The slim PS3. The PSP-Go. The DSi. The newer fat PS3s. The PS2 rawked at playing all of the PS1 games. This gen, all of the systems initially offered the feature, but the BC leader last gen felt it was unnecessary and axed the feature on the largest library of console games ever.

The Wii can play pretty much all GC games, and the 360 has a pretty good rate of playing the more popular Xbox games.

I have heard people say 'Buy a PS2 if you want to play PS2 games.' But - it is really worth it? With the console at the end of the cycle, why buy something that could be obsolete very soon?

With the next generation, if the feature is offered, will that affect your decision? Yes? No?

I don't want flaming or attempts to derail this, but honest, truthful answers. Check this fanisms at the door.

Discuss.

Extremely important.

1) conveniance of being able to play all your games on 1 system.
2) upscaling (Playing GC games in 480P on Wii is awesome)
3) Redundancy, having 2 systems that can play the same games means if 1 breaks down, you can still enjoy all the classics.

Edit: Wii isn't really upscaling GC games to 480P since they mostly had it to begin with, but almost nobody had the cables to use it on GC, so most are seeing 480P GC for the first time.

It is actually really important for me. It is stopping me from buying a PSPGo as well as a DSi.It is also the reason that it took me so long for me to get a PS3. I would actually pay $5-10 to download it off of PSN(just in case Sony is reading)

honestly i dont care for BC and i dont think anyone else should either....we've had a good 5 years with the Ps2 and played most of its game....i dont need to go back to them....and if you do want to go back to them its not that big of a deal (you can live without it) specailly since the ps3 has such a great line-up

A lot i would love to play 360 titles in the future on the Xbox 720.

pretty much this, when i get a ps3 it will have BC for the ps2 so i guess i look for a launch unit. 

im still pissed the ended MS upgrade program, and rereleasing ps2 games on blue ray, much like the no umd transfer for the psp stinks to me of money grabbing (as does MS download service for classic games after they ended the BC patching ).  as for nintendo, i feel a little gouged but really have no issue with their current BC, i mean everything else had carts, 

It's very important to me. If I could, I'd have one damn machine to play everything on. Right now I really feel like I need a PS2 to play the Kingdom Herats series after getting into 358/2 Days. I also need a replacement PS3 eventually. If I buy both at retail, I'm looking at $400. Luckily I'm not that stupid, but still, the convenience of the 60 GB is unmatched and I'm so saddened mine was sent to an early death.

And in 5 years, when your PS2 no longer works, all those fantastic games will never see the light of day again, wouldn't you be dissapointed that you can never go through those incredible games again?

It's easy to say you don't want it when you have an alterantive, but when that alternative goes away, you will truly wish you had BC.

You might not care if your PS2 got wrecked right now and you never replaced it, but I guarantee you in a little while you will really miss that system.

Kind of like your favorite movies of all time. What if say , oh I don't know, The original Star Wars trilogy never made it off VHS, and your last VHS player broke. Sure you won't miss the movies right away, but 5 years down the road? Damn...I really want to see that movie again or show it to my friends.

I look at BC in the long term, not the short term.

Also it's a good way for those to experience the previous system when they never owned one.

so you never go back and play old games? break out an SNES and play original mario kart, or throw down FFVII form your three cds? those games are dead to you?

my ps2 died  (controller thing would not recognize any of my ps2 controllers, tested a friends and his did not work, but my controllers worked on his ps2), and i was playing through both FFVII for the 3rd time, and harvey birdman attorney at law again. (HB is an awsome game if you get a chance pick it up)

if the slim had BC i would have bought one, i hope they reintorduce it. I really do it would drastically improve my view of sony this gen. 

sony has quite a few quirky games you cant get anywhere else and i love them (loco roco was amazing ), but they make it so hard to justify me spending my money on them. 

It is really important to me, I'd pay an extra $100 for a fully BC model PS3. The PS2 I have had for like 10 years still works but I get a random splotch on the screen that discolors the picture but I can't justify buying a brand new PS2 which I won't play the hell out of. But mainly the lack of shelf space, I can't have a PS3 and a PS2 in my room because I got some other stuff plugged in and no extra shelf space.

It is mainly a convenience thing.