Plus XP

In the older days of console gaming, all systems were separate – NES games would only work on the NES, Sega Mega Drive games would only work on the Mega Drive, and so forth – but since I was young, and only ever owned one current console at a time, it wasn’t a big issue – when I had a Sega it was all I ever played, and I never had to consider the concept of compatibility.

However, not much later we would see a new idea enter the market – moving from cartridges to CDs which were a much more standard media type; for the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast and perhaps most importantly, the PlayStation. The release of the PlayStation 2 gave a new aspect to the home console – backward compatibility. Having grown up a bit and developed a greater passion for gaming – with a growing collection to boot – the PS2 allowed for gamers like me to upgrade to the new model, whilst allowing me to continue playing my (still growing) collection of PS1 games – while I fell in love with Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy X, I was still able to bask in the glory of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night without needing two PlayStation consoles set up at a time.

On the handheld side of things, Nintendo had dominated the market with their Game Boy, eventually releasing the Pocket and Color models which improved the console’s build whilst keeping the Game Boy game format. When it came around to releasing the next completely rehauled handheld console, the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo acknowledged that people would be upgrading, and therefore made it possible to play original GB titles on the GBA system.

A GBA SP with a Gameboy Color cartridge

So at the end of last generation we had the PS2, which was compatible with all PlayStation games released thus far, Nintendo moved onto miniature discs with its conversion from cartridges with the GameCube (soon to be followed up by the backward-compatible Wii), the new Microsoft Xbox crept onto the scene with its own DVD-format discs. It was looking as though data formats were being standardised, and as consoles all moved to disc it seemed likely that we’d be able to see backward compatibility in the future, with consoles all using game formats that would be physically compatible with the new versions – the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 would again use discs, and the Wii would incorporate full size discs while still being able to accept the GameCube titles.

However, I find myself in a different situation altogether. Whereas the rare, initial version of the PS3 (albeit high-priced) was able to do such a thing – being able to play games from all three generations of the Playstation consoles - this was soon scrapped for the new, cheaper model of PS3, and the following Slim version, looking to be lost forever. Although the PS3 is still compatible with PS1 titles (yay for Final Fantasy 1-9!), the console lost access to what is perhaps one of the largest console libraries ever – the PS2 being one of the most successful consoles ever made, personally making up a good third (if not more) of my entire gaming collection. But due to this change, my PS3 console is severely flawed in that it cannot play Devil May Cry 1-3, Onimusha, Final Fantasy X+XII, Capcom Vs SNK 2, God of War I&II, Kingdom Hearts and Shadow of the Colossus among many, many others, while my little PS2 slim sits still triumphant underneath my TV. Don’t get me wrong – I love my PS3, and its fast becoming my favourite console of the generation – but do I really want two PlayStations set up at all times?

Sure, the graphics are looking a little dated, but if you haven't played this - you're missing out

The Xbox 360 had a similar situation – although the original Xbox wasn’t nearly as successful as the PS2, it still had some worthwhile games. However, instead of simply being compatible or incompatible with the previous titles, it has a select set of titles which are possible to emulate via online patches (of which the database is never updated). Obviously this is fine for mainstream games like Halo 2, but upon foolishly purchasing a copy of Dino Crisis 3 I found myself with a disc I couldn’t use. This was far too complicated, so I didn’t bother getting any more original Xbox games – but I think if the original console had as vast a library, this selective system would be awful. I can imagine that a few owners of the original system got screwed when half of their old games weren’t compatible with the new system. Especially when Microsoft then follow-up by releasing the old Xbox games for digital download on Xbox Live. I’d much rather look after a disc than have Fable eating up my hard-disk space for the 99.9% of the time I’m not using it.

The Wii, however, is the only one of the three latest consoles that is successfully and completely backward compatible with the previous console (strangely being the one with the most difference in the new and old hardware – with its change in disc size and controller rehaul). However, I have a bone to pick with Nintendo in the handheld area of things…

Now, the Nintendo DS is a good console with some great titles, such as the Ace Attorney series and Castlevania titles. By including a GBA slot, it’s library was vastly improved, my DS game collection consisting of about a 3:1 ratio of GBA games to DS titles – with series’ such as Castlevania, Megaman Battle Network, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Metroid and others providing very solid gameplay, which has aged very well and still looks great on the DS – I mean, it was a shame they ditched the original Game Boy functionality, but to be honest they haven’t aged so well, and I don’t miss any of the titles – with perhaps the best titles such as Pokemon having sequels and (good) remakes on the GBA format regardless.

Now you may say… that’s not a complaint, surely? Well – although the GBA functionality is a blessing for the DS, it’s not perfect. Since a good few of the GBA title’s use a Link Cable for various functions (such as trading in Pokemon), sometimes even being necessary for 100% completion, the DS does a terrible job by failing to have a link cable port, or incorporating a link cable emulation system using the DS’s wi-fi capabilities. This isn’t too big a deal, but having to find out a couple of old GBAs and a working link cable can be a mountainous task. This isn’t my main issue, though.

No. Introducing the DSi. Look at it, on the left, with its slim design, in-built camera and well-lit screen. One could say it’s a perfected version of the original DS. But oh, what’s that – WHERE’S THE FRICKIN’ GBA PORT!? That’s right. Believing that today’s market isn’t interested in the GBA (which is probably true, with Nintendo aiming at the casual market), they ditched the GBA functionality and just quartered the selection of great games the console has to offer. Well done, Nintendo. I’ll stick to my fat DS thanks (which incidentally fits in my pocket regardless). The Slim was a great rehaul, but the DSi should hang its head in shame. Where’s the respect for elders and all that?

Now, I understand that technology can be expensive, and perhaps it’s more cost-effective to produce consoles that aren’t backward compatible. But in this day and age, where technology moves so fast, I think the old media is being dropped far too fast. I play GBA titles and PS2 games far too often for them to be classed as obsolete. I’d much rather pay a bit more in order for my PS3 and DS to fully incorporate what the previous consoles could do, as I’m far more likely to be playing Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow in the long-term than I am Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training. And yes, one day I would like to be able to play the entire Devil May Cry quadrilogy on the same console. We already know it’s possible – just give us the chance. With technology today, I’m sure both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are powerful enough to handle true backward compatibility. I for one would pay an extra £50-£100 for a PS2-incorporating edition of the PS3/Slim – why not just let us choose whether to pay the extra or not?

-Leon