I presume that is what Gaikai will be used for. Of course i would like to play all my digital stuff and I presume they will try their best to get the psn stuff to work with the ps4. 

I used to be a fan of BC in consoles, But as each gen comes It seems like it gets more expensive and would even take away from what they needed to put in the console. Imagine if they did make PS4/720 BC imo it would almost certainly end up being a more expensive console that is also weaker than we will get as they cut back on the new tech to cover some of the cost of the old tech that needs put in.

@porcupine

I agree. A hardware bc expansion port add on unit.

The only official hardware I remember like, apart from the SNES GB player, and the GC/GBA player. that was back when the Genesis - Megadrive launched, Sega offered the Master Base Convertor, which wasnt much more than the price of a game and half or so. And then - wow - Master System games on your Megadrive!

I thought it was a great little piece of kit, and I could play Phantasy Star and Shinobi, whose sequels I loved on the MegaDrive. And that crappy Golden Axe zelda ripoff. And more. Admittedly Master System didn't have the deepest library, but as a 13 year old kid to have access to an extra library with a cheaper catalogue of titles featuring characters I loved, it was a win.

And its a win for Sony to do the same. $90 or so , with a PS3 title, thrown in. Could extend the retail legs of their core first party titles, keep the entry cost for Ps4 lower, and provide new fans with an easy way to get into the Sony IPs. Surely they'll be making God Of War (for example) games in five years, and the kids just discovering God Of War with whatever Ps4 chapter they bring out then, will be frothing at the mouth to play GoW 3/HD Collection. And for Sony to keep being easily able to sell games they paid for years ago, without having to emulate/ repackage HD Collections (because I'm pretty sure they won't be doing 4kHD collections this decade), and sell this gens software next gen. When God Of War Ps4 comes out, bundle HD collection with the BC adapter for the newcomers.

I think It's a great idea. I'd buy it just cause it's cool, and what gaming is missing these days, funky devices.
Now wheres my Gamecube GBA player?

I wouldn't complain with backwards compatibility in the PS4. I've already got my PS2 + PS3 out in my bedroom, haven't got a great deal of space for another one.

That said, I don't see how they can solve it without building a cell processor inside the PS4 (unless Gaikai, but I'm not that interested in BC streaming).

I'd like them to release two models of the PS4 - one expensive with BC, one cheaper without. At least the option is there. But since they never revisited putting the emotion engine in PS3, I doubt this is going to happen. I can only hope.

I think the obvious answer is they plan on implementing it through their Gakai service. They spent a LOT of money aquiring them, they definitely have something up their sleeves to get their money's worth out of it. My hypothesis?....

-PS4/Orbis will not boast disc based BC, just as Vita did not for PSP.
-Instead, Sony will allow a similar service as they did with PSP, where your game titles can/will unlock DD versions of themselves when available. For those that are not you will unlock the ability to stream them directly off servers.
-I presume this will be a killer way to sell PS+, where the streaming service requires being a member. This is similar to Sony requirements for the Cloud Space.
-All new titles for Orbis as well will be readily available for download or streaming which will make BC a non issue here forward for Sony.

I already have a PS3 system to play PS3 games, so I don't need two systems to do that. The PS4 system is what I'd really pay money for.

It doesn't bother me anyways.

I'm a very hardcore PS3 fan.

But I swear on my neighbors little kitten,

If Sony doesn't devise a way for me to play the 20 - 30 PSN games I own/have acquired, I swear I'll never buy another Playstation system nor will I ever set foot or darken the doors of Sony's online store(s).

I don't care if it's built into the PS4 or if it's GAIKAI......But Sony better have the shit I bought and trusted them with, and they better have it ready whenever I get good and ready to play it....yes, I said better.

I seem to recall a time, after Microsoft had trouble communicating it's backward compatibility plans for the Xbox 360, when Sony gamers were touting the fact that the PS3 had full backward compatibility and how great of a feature it was.

Then Sony dropped the feature and backward compatibility became an unnecessary expense that no one in their right mind needed. Funny thing is now that it's an expensive thing to achieve, Sony is the only one who doesn't offer it. Either on current models or rumored to be on future models.

While I enjoyed the backwards compatibility of the PS2 and early PS3s, I personally do not mind if the PS4 doesn't have that feature, largely because I keep all of my consoles (I still have my NES, although it can take a long time to get a game to work).

Honestly, the BC on the PS3 doesn't work all of the time (especially on some of the older PS2 games), so whenever I feel like playing a PS2 game, I use my PS2 (it still works, despite being a launch console). In any case, I'd advise any current PS3 owners to hold onto their consoles, instead of trading them in for the next system.

ps4 not having bc is actually good for sony. that way the ps3 will be still selling good despite having the ps4 out. (10year plan)
see ps2 numbers while we have the ps3 for 5-6 years now ... still selling great.