So what have we learned today? Backwards compatibility is a nice way to help launch a new system assuming you didn't own the previous generation. For the Sega Genesis, and more so the Xbox 360, it helped get the console off to a good start. Nah, it wasn't the major selling point but it brought some people in who saw it as buying two new systems in one. It didn't hurt the Playstation 2 but couldn't have been very helpful either. It's hard to imagine anyone buying a Playstation 2 that didn't already have a Playstation, at least not in the early years. For the Wii and Playstation 3 it's still a little too early to tell. As of this moment it seems to be hurting the Playstation 3 and slightly helping the Wii.
As to why do all three of today's major consoles offer backwards compatibility? Simple answer, it's what consumers want. You can thank the Playstation 2 for this. It was a widely adopted system that was backwards compatible with it's predecessor. It made backwards compatibility an expectation instead of a feature.
From a consumer standpoint, there was no way Sony could break that in the Playstation 3. Although beating them to market by a year, Microsoft was really following Sony's lead. The Wii, on the other hand, definitely wasn't following anyone and was backwards compatible because it was technically simple and part of their overall vision for the console. Without great third-party support coming out of the gate they needed a way to quickly inflate the library.
It looks like backwards compatibility is here to stay. Once consumers start expecting something, even if they don't use it, it ain't going away. All major consoles have adopted a CD format eliminating one hurdle for future generations. Yeah, it's sad to see the cartridge go (except for handhelds at this point) but it means the games you buy today will likely run on the Xbox 1440 in a decade.
Even with this optimism there's one lingering concern. Despite being backwards compatible with the original Playstation, Sony recently started selling downloadable versions of their old games. It's a trend I can see expanding.
My fear is that we're going to end-up with only the download option one day. Why should publishers let you play old games for free when they can re-sell you something you already own (see: music industry)? They'll pitch it as an improvement, "why play the low-def original when you can download the 1080p upscaled version?" At the end of the day it's really spending $20 for something you can find in a used game bin for $5.
Article Sources
The outline for the article was cranked out from memory. To keep me honest I consulted the resources listed below to verify facts. Also I'm not in the habit of memorizing how systems achieved backwards compatibility so some of these links provided this technical information.
- AtariAge - Atari 5200 FAQ
- AtariAge - Atari 7800 FAQ
- GameFAQs - PlayStation 2: Backwards Compatibility FAQ
- Wikipedia - Game Boy line
- Wikipedia - History of video game consoles: 6th generation
- Wikipedia - WDC 65816/65802 and Ricoh_5A22 (Super Nintendo CPU information)
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