This is it. The big one, and the thing that wouldn't have looked like such a big deal had Microsoft not experienced a stroke of genius last year by adding Xbox 360 backward compatibility to the Xbox One. Before that happened, us gamers were just about ready to come to terms with the fact that the backwards-compatible dream was over, but now it's been revitalised and Sony need to come up with a good response. They've already come up with their own backwards compatibility of sorts, revealing a PS2 emulator late last year that looked pretty promising. Sure, Sony didn't address PS3 emulation at the time, but it was still something, and there are a handful of PS3 games you can now access on PS Now along with the older titles. Thing is, the emulator doesn't let you insert your old PS2 or PS3 discs into your PS4, and instead you have to purchase digital versions of them, even if you have the disc right in front of you. There are only a few handfuls of games available from the full back catalogue, and their hefty price tags would be laughable if they weren't so insulting and depressing (though Xbox One owners are perfectly entitled to laugh). Combine this with the shabby quality of PS Now's streaming as a service, and you get a picture that suggests Sony are desperate to find a workaround to backwards compatibility that ensures people have to pay twice, or even three times, to play their older games on the PS4. We now know that the backwards compatibility tech exists, but the way Sony has gone about implementing it has been terrible. So give us real reverse-compatibility Sony; a firmware update that lets people play not only their old PS3 games on the PS4, but also PS2 and PS1 games - even if a disc ID check means we can download a digital version. Then, and only then, will you gain the upper hand over Microsoft in this key area.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
