Oneiromancer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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Registered: 03-29-2003
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So, I was reading an article just now about a press conference at E3 by Nintendo, talking about their new console Revolution, among other things. The following was said:

Iwata then talks about backward compatibility. "Redefining term of backward compatability." It's a virtual console, able to download 20 years of Nintendo content. You will be able to Download NES, Super NES and N64 games. You can get every Nintendo game ever made.

And that just blew me away. I was just saying in the worthy accomplishments thread how I wished I could play my N64 games again without buying a new console or running an emulator (which I probably could, and I technically can do so legally since I own the games, but the controls would be horrendous). Being able to play all these games from my childhood through college would be amazing...especially if they were reasonably priced and not timed or something like that.

Then I got to thinking about other video game systems and their backwards compatibility. I remember the Colecovision had an adapter you could buy to play Atari 2600 (maybe 7200 too) games on it. The Sega Genesis had a Master System adapter, which I had but really didn't use at all. Does anyone remember Bleem!, which attempted to let you play Playstation games on a PC? It sold pretty well, and I think won most of its legal battles. I seriously considered getting it; my sisters had a PS but I didn't, although I did own Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on it.

Then came the Playstation 2, with its complete backwards compatibility with the PS, which I happily took advantage of. At one point I think I had more PS games than PS2, mostly because they were cheaper. Eventually I got a Game Boy Advance, and one of the reasons I did so was because it was fully backwards compatible with Game Boy games (which I had plenty of still) and Game Boy Color games (which I didn't have, but I picked some up -- the Zelda Oracle games). And then the GameCube has some interfacing with the GBA games, and you can also get the GBA adapter, which works pretty well from what I understand. But I guess they didn't see the market for making other adapters for the other Nintendo systems. I'm not sure if the DS lets you play GBA/GC games or not.

Now we have the next generation of consoles. The PS3 is completely backwards compatible with both PS1 and PS2 games...great news! That is really a serious consideration for me purchasing one. The XBOX 360 has "selected" backwards compatibility, which apparently means only their best-selling games. That isn't so appealing to me...I haven't ever really been interested in the XBOX games, since many of them make it to PC as well, but if there was full backwards compatibility I might be more interested. And I already talked about the Nintendo Revolution...GameCube games weren't mentioned in the backwards compatibility, but if it's a disc-based system, considering what I quoted above, I would be really surprised if you couldn't play them in the Revolution. So if they do a good job with access to the Nintendo library of games, the Revolution will definitely be my top choice for next-generation console.

So, backwards compatibility isn't everything to me, but it is a very large consideration when purchasing a console. How do you guys feel?

Game on,

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"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Zmann
Level: Master Delver

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Registered: 04-21-2003
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Well, I said it's a big plus. Now I can finally play old Nintendo classics on my new-gen system. I mean, I could get an emulator and all that jazz, but keyboard controls just don't have the same feel.

That being said, for some reason I'm not all that excited about the nex-gen consoles. When the Game Cube was first reveiled, I couldn't wait to have one. Now the Revolution, PS3, and Xbox360 have been reveiled, I don't really feel like I need this new system. I mean what is it offering? It really doesn't feel like that big of step from the last system.

Think about it... crappy sprites---> good sprites---> crappy polygons---> good polygons---> ??? Why do I need to get a new system again? I'm almost sick of "photo realistic" games. I'd rather the game more art-like graphics ala Wind Waker or Paper Mario.

I know I'll still get a new system though, and after looking at all the new ones, the Revolution looks the most exciting to me. Plus, Smash Brothers 3 won't be bad.

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
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Revolution is backwards compatible with Gamecube games - it plays them directly, apparantly.

This generation is really going to be interesting - if Nintendo or Microsoft are smart, what they'll do is use their online networks to do distribution of niche titles. Nintendo already have Fund Q, and they've taled a lot in the past about helping developers to come up with new ideas with the Revolution. I think indy developers have better chances of doing that, and it would value add to whatever system eventually takes advantage of it in a big way.

It almost feels to me like the PlayStation is losing relevance, kinda. I only want one for a couple of games, but outside of that I'm not overly interested in it. I really like the Xbox hardware and I think Microsoft have shown remarkable adeptness in design (alas, there are no games on the Xbox I want to play). I like the idea of the Revolution, but I'm worried that once again it'll be abandoned by third parties.

E3 hasn't made me wet my pants in excitement yet. The Zelda trailer was cool, though.

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