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Forums - Sales Discussion - Is Legacy content/backwards compatibility important for a console's success?

 

Is legacy content important for a console's success?

Yes, very important. Huge effect on sales 4 5.63%
 
It is important, noticable effect on sales. 14 19.72%
 
Not very important, small effect on sales. 38 53.52%
 
Not important at all, lit... 15 21.13%
 
Total:71
Kristof81 on 22 April 2021

You're missing: "it's very important, small effect on sales" as it's a win in my and many eyes. If you crap on the legacy systems and games preservation, you might be the king, but you're not worthy. The Denethor II of gaming.



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Shiken on 22 April 2021
padib said:
Shiken said:

Smash Ultimate is not a "remaster" and refering to it as such only hurts your cause, because it comes off as a desperate reach.

This is not a rebuttal, just a correction to a very tired false claim that should have died the moment it was released (sooner in fact).

I don't care I don't have a "cause". It's my opinion having played both games and being a heavy player of Smash U. They games are nearly identical bar some DLC.

So by that logic, I guess Uncharted 3 is just a port of Uncharted 2 with a different story.  God of War Ascension must be a port of God of War 3 as well.  I mean when it comes down to raw mechanics, they have even more in common than Smash U and Smash Ultimate do after all.



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AJNShelton on 22 April 2021
padib said:
Shiken said:

Smash Ultimate is not a "remaster" and refering to it as such only hurts your cause, because it comes off as a desperate reach.

This is not a rebuttal, just a correction to a very tired false claim that should have died the moment it was released (sooner in fact).

I don't care I don't have a "cause". It's my opinion having played both games and being a heavy player of Smash U. They games are nearly identical bar some DLC.

Once again opinion =/= facts. Smash Ultimate is a new game, that's not an opinion, that's just a straight fact.



AJNShelton on 22 April 2021
The_Liquid_Laser said:

In Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) the games look completely different from their NES counterparts, because they use a different graphics engine.  They are still the same games, because the mechanics, level design, music, etc... are all the same.  The graphics don't really determine what the game is.  Demon's Souls is in the same situation.

Have you ever played to Super Mario All Stars ? Cause besides the graphics, the physics or the music is completely different.



The_Liquid_Laser on 22 April 2021
SKMBlake said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

In Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) the games look completely different from their NES counterparts, because they use a different graphics engine.  They are still the same games, because the mechanics, level design, music, etc... are all the same.  The graphics don't really determine what the game is.  Demon's Souls is in the same situation.

Have you ever played to Super Mario All Stars ? Cause besides the graphics, the physics or the music is completely different.

Sounds like the same melody to me.  It doesn't matter that they recorded it again.

Intrinsic said:

Ah... you must have slept through all of the 8th gen.

The_Liquid_Laser said:

Backwards compatibility and legacy content are really important.  The most important things for selling a system are game library and price.  That old content is a real easy way to beef up a game library.  If the system is backwards compatible, then it becomes an attractive system right out of the gate.  Let's look at some evidence.

1) The PS2.  It inherited the PS1's library, which is extremely impressive.  If you add the PS1 and PS2 game libraries together you get over 8000 games.  The PS2 is Sony's most successful system and the best selling game console of all time.   

2) The Wii.  The SNES, N64 and Gamecube lacked backwards compatibility.  Then the Wii comes along.  It's both backwards compatible with the Gamecube and it also has a ton of old games on the Virtual Console.  People like to point out Nintendo's decline in the home market NES > SNES > N64 >GCN.  The the Wii comes along and turns that all around.  One huge feature of the Wii was all of that old content.

3) Nintendo handhelds.  Nintendo has never been defeated in the handheld market. GBA, DS, and 3DS were all backwards compatible.

