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[Clear]

When you buy a movie, does your media player or PC still allow you to play the disc/digital file without CMOS battery issues or time syncing with an online store?

Yes.

You do get that the CMOS "issue" is a PS4 thing, a piece of hardware in active service and still regularly updated, meaning that its something that could be fixed anytime? Both before or after the actual hardware ceases production.

Has it occurred to you that the reason its likely not been addressed is because its a "problem" that literally cannot occur yet!

Not to mention that PS4 B/C is literally part of the PS5's SoC, (not additional hardware elements like the PS2 stuff in early PS3's) making it monumentally unlikely that its ever not going to treat the PS4 library as an adjunct to the PS5's software line-up.

The hand-wringing over this hypothetical is simply idiotic. Its unlikely to ever be an issue, and if it ever does its unlikely to occur for years... the world is more likely to end in the same timeframe!

Most of all though, its got sweet fuck all to do with software preservation.

 

[Fredrik]

If VC was a continuous thing between Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and now Switch, then it could have become the de facto "first stop" online destination for retro video games. It would have been for classic gaming what iTunes was for music, or Kindle was for books. Instead, they chose to throw it all away.

Yeah, it used to be fantastic, you had games from pretty much all old consoles, even from old computers like Commodore 64. And everything worked great!

But then they just dropped the ball completely on Switch. I don’t even think they locked the games to the user accounts before they closed down VC, if they ever started it up again then you can bet that we would have to rebuy everything.

So no no no, Sony should not look at how Nintendo handle old games. They could just start releasing everything on PC instead, that way we know they would survive in the long run. Or why not accept the existance of RetroArch? I’ve played some PS1 titles on Xbox Series X through Retroarch, works great.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

While I would love it if they did, they have no responsibility to do so. That being said IP holders are sitting on literal goldmines by not porting these games to modern platforms IMO. Serioulsy, how many millions of sales would Squeenix make by putting out Vagrant Story for $20 completely untouched?

 

[e&e]

Nintendo is also about their bottom line like Sony.

Yes as to why I responded sarcastically saying Nintendo must be dumb to be making money on their legacy...they just made millions of anniversary releases on one cart!

So why shouldn’t Sony do this again?

While I would love it if they did, they have no responsibility to do so. That being said IP holders are sitting on literal goldmines by not porting these games to modern platforms IMO. Serioulsy, how many millions of sales would Squeenix make by putting out Vagrant Story for $20 completely untouched?

It must be making more just sitting in the vault...

 

[Hobbygaming]

That's the narrative Sony's trying to push to justify their actions.

Microsoft knows that's not true, and that's exactly why they've invested hard in making older games run on the new Xbox.
Also, that add a TON of value to the console.

If PS5 had backwards compatibility with at least PS1 and PS2 it would already be enough to blow Xbox out of the water.

There is no narrative it wouldn't make much of a difference

 

[Panzerdragoon]

Didn't care much about xbox last gen but i'm glad that they exist as a console maker this gen as they're making up for sony dropping the ball so hard. Glad i didnt put much into digital eco system on ps4. What a trainwreck

 

[Mufausa The 3rd]

The platform holders arent going to do this, their primary concern is profit, as any business should be. If you want to play old games, people need to get over their aversion to using emulation and pirated roms. We think its simple, but the truth is 3rd party licensing is the reason most old games arent available.

I've been saying this for a while. The way that people go so against with emulation really annoys me. There are so many games that we would not have been able to ever play. Especially for people of this new generation, if it wasn't for emulation. I'm always for emulation regardless what people say.

 

[lh032]

Im not a tech engineer, but would be cool if sony just slap on a good emulator on PS5 to run ps1-ps3 games lol

 

[Hatsuma]

I've been thinking about this since yesterday, but where is this obsession of game preservation coming from? Really? Because no console maker has successfully pulled it off 100% for titles dating beyond their previous generation. N64 cartridges don't suddenly work for GameCube. Why wasn't this a fear since then? This is why physical media and previous hardware become essential vintage items. The very thing people want to move away from, which is beyond me.

The bc ps3 was literally your best bet for retaining as close to 100% as possible. How much was it back then? $600. Only people that were the absolute hardcore of hardcore bought it. So ps3 had to be revised so that bc components were removed. Get ya ps3 bc 2nd hand

 

[lostinblue]

Old systems simply shouldn't go away and the infrastructure should just allow it. I'm sure Windows 98 still downloads updates if I install it, or Windows XP. And guess it's not taking a lot of bandwidth from Microsoft Servers for it to be a problem.

