10 Things The Next Console Generation Needs

While developers are working to create something that truly uses the power of the new machine, backwards compatibility gives players an existing library of games that they can still play, encouraging players to upgrade rather than hold onto their old machine just to play that library.

Back when the Playstation 2 launched, any PS1 disc could be shoved in the machine and would work as if on that console. The PS3 also launched with backwards compatibility but this was quietly removed in later models of the console, in favour of allowing those titles to be bought again on the Playstation Store.

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 launched capable of playing only 461 out of over a thousand original Xbox titles. By the time the PS4 came around, backwards compatibility was relegated to being part of their paid subscription to a streaming games service while Xbox One only introduced it later in the console lifespan.

Backwards compatibility should be standard on consoles, it should be present from day one, and it certainly shouldn't be tied to a subscription service. If consoles are all about letting us play our games as simply as possible, so here's hoping Sony take a cue from Microsoft here.