in small quantities to those willing to pay for the extras. It’s just good business
Alex
January 29th, 2009 at 10:19 AM
PC3 is a great game console that i have played before it gives me a lot of gaming quality. The games are downloadable in the internet and can access more games that fits to you. I have PS2 and bow i have PS3 and i, observe that they have many advantages in both of them although they are the first consoles in yet they give pleasures to the gamers.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:42 PM
lol, another hit against sony. seriously, what are they thinking? lol, its also rich how they talk about their “great quality first party games.” sony is hanging on for dear life. their sales are in the shit can. they keep hoping some amazing game will save them. first it was, “well….We’ve MGS4! thats gunna sell like hotcakes!…..oh….damn…..only a few people bought it….” then it was “Well we’vs still go final fantasy 13! people love final fantasy!……aw……crap…. we just lost exclusiveness of that title to the 360……” now every time they make a speech they bring up Killzone, cuz they know that’s their last hope. lol, well, ok. I’m ready. bring on the flames! I’ll blow your arguments out of the water!
February 4th, 2009 at 4:51 PM
eh, right now Sony is an easy target. I dont think removal of the backwards compatibility or lacking a huge volume of exclusives is really fodder for an attack on the company though. I’m sure you are intelligent enough to dig up something better than that. How about the useless blueray player that is gonna lose the HD war? or the “to big for gaming” cell processor that Xbox bought a fraction of to get their fire hazard out before the competition? I know, atack Sony for the CRAZY notion of free online gaming and the best social network anyone has ever seen. no? Then just settle on the fact that no Sony system has started off gangbusters, they have all been “flamed” by competitors for their advances in technology. PS1 was crap because of those nasty CDs, PS2 was EVEN WORSE for even thinking DVD roms would work with gaming, and both systems were smashed for being more powerful than devs were able to keep up with. How is it the same song gets sung for everything Sony does and in the end it kicks everyone’s ass.
Yeah, the 360 is more popular than the PS3, But then again, the Wii is kickin the crap out of everything. This only proves that the popular stuff is being bought by people looking to save a buck. Personally, I had the choice to spend 500 bucks on quality, 150 bucks on crap or 200 bucks on a machine that can either blink red at me or set my house on fire.
Hey, while you are blowing water, save some for your Xbox… if you are lucky it wont damage the 15inch CRT you got it hooked up to. Is the “360″ a reference to the red ring you losers keep getting stuck with?
February 4th, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Lol, nice. so your saying that its not a problem that theres not many good games for the system as long as it has kick ass hardwere? Thats all good and well accept for one thing. IM PAYING FOR A GAMING SYSTEM, NOT A COMPUTER! if the system has amazing gadgets and awsome feature, their all pretty useless if theirs no good games to use with them. Don’t get me wrong, I use to be a hardcore sony fan. the ps1 and 2 were kick ass. Why? because they had kick ass games! When The ps3 came out, I said to myself, “well this thing is expenssive as hell but if it has some cool games, itall be worth it. I’ll buy it when it comes out with say….5 games I would honestly enjoy to own and not just rent.” Lol, now the systems been out for what, 2, 3 years? and they still dont have anything to put on that list. Little big planet looks like it might be intertaining, but I don’t loose sleep at night knowing I cant play it. MGS4 looks awsome, but not cool enough to buy a whole system over. Lets flip it now. Well what good games does the 360 have? well on top of being a cheeper system that can play most of the best games on ps3, it has Mass Efect, Halo 3, Lost Odessey, Blue Dragon, Fable 2, and of course Gears of War 1 and 2, to name a couple. I have more to rant, but I have a class to catch, so I’ll just add onto this later on top of responding to more arguments.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:37 AM
Hey stupid, when you bought your PS1 and PS2… did you wait 3 year to get them? just like the PS3 devs didnt know what to do with those systems and the media list was low, and just like those old Sony systems, the devs will catch up and stop dumping a half breed version of their games out to two systems when they can make it all it can be on the PS3.