The size of all the updates must be laughable by todays standards and this way they give costumers flexibility.

With consoles, even if they want to elimitate PS3 servers, I'm sure they can put all the data on the PS4/PS5 server system (if it's the same) and just keep a front end that resolves what the PS3, PSP or PS Vita are asking for.

Retrocompatibility with them, of course, would probably serve as an incentive for Sony to keep them around working as is. Microsoft is a better success story here, but I'm sure Xbox and Xbox 360 games can still be purchased both because their online infrastruture was more forward looking but also because there is BC and thus these titles still amount to money.

Im not a tech engineer, but would be cool if sony just slap on a good emulator on PS5 to run ps1-ps3 games lol

PS1-PS2 would be easy. Also PSP and PS Vita, I guess.

PS3... I'm sure most games would run, but some would be very hard to pull; some of the ones that are tied to it to this day, like Killzone 2.


Then again I'm not an advocate for buying everything again to be honest. One of the things that will tie us to one brand or the other from here on out is precisely what we have purchased on our accounts. And that's what Nintendo has been doing poorly for 3 generations now, and the reason I refuse to spend 1 euro on their store.

The bc ps3 was literally your best bet for retaining as close to 100% as possible. How much was it back then? $600. Only people that were the absolute hardcore of hardcore bought it. So ps3 had to be revised so that bc components were removed. Get ya ps3 bc 2nd hand

You're referring to PS3 with full PS2 hardware BC, right?

Well, the issue was that PS2 was so proprietary that they needed to put a full PS2 inside every PS3, CPU (RSX) and GPU (GSX) included. They did it because that was the Ken Kutaragi way, note PS2 also had a PSone chip built in for BC, but with PS2 parts, this was expensive to do and impossible to keep on a console that was competing with the leaner X360 (also leaner because it was doing BC via emulation).

No one is obviously advocating for that to happen. If the system is powerful enough you can just emulate it.

Nintendo just released an OK port of 3D Marios with limited time availability to drive up sales.

Nothing was ported: Emulated.

And that's a problem, Wii U had Mario Galaxy it on it's Virtual Store; both Wii and Wii U had Mario 64, and here you have a new console, third in a row, where you have to buy something you already own... Again.

You only buy if you want, but it would be nice if people that already purchased the game multiple times virtually (probably something like 5 people) had the separate games instantly. It's good costumer service.

Limited edition of something they re-release every time they want to make easy money is just dumb. The effort was abysmal. (but it prints money by itself, so that's part of the problem)

While I would love it if they did, they have no responsibility to do so. That being said IP holders are sitting on literal goldmines by not porting these games to modern platforms IMO. Serioulsy, how many millions of sales would Squeenix make by putting out Vagrant Story for $20 completely untouched?

Vagrant Story?

Probably not even 1 million. It was/is on PS3 and PSP (PS Vita via PSP BC), I'm sure they have data on that.


It's not Final Fantasy.

You do get that the CMOS "issue" is a PS4 thing, a piece of hardware in active service and still regularly updated, meaning that its something that could be fixed anytime? Both before or after the actual hardware ceases production.

Usually they don't patch those things after they stop supporting the hardware.

They might now, so it's useful that people are thinking and talking about it.


Storefronts need more transparency, and to be built with a high degree of future proofing. Even if this happens with these consoles, the main thing is if it was due to poor planning, then it can't ever happen again.

 

[Hatsuma]

Old systems simply shouldn't go away and the infrastructure should just allow it. I'm sure Windows 98 still downloads updates if I install it, or Windows XP. And guess it's not taking a lot of bandwidth from Microsoft Servers for it to be a problem.

The size of all the updates must be laughable by todays standards and this way they give costumers flexibility.

With consoles, even if they want to elimitate PS3 servers, I'm sure they can put all the data on the PS4/PS5 server system (if it's the same) and just keep a front end that resolves what the PS3, PSP or PS Vita are asking for.

Retrocompatibility with them, of course, would probably serve as an incentive for Sony to keep them around working as is. Microsoft is a better success story here, but I'm sure Xbox and Xbox 360 games can still be purchased both because their online infrastruture was more forward looking but also because there is BC and thus these titles still amount to money.

PS1-PS2 would be easy. Also PSP and PS Vita, I guess.

PS3... I'm sure most games would run, but some would be very hard to pull; some of the ones that are tied to it to this day, like Killzone 2.


Then again I'm not an advocate for buying everything again to be honest. One of the things that will tie us to one brand or the other from here on out is precisely what we have purchased on our accounts. And that's what Nintendo has been doing poorly for 3 generations now, and the reason I refuse to spend 1 euro on their store.

