These past few console generations have had success with reverse compatibility. And it makes sense: No one would buy a new console only to have nothing to use it so to use the same software from the last console on the new console is a smart move. Thus, through reverse compatibility, the PS2 was able to steam ahead of the Dreamcast (among other reasons) and Gamecube games still get some mileage on the Wii.
But here's what I want to know: Is any of the business people in the gaming industry, soulless bastards that they are, taking any notice? Sure it may ensure that people automatically upgrade to the new console without question (a smart business move to be sure) but it does place the rather awkward position that no one will be interested in the new stuff because they're attention is focused on the old stuff. Thus, both Sony's insistence on the PS3 being non-backwards compatible and Nintendo's dwindling interest for the Virtual Console makes sense. Now I've said time and time again that the Virtual Console really was a good idea but people like me who bought a Wii just for the Virtual Console may not sit well with Nintendo who, in the end, are trying to run a company.
There is indeed wisdom in the notion that a great game shall forever remain a great game: One only needs to see the 3D revamp of Ocarina of Time and the various HD reworkings that found their way onto the PS3. Thus it becomes clear that people will still gladly play the same thing again or, in my case, come across it for the very first time. So are the right people paying attention?
But the point I'm trying laboriously to get to is this matter of what will happen to the backwards compatibility. The ruthlessness in how the PS3 shuns it seems to a sign of things to come in that video game companies aren't really the type to dwell on the past.
However I do like the idea of games from obsolete consoles being available for download with the PSN, XBLA and the Virtual Console - this serves as a great method for both preservation and making them readily available. And this does seem to have lasting power - why even the Virtual Console has been announced to be workable with the Wii-2 and have Gamecube games on the way.
Of course, whilst a downloadable service is a good idea it does not mean every game will be considered. By way of example, I've enjoyed Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic but it does not seem available yet on XBLA - and whilst it may work on the 360, there is always the nagging thought that it may not for Microsoft's next console.
Ultimately, I like having these 'old' games being within easy reach but, if history has taught us anything, the technology is always moving at such an absurd pace that it is all-too easy for ideas to get discarded and forgotten.
So it would be interesting to see if the XBLA/PSN/VC, let alone it's contents, will have the power to last well into the future.
Can anyone imagine Halo, a decade-old game, being downloaded off the XBLA and enjoyed ten years from now?
Interesting point. I think Halo will still be around as a downloadable, as its considered a classic that has done wonders for the FPS genre. And will the online markets stay around too? I reckon they will. Downloadables now are increasing in popularity, especially as many of them are fun, multiplayer games, something to do when you have your friends over. I would even say that some downloadables such as Limbo and Outland are better quality than many of the retail games you buy in stores (DNF for instance.)
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