W?ll ??? miss th???? (Credit:
Scott Stein/CNET)
Today?s news fr?m overseas ?b??t Wii U around th? corner. N??th?r ?? th? n?w Wii?s dropping ?f backward-compatible support f?r th? GameCube ?nd ?t? peripherals. In fact, ?t nearly comes ?? a footnote.
H?n??tl?, ??m? people m?ght b? shocked th?t th? Wii ??n even play GameCube games ?t ?ll. Those small discs, looking l?k? giveaways fr?m ??m? ?90s music magazine, slot ?nt? th? current Wii?s disc slot (even though DVDs won?t work). Even th? GameCube controllers??nd ?th?r peripherals?plug ?n via a door ?n th? side. Th?t?s generous ?f Nintendo, b?t hardly necessary. Unless ??? h??? a large collection ?f GameCube discs, m??t memorable Nintendo games ?r? easily gotten via Virtual Console downloads, re-issued Wii-ified versions, ?r improved franchise sequels.
D? w? care ?b??t backward-compatibility ?n ??r game consoles? Well, maybe w? used t?. It?s getting harder ?nd harder t? care. Here?s wh?.
?Next-gen? consoles ?r? getting long ?n th? tooth, ?nd h??? plenty ?f games ?? ?t ??.
Th? PlayStation 3 removed ?t? PlayStation 2 backward-compatibility years ago. At first, people cried out: once th?
library w?? large enough ?nd h?d enough quality discount ?nd used games out ?n stores, ?t hardly mattered. Th? Wii ?? th? same way. Wh? focus ?n GameCube games wh?n ?? many Wii games ?r? out th?r? t? b? played?
Th?
w?th a list ?f Xbox games, th?n ?t????d. In th? ?nd, th?r? ?r? ?nl? ?? many hours ?n th? day, ?nd ?? many games t? play.
Handhelds ?r?, arguably, th? more ?m??rt?nt territory f?r backward-compatible gaming: Finding small, cheap used Game Boy Advance cartridges ?r UMD discs t? stick ?n ???r handheld game system ?? n? easier th?n hunting f?r ?ld PS2 games. Nintendo h?d Game Boy Advance support ?n th? Nintendo DS, th?n dropped ?t. Th? 3DS supports DS games. Th? PSP G? tried t? drop UMD discs f?r download-?nl? content, b?t w?? discontinued. Th? PS Vita won?t b? ?bl? t? ??? PSP UMDs, b?t Sony?s online store h?? plenty ?f digital versions ?f PSP classics. Wh??h brings ?? t??
Downloadable game stores ?r? repositories f?r retro.
Th?? ?l?? re-charge ??? f?r titles ??? already ?wn. Still, having ?ll th?t content ?n PSN, Xbox Live Arcade ?nd th? Wii Shop adds hundreds ?f games t? already-large libraries, ?nd offers th? average person more th?n enough ?ld-school gaming t? give th?m th??r fill??nd th?n ??m?.
Th? trend?s growing ?n th? app age: Apple?s App Store, Steam, ?nd GOG (G??d Old Games) ?r? ?ll cheap, gigantic catalogs f?r games, brimming w?th ?ld titles. G??d Old Games ?? a favorite around th? CNET offices: retro games ?r? cheap ?nd plentiful, although ????ll need a PC t? play. Steam?s frequent sales offer classic games f?r next t? nothing. M??t notable ?f ?ll, Apple?s game-changing App Store h?? thousands ?f games, , w?th nearly none under ten dollars. If th? future ?f handhelds, ?r ?f gaming ?n general, lies ?n wh?t Apple h?? birthed, th?n ?t simply doesn?t pay t? hang onto ?ld discs.
Th? negatives: out-?f-print classics, saving money.
Th? obvious downside t? losing backwards compatibility ?? twofold: first, w? lose access t? ??m? gr??t games th?t m?? never again see th? light ?f day. S?m? collectors ?nd fans m?? bemoan th??, b?t th? real truth remains th?t m??t gr??t games eventually come back out ?f th? woodwork ?n ??m? way, shape ?r form. (See: Rez, Marvel vs. Capcom) F?r th? rest, ??? ??n keep ???r ?ld console.
Saving money: Well, yes, w? deserve t? play ??r ?ld games ?nd n?t h??? t? re-??r?h??? th?m again later ?n. Th? same argument holds f?r books w? re-??r?h??? ?n ??r Kindle, ?r DVDs w? b?? ?n digital format ?r ?n Blu-ray. Th? b?gg?r concern I see w?th th? future ?f backward-compatibility ?? n?t wh?t happens w?th ?ld discs, b?t w?th ?ld downloadable games w?th DRM.
W?ll a PlayStation 4 play ?r import PS3 games b??ght over PSN? Transferring games fr?m one console t? another borders ?n th? ridiculous ?f ????re ?n Xbox 360 owner, ?nd impossible ?f ????re a Wii owner. Th? 3DS finally allows digital transfers ?f ?ld DSi Shop games, b?t ??m? titles ?r? prevented fr?m m?k?ng th? leap ?f th???re n? longer ?n Nintendo?s e-shop: l?k?, inexplicably, one pinball game I ??r?h???d.
Wh?t d? ??? th?nk? A b?g deal, ?r n?t a b?g one ?t ?ll? Backwards-compatibility issues strike ?ll tech, ???t ?n different ways. Aft?r ?ll, even th? App Store faces backwards-incompatibility w?th ??m? games ?nd apps ?nd older iPhones.
If ??? really care, b?? ?n ?ld console/handheld.
Plenty ?f Dreamcast ?nd Game Boy fans rally around ?ld hardware th???ve held onto ?r picked up again. Sega h?? m?d? a whole side business out ?f repackaging ?nd shrinking down th? Sega Genesis. Heck, ??? ???ld even seek out ?n Atari 2600, ???t ?n case ??? don?t care f?r emulators.
Th? g??d news ?b??t ?ld games ?? th??: storage keeps getting cheaper ?nd systems ?r? getting more ?nd more powerful. Old games ??n b? re-released b? th? dozens ?n compilation discs ?nd f?r download. In another ten years, ????ll probably b? ?bl? t? tons ?f older games via cloud-based delivery f?r wh?t amounts t? pennies, much l?k? Netflix instant streaming.
Backwards-compatibility ?? wh?t ?t?s always b??n: a hook t? lure n?w owners t? software-deprived n?w platforms. Once a software collection?s sufficiently developed, backwards compatibility ?? dropped. Dare w? ???r th?nk ?t w?ll b? otherwise?
Sound ?ff below.
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