Do you have all those titles? wow, impressive, you MUST be a gamer because Fable is the only title there that doesnt suck (imo) besides, how do you enjoy a game when you are returning dead hardware every other week?
oh and you missed a few PS3 exclusives on your list…
Besides MGS and LBP which are outstanding titles,
Resistance 1&2
Uncharted 1&2
Heavy Rain
Gran Turismo 5
Killzone 2
Haze
Motorstorm 1&2
Heavenly Sword
Socom confrontation
Siren: Blood Curse
the Pixeljunk series
and the utterly brilliant PAIN
and most importantly … Final Fantasy 14, when it occurs to Square Enix what a mistake it was to give Microsoft 13. Here’s the thing, if you put gold in shit … the shit doesn’t get goldie. Thanks to your cheep piece of shit system, 13 is going to be a dumbed down version of what it could be, just like GTA 4.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:20 AM
Real mature getting all personal like that buddy. I was just flaming the system but you go an insult my intelegence. nice. First off, I don’t know what the hell your saying about the ps1 and ps2. granted I bout the ps1 a litle late in the game, but I got the ps2 at it’s launch and I never remember I time where it didn’t have a good game selection. And whats with saying all these titles suck? have you even played them? The only type of gamer who can honestly say a game like Mass Effect sucks is the kind who constantly needs something either exploding or bleeding on their screen to keep them entertained. Thats another problem I have with the ps3. Where the hell are all the rpgs? Soney use to be the master of the genra, and now they have no decent rpgs to speak of. If it’s not driving really fast, or shooting the hell out of something, you won’t find it on the ps3. lets take you lovely list of “oustanding titles” for example. A good majority of those are either shooters or racers. Now I’m not going to go as far as you and claim that these games I havn’t played but from what I’ve seen, their not really my cup of tea. the ps3 needs diversity. I will note that the most posotive thing I’ve heard about heavenly sword is that its God of war with a chick and no jump command. Also, I simply have to laugh at you last cliam. Check your souces buddy. Regarless of who side you are on or what system you love, the fact is the ps3 is loosing the console war. It’s behind by alot in sales. It’s just not as popular. your claim obout ff14 is totaly stupid. honestly, I think the ps3 will end up like the dreamcast long before we see a ff14 anyways.
Another thing. People keep bringing up the whole 360, hardware problem thing. probly cuz it’s all they have to use. let me let you in on something. I’ve had my frekin 360 for 3 years, and it has messed up once. just once. and do you no what I did when it messed up? I got it replaced. FOR FUCKING FREE!!! why? how? simply this. thats how Microsoft rolls.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:10 AM
Dont give me that ‘real mature” bullshit, your a Xbox fan boy who came to a PS3 based site to bash the system and specifically stated “bring on the flames! I’ll blow your arguments out of the water”
First off, nobody said that Xbox wasnt outselling the PS3. matter of a fact if you go back to my original reply, you’ll find that I said “Yeah, the 360 is more popular than the PS3, But then again, the Wii is kickin the crap out of everything. This only proves that the popular stuff is being bought by people looking to save a buck”. We all know that the thing holding the PS3 back isnt the list of titles, its the outrageous price tag. It is due to this slow pace of growth that devs started wandering off to sell their goods. Sony is taking a beating right now…but it is the same god damn story from 8 years ago and 13 years ago, do you really think I am shocked by the slow growth of the most powerful system on the market? Of course not, and I equally expect the PS3 to rise above all those lesser systems in the future.
Have I played all those titles you named? most of them, as I know many Xbox owners. Mass Effect, Gears of war, and Halo are overhyped garbage. Lost Oddesy and Blue dragon, just looked to boring to bother picking up a controller and trying out. Speaking of which, the titles I gave you are the best of the best, you want RPG? well there are the following; Fallout 3,
Valkyria Chronicles, Oblivion, Eternal Sonata, Dark Kingdom, and Enchanted Arms. Happy?
2 more things: My claim about FF14 is completely founded for the same reason I made my claim about GTA4. they either make a half a game for us , so you dopes can have it too… or give us the whole thing and you multi disks. so which is worse? The problem is even giving a half breed system like Xbox a master piece like FF in the first place.
Lastly, Dont tell me how microsoft rolls, I have wasted more money on their shit than you have even dreamed of. Microsoft is notorious for shipping over hyped crap at high prices just to get it to the public with a “we’ll fix the bugs later” attitude. YOU are lucky if you have only gotten one RROD and a free replacement (with completely lost game saves, gamer score, and achievements) I know a dozen people personally and hundreds online whos story is not so cheerful. I know one guy who is on his 5th Xbox, I know another guy who’s refurbished Xbox got the RROD the second he turned it on again. On the other hand… I have owned my PS3 for almost 3 years, of the PS3 owners I know, one has had a problem with her blue ray player and it was fixed free of charge. No one else has had issues. Why? because quality product is how Sony rolls.