4) Switch.  Backwards compatible?  No.  Legacy content?  Lots of it.  The best selling game on the Switch is a Wii U game.  One reason why the Switch did so well out of the gate is because they could port over a lot of the Wii U titles.  That made the Switch's library pretty good even from the first year, because most people never played those Wii U titles.  The Switch also has a bunch of old NES/SNES games included with it's online service.

5) XBox1.  This system is a total turd.  If you take away the backwards compatibility then there is almost no reason to buy this system.  Personally, I've never owned any XBox, but I am seriously giving consideration for the XB1 just because of backwards compatibility.  It's the XB1's main selling point.

6) PS5.  The PS5 has backwards compatibility and it's still sold out.  What new games does the PS5 have?  None.  Demon's Souls?  That is legacy content.  People definitely don't want the PS5 for new exclusive games, because it doesn't have any.

7) Sega Saturn, N64, Gamecube, PS3, PS Vita.  All of these systems lacked backwards compatibility and sold disappointingly compared to their predecessor.  It's clear that all of these systems made some pretty big mistakes, but then again, so did the XB1, and it managed to salvage most of it's Gen 7 market in spite of being about as good as a Saturn or Vita on it's own merits.

In short, legacy content matters a lot.  It's an easy way to beef up a system's library.  On top of that the easiest way to include legacy content on a system is simply to make it backwards compatible.

Nice write-up.... you conveniently skipped the PS4 though.

I skipped a lot of systems.  Do I really need to mention every one?  If you want to look at the PS4 though, it has a crapload of legacy content.  The best selling game on the PS4 is actually a PS3 game.



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numberwang on 22 April 2021

BC on PS5 and XBSX is pretty nice with the upgraded performance. If only they were available at retail price.



AJNShelton on 22 April 2021
The_Liquid_Laser said:
SKMBlake said:

Have you ever played to Super Mario All Stars ? Cause besides the graphics, the physics or the music is completely different.

Sounds like the same melody to me.  It doesn't matter that they recorded it again.

So when you hear this

Does suddenly make the game turn into Super Mario 64 ?



Shiken on 22 April 2021
padib said:
Shiken said:

So by that logic, I guess Uncharted 3 is just a port of Uncharted 2 with a different story.  God of War Ascension must be a port of God of War 3 as well.  I mean when it comes down to raw mechanics, they have even more in common than Smash U and Smash Ultimate do after all.

Put it this way. Street Fighter IV Arcade edition is SFIV with more characters and modes.

I hope that analogy clears up your confusion.

Smash Ultimate is more than just "more modes".  It has well over double the content outside of just the characters.  The adventure mode in of itself is its own game in terms of scale, and the spirit feature is a completely new dynamic.

None of this was DLC from the WiiU version nor added content from another version.  It is a completely new game that built off of what the WiiU version had (sequel).  The reaching here is comical to say the least.  I mean, more than 50% of the game is new content.  How anyone can consider that "the same game with DLC" is beyond understanding.

You are entitled to you opinion, and you can believe what you want.  But that does not change the actual facts set in reality, which is that it is a new game.



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Runa216 on 22 April 2021
padib said:

It's your reality but not mine. My reality is that Smash Ultimate is the same game as Smash WiiU, with more characters and a story mode which should've been there in the first place, and existed in the sister version Smash 3DS.

So have your opinion and leave mine alone.

So your reality is that of delusion, then? I mean, I can believe a tangerine is an orange all I want, that doesn't make it a fact. 

This argument of whether or not smash Ultimate is a port or a new game is stupid. you are wrong. Period. End of discussion. subjective opinions do not supercede objective facts. How is this still an argument? How are people so wrong so consistently? How are people still in denial/delusion over something so trivial? 

I just don't get how or why you cling to this, then try to mask your ignorance as an opinion. that's not how this works, dude. 



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curl-6 on 22 April 2021

Saying Smash Ultimate is a port of Smash U is like saying Brawl is just a port of Melee, or Bayonetta 2 is a port of Bayonetta 1. It's an iterative sequel in the standard industry sense.