The PS4 Could be Backwards Compatible. (But probably won't)

[scott155]

A big issue with the so-called "Next Gen" consoles is lack of backwards compatibility. The Wii-U has some, but Xbox One and PS4 are entirely lacking it. (And of course PC is and forever will be king of backwards compatibility, as it is the only system I know that that can play any game from the beginning of games to present day, even if some really old ones require work-arounds).

 

The thing is, the PS4 could be completely upgraded to support backwards compatibility if Sony ever has the good sense to do it. With the upcoming PS Now service, you'll be able to stream PS3 games to the PS4. We've seen from the $10 upgrade system that the PS4 can detect which PS3 game is in it. See Phase 2 Step 5

 

So even if the PS4 for whatever reason cannot natively run the games, it could in theory detect which game is in it, give that information to the PS Now servers and stream the game. It would require an internet connection, which blows, but it would be vastly superior to simply no backwards compatibility. However, seeing as Sony clearly stopped giving any amount of fucks about backwards compatibility shortly after the launch of the PS3 combined with the fact that this could possibly cause their PS Now service to not make money, I sincerely doubt they'll do that. On the other hand, it would help them crush the competition as well as possibly sell more PS4s and gain the gamers' good graces for virtually no cost to them.

 

Do you think Sony might actually enable backwards compatibility this way? Is there any technical reason this wouldn't work that I may have overlooked?

[Icebox]

Do you think Sony might actually enable backwards compatibility this way?

 

Nope, one reason I don't deal with consoles anymore.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Yeah, it's definitely a big issue, especially for people who want to have a console that plays their older games as not everyone have the space for both a PS3 and PS4.