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Forums - Sony Discussion - Why PS4 needs to play PS3 games

flagstaad said:
Marks said:
Yeah backwards compatibility would be great. If the PS4 uses Blu-ray discs as well then I don't see why it would be hard (or expensive) to make it play PS3 games.

I will explain why it can be hard AND expensive.

The PS3 architecture is very different from every thing else in the market, and according to ALL the rumors the one that is going to be used for the PS4 is more standard, so the hardware itself cannot play the games straight forward. That leaves 2 options to Sony, first include parts of the PS3 inside the PS4, that would be easy but not cheap at all, they will have to include the components in the price (around 100 dollars extra), make a bigger case and maybe consume more energy. Second is to emulate, but the PS3 architecture is not easy to emulate, the CPU is very fast, powerful and complex, the GPU is a little more standard, but it will require a lot of development time to build a basic emulator lets not mention a perfect one, so this option will be hard and expensive.

It can be done, but the easier alternative is using Gaikai for it, and that is a hard sale for some of the owners of a PS3, that will most likely wait till they finish their games before upgrading, and may bring a slower adoption rate than desired. But they can manage.


wow - you said the same as I did ;)



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Chark said:
Uh yeah. Have you heard the rumor of a $70 dongle that provides backwards compatibility to the PS4. Rumor yes, and questionable as to how that's possible, yes, but it has been said.

Other than that there is the cloud solution that would open up the entire library for anyone with a strong enough internet connection. Limited of course.

As for having PS3 capabilities in the PS4 itself, that's a death wish most likely for Sony. Perhaps an elite version, but you will have to pay extra.

My suggestion is, you have a PS3 right? It is still pretty awesome, right? Media hub, huge collection of games, etc. Just keep your PS3.

It's possible because Sony patented the idea several years ago.  It was suggested two years or more ago that Sony might use a module to connect to an unreleased PS3 to provide PS2 compatibility, because at the time the PS3/PS3 Slim didn't offer the necessary (see patent) connectivity/bandwidth to provide such services.

As someone who has been saying this is how they will provide backward compatibility since the day the rumor originally dropped that Sony would be ditching the Cell processor, about a year after the patent announcement, this is entirely possible with the PS4.  What is the difference between building something on board, and putting it into a module that attaches to the console?  None, save for cost. 

Personally I think the PS3 module is the smartest choice Sony can make for PS3 compatibility in the PS4.  The second smartest choice would be introducing the cloud service first, making people realize how much it sucks, thus making them realize the benefit of the PS3 module and forking over the $100 or so for the backward compatibility module when it's made available.

EDIT:

To provide backward compatibility, the module could provide both the CPU and GPU of the PS3, then utilize/piggyback to connect to the input and output functions of the PS4.  So, the PS3 module would utilize the Blu-Ray drive, the controllers, and the outputs (audio, video).  This is essentially how a docking station with a laptop works.  Rather than utilize the outputs of the laptop, the computer utilizes the outputs through the interconnect bus.  If it has a DVD/Blu-Ray player, network connectivity, or mouse/keyboard input it also utilizes those. 

The PS4 would simply go into a standby state while the PS3 module took over control of the hardware.



Not being able to play PS3 discs on the PS4 is something we probably need to accept. However, if Sony cycles PS3 games in and out of the PS+ IGC or provides them with a cloud service, then I would be satisfied. I also still have ever single console I've ever owned, back to the Atari 2600, so it's not like I'm going to toss out my PS3.

Yes, backwards compatibility would be nice, but I think it's more important that a console developer move forward. If it's best for new games that they change their architecture, then that's the obvious choice.



I support PS3 BC through a dongle like one of the rumors said. It can cost 50-100 dollars and help them keep the price at that $400 point.




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kowenicki said:
It should because its the right thing to do.

But will it? Doubt it.


Not with the ps4-hardware alone. Just impossible. And most probably x3ox won't do it if ms also decides to go the x86-way which would be really said (to me).



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I doubt it as they will want to keep the costs down and to be honest I don't really care as I will buy the PS4 to play PS4 games just as I bought the PS3 to play PS3 games. Games on the PSN on the other hand is probably no problem.



http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=130023&page=1# Official Playstation Vita Thread! Come in and join!!!

I really hope so but it might just not given the circulating rumors.



I hope it's backwards compatible. But, my PS3 isn't backwards compatible and I've learned to live without it. I can still play my disk-based PS1 games on it, and my launch PS2 is still fully functional, which I'm happy with.

It's probably not really feasible for them to do it after the ridiculous decision they made with the cell, but you never know.

I really, really hope they at least make it an option. Cheaper non-backwards-compatible PS4 vs. a more expensive model with it included. Or the whole dongle idea works for me too.

Regardless, I'm not going to be throwing out my PS3, but for convenience sake I hope they can make it work somehow.



Adinnieken said:
Chark said:
Uh yeah. Have you heard the rumor of a $70 dongle that provides backwards compatibility to the PS4. Rumor yes, and questionable as to how that's possible, yes, but it has been said.

Other than that there is the cloud solution that would open up the entire library for anyone with a strong enough internet connection. Limited of course.

As for having PS3 capabilities in the PS4 itself, that's a death wish most likely for Sony. Perhaps an elite version, but you will have to pay extra.

My suggestion is, you have a PS3 right? It is still pretty awesome, right? Media hub, huge collection of games, etc. Just keep your PS3.

It's possible because Sony patented the idea several years ago.  It was suggested two years or more ago that Sony might use a module to connect to an unreleased PS3 to provide PS2 compatibility, because at the time the PS3/PS3 Slim didn't offer the necessary (see patent) connectivity/bandwidth to provide such services.

As someone who has been saying this is how they will provide backward compatibility since the day the rumor originally dropped that Sony would be ditching the Cell processor, about a year after the patent announcement, this is entirely possible with the PS4.  What is the difference between building something on board, and putting it into a module that attaches to the console?  None, save for cost.

Personally I think the PS3 module is the smartest choice Sony can make for PS3 compatibility in the PS4.  The second smartest choice would be introducing the cloud service first, making people realize how much it sucks, thus making them realize the benefit of the PS3 module and forking over the $100 or so for the backward compatibility module when it's made available.

EDIT:

To provide backward compatibility, the module could provide both the CPU and GPU of the PS3, then utilize/piggyback to connect to the input and output functions of the PS4.  So, the PS3 module would utilize the Blu-Ray drive, the controllers, and the outputs (audio, video).  This is essentially how a docking station with a laptop works.  Rather than utilize the outputs of the laptop, the computer utilizes the outputs through the interconnect bus.  If it has a DVD/Blu-Ray player, network connectivity, or mouse/keyboard input it also utilizes those.

The PS4 would simply go into a standby state while the PS3 module took over control of the hardware.

 

so basically it would be something like this? http://segaretro.org/Power_Base_Converter



This doesn't just apply to the playstation 4. It applies to all consoles!!!