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Looks like the reports that the PS4 won’t be backwards compatible with PS3 games is only half true. According to the WSJ, you won’t be able to stick your old discs in, but the PS4 will be able to stream old PS3 games instead, like a PlayStation-only OnLive.
Sony bought one of OnLive’s rivals, Gaikai, last year, which gives Sony the power to emulate the games on its servers and stream them to your PS4. Of course, there’s going to be lag — you just can’t avoid it — so I wouldn’t fancy trying to play Call of Duty across the system. Then again, there’s nothing stopping Sony pumping the same streamed-PS3 games to its tablets and phones too, so perhaps this will end up being a tour de force for Sony.
While I’d prefer to just be able to stick my library of PS3 games in the disc slot and go, if Sony does us a solid and allows us to submit the serial number from our existing game discs to get a streaming version, that’d be a lot better than nothing. I have a feeling that’s not going to happen though, and you’ll just have to buy them again from the PlayStation store. Or you could just keep your PS3, I guess. Radical thinking, I know, but it just might work. [WSJ]
Bonus, here’s another shot of that leaked prototype PS4 joypad.
Updated: Apologies, we accidentally brought you this news…twice.
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Not possible in my non cable zone area, hopefully 4G beam will reach before the cable does!
The more I read (and see) of the PS4 the less I want it. Hope it has some killer features to get me interested but this is Sony so no doubt it will be exactly as expected.
What exactly are you expecting to be wrong? Sony used to have a lackadaisical approach to hardware, but in recent months we’ve seen some absolutely top-notch hardware coming from them, including the Vita and the Xperia Z.
Their back-end stuff has also massively improved – the PSN is the best it’s ever been, PS+ is superb, and their back-catalogue of games on the store (and collection of indy games) are impressive.
I think Sony have had a wake up call, and it shows. The PS4 should continue on those lines, and I have high expectations for it.
The vita showed that sony had learn’t nothing and had not adapted to the market. Yes the hardware is nice but the software has let it down and it’s not exactly sold well. It’s like they were oblivious to competition from smartphones and tablets.
We are all entitled to our opinions, mine is that Sony really do need to do something special to impress me. They are losing my interest as a customer, someone who has bought every sony console twice apart from the vita.
I thought the Vita was fantastic – just too expensive, and most people have their phones.
I love my Vita, it’s always with me. I recently downloaded Jetpack Joyride on my phone, and then I noticed it was also available for the Vita. Same game, 2 different devices. No prizes for guessing which device is better for playing it on.
If I wasn’t so poor, I would absolutely have one – adored my PSP, until it broke.
And no doubt they’ll make the PS4 a funny shape so you can’t sit your PS3 on top of it under the TV.
They won’t all be true, but most of the rumours atm are not looking good
This is likely to be a deal breaker for me. No way will I splash out if I can’t play my old games
You can, on your old consoles…
I’ve never understood what people have against keeping their old consoles – just stick it in a cupboard, wire it through to your TV, out of sight, use it when you have to!
I haven’t got anything against keeping the old console – I’d just like to recoup some cash if possible
That and the fact my apartment is tiny so having 2 isn’t really viable atm
I know, but if I want a specific game (I think GTA V will be a PS4 title not a PS3 title) then I have to buy a whole console for that one game (I only buy a couple a year as I’m not a heavy gamer)
If I could play my existing games on the new console then I could sell my old one to recover some cost.
Well Rockstar said GTA 5 will be PS3 and 360 and shot down claims of it being a PS4 title this year, so when it releases in September, it’ll be 360 and PS3 only.
Now what I said about my only interest in the PS4 is if GTA 5 is a day one release title, is just a wish of the PS4 launching in September along side GTA 5, not reality.
I know they said that but there’s no reason that they can’t spring a “surprise its PS4/360!!!” on us – especially as its been delayed til September (and we have no PS4/720 release date yet
).
I made my comment re GTAV in parallel to yours so I didn’t see it. I know its wishful thinking but it’d be a shame if it is PS3/360 as its likely to get eclipsed by the new gen launch.
Either that or Rockstar are being really clever and will rake in millions and go for record sales just before the new console launch (just because they can) then spend a couple of years on the next one (it has to be in the pipeline already right?) by then next gen consoles will have been out long enough for them to be fairly common BAM here’s a new GTA and even more record sales.
It’d be a killer release day game though I agree!
Unless it is dead!!! Then what. I was not going to she’ll out good money for old tech. This will turn me off Sony for good.
Yeah so we should all have to pay an extra £50 bucks or so for backwards compatible hardware so you could recoup £100 of your old PS3 and still play that 1 game that might only appear on old consoles?
I was only talking about my preference and explaining why it would be a deal breaker for me. i didn’t say it should happen, just what I’d like to happen
Dunno why people are hyped, it always takes a couple years for a console to get good games. The only thing that could spark my interest is GTA 5 day one release on the PS4 and if the console is like £300, otherwise I’ll wait 6 months for the PC release.
Guess who won’t be buying a PS4 if all these rumours turn out to be true?
My internet connection isn’t good enough for streaming games. Luckily my TV has 2 HDMI ports on it so I’ll still be able to play my PS3 games with my PS3 while I wait for the PS4 game library to catch up.
‘Cos Onlive itself was a such a massive commercial success, how could this fail ?