...this generation since the release of the PS3.
I know just about everybody agrees with this, and I have thought this since the decision was first announced, but it only just hit me just how bad of a decision this was.
The other day at work I was fooling with the case of SingStar: Country. In it, there was an advertisement for a PS3. I've noticed this with all of Sony's first party titles on the PS3 and PSP before in the past, but this is the first time I noticed it with a PS2 title. Basically, all of Sony's titles for one platform are used as advertisments for their other platforms. In the PS3 cases, you'll see and advert for the PSP advertising remote play and things like that, and in PSP cases, and advert for the PS3.
The advertisment for the PS3 in the PS2 case read:
"You've made a great decision. Isn't it ime to make another one? Upgrade to the PlayStation 3."
Upgrade. Yes, upgrade. Upgrade to a system that has almost no interoperability with my current system nor the game in my hands whatsoever. They are just about completely incompatible. But you want me to upgrade? That makes a whole lot of sense.
And this is when it hit me. The lack of PS2 BC is a gaping whole in Sony's "PlayStation Family" strategy.
For the past few years (since their "fall from grace" with the ps3's launch), Sony has been heavily trying to increase the PlayStation brand name. They have been doing their best to improve operability between their systems throguh firmware upgrades, with new things like Remote Play, the ability to download PSP games onto your ps3 from the PlayStation store, then transfer them to your PSP, the ability to play PSP games through your PS3 with the DS3 on your TV, the ability to emulate PS1/2 memory cards on the ps3, and play PS1 games (and PS2 games, depending on your model) with extra AA, the abiliity to download PS1 games to your PS3 from the PlayStation store, and many other cool things.
Remote Play in particular is awesome, because I can basically bring up my PS3's entire XMB on the screen of my PSP so long as I can connect to wi-fi. Say the new Uncharted 2 demo pops up on the PlayStation Store while at work? Whip out the PSP and start downloading so it'll be ready when you get home! Board at school and tired of playing Patapon to kill some time? Start playing Wipeout HD from your PS3's HDD!
With all of these things, Sony is giving their customers of one PlayStation product reason to invest in their other PlayStation products. The PSP is a very nice compliment to the PS3, and vice versa. It's rather apparent that this is what they're going for, and why they're doing it, whenever you hear them use phrases like "PlayStation Brand" or "PlayStation Family" in press releases, in keynotes they make at various conferences, and in off the cuff interviews with various execs. And it's made glaringly obvious when they use their platforms to advertise their other platforms.
But then they remove PS2 backwards compatibility from PS3's, essentially sticking a knife into the gut of the entire strategy. What's the point of ever moving on up to a PS3 when the Wii is there for $150 less (and is the "it" thing to get), or when the 360 is there for $200 less? And the lack of a PS3 leads to... what's the point in getting that PSP when the DS has the more enticing game library? Granted, Sony has a few other things in their favor (nice exclusive franchises, Blu-Ray, etc.), but they are obviously not enough.
57,000 people bought PS2s last week. Yes, the damn things are still selling. These people have no reason whatsoever to ever "upgrade" to a PS3, despite all the efforts Sony has made. Overall, the PlayStation Family sold ~450k units (lulz, right out of SDF), with a large chunk of those systems essentially cut off from the rest.
Removing PS2 BC was just a stupid decision all around, especially since it didn't save them much per console sold (hell, they even admitted that they only did it to spur PS3 game sales over PS2 game sales, whcih was stupid because the only people probably buying PS2 games for their shiny new PS3s were hardcore gamers catching up on old titles like me - people that would've bought mountains of games either way), and it only hurt their overall strategy more than it helped.
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And to go a bit off topic, while BC was by no means the sole reasion for this, I also don't think it was a merely a coincidence that the 360 started outselling the PS3 again right around when the last remaining MGS4-bundled BC PS3s disappeared from the market (with the price cut only cementing the 360's lead from the holidays on out). Itw as reported earlier in the year that the more expensive PS3s with BC made up ~60% of the PS3's weekly sales in NA, which makes sense, because for only $100 more you were getting a $60 game (the two titles Sony used were $60 while the bundles were around - MotorStorm and MGS4), a larger HDD, and - most importantly - PS2 BC!