You're referring to PS3 with full PS2 hardware BC, right?

Well, the issue was that PS2 was so proprietary that they needed to put a full PS2 inside every PS3, CPU (RSX) and GPU (GSX) included. They did it because that was the Ken Kutaragi way, note PS2 also had a PSone chip built in for BC, but with PS2 parts, this was expensive to do and impossible to keep on a console that was competing with the leaner X360 (also leaner because it was doing BC via emulation).

No one is obviously advocating for that to happen. If the system is powerful enough you can just emulate it.

The thing is, while the system is strong enough to at least emulate ps2 and ps1, the emulation requires software coding and testing, as well as licensing. The issue always come to money, since all these steps require this. I hate to bring them up for proof, but I have a feeling this obsession of preservation stems from MS push on BC. Ill ask this question to attempt to understand why Sony hasn't done it. Why is it the software giant MS, only emulated less than half of 360 library and an even much smaller number of the Duke?

360 was more than powerful enough to emulate the Duke. The SeriesX is far more even so. So why didn't they emulate their entire libraries, off rip?

I assume there are much more costs/time than we are aware of that Sony/MS/Nintendo are privy to, that the return is simply not worth it. MS needs BC to stall for their library to be prepare. They get good media coverage for it as well.

If you truly want game preservation, either find/keep the fat ps3 which had ps2 and ps1 hardware BC, or hold onto the hardware. Buy it 2nd hand. Which is the impasse for some reason.

 

[lostinblue]

The thing is, while the system is strong enough to at least emulate ps2 and ps1, the emulation requires software coding and testing, as well as licensing. The issue always come to money, since all these steps require this. I hate to bring them up for proof, but I have a feeling this obsession of preservation stems from MS push on BC. Ill ask this question to attempt to understand why Sony hasn't done it. Why is it the software giant MS, only emulated less than half of 360 library and an even much smaller number of the Duke?

360 was more than powerful enough to emulate the Duke. The SeriesX is far more even so. So why didn't they emulate their entire libraries, off rip?

Well, you always have two paths for the finish line.

If you want to emulate everything flawlessly, you can, but it's gonna cost you. You have to go low level emulation instead of high level, resources needed will be higher, but compatibility lists can be nuked. I'm sure they could go that route with Xbox and PS2. but it would be difficult for X360 and specially, PS3 games even on modern hardware.

If you don't go low level, then you have to do tweaks here and there, which is why Software PS2 BC was partial on PS3, PSone was partial on PSP, Xbox 1 and Xbox 360 are partial. And so on.

And, you can also strive for something in the middle, in PS3's case, you need to go Low Level Emulation on the CPU (speficially: SPE's) side of things, which is terrifying... But I'm sure you can half ass the GPU portion.

You're right, first and foremost it all costs money and companies won't do it out of sheer good will. But, in Microsoft's case, I'm sure they also do it because it translates to money and costumers benefit from it. On my end this is not about newer consoles, it's about older consoles not being bricks any more than they have to.

Microsoft used to pay licencing to Nvidia for Xbox 1 emulation (per X360 console no less), I'm sure Nvidia would require something similar with PS3 games as they are stingy as it comes; but PS1 and PS2? No obvious licencing fees for anything hardware related, perhaps something to the detainers of the MIPS licence.

I'm sure Microsoft doing it introduces the notion that is possible, therefore should, but you'd always have the discussion against bringing these systems down completely. Precisely because one day things might break and you'll be locked out of the things you bought. You can't exactly buy another PS3 and re-download the game latest patches or even play things you purchased digitally.

It's a big argument against buying digital, because that simply shouldn't happen.

If you truly want game preservation, either find/keep the fat ps3 which had ps2 and ps1 hardware BC, or hold onto the hardware. Buy it 2nd hand. Which is the impasse for some reason.

PS3 with PS2 BC is a bad deal. The PS2 upscale adds tons of latency and they're not immune to what caused the Red Ring of Death on X360 and problems on Macbooks with Geforce GPU's (on PS3 it was called PS3 Red Light Blinking)... the transition from solder with lead to without lead (prone to break). Which was addressed later.

Whenever that is possible to happen, it's often a matter of time until it does.

 

[Umbasaborne]

Nintendo may be shitty and petty about the way they preserve their classic library, but sony is content to do shit all.

 

[Hatsuma]

Well, you always have two paths for the finish line.

If you want to emulate everything flawlessly, you can, but it's gonna cost you. You have to go low level emulation instead of high level, resources needed will be higher, but compatibility lists can be nuked. I'm sure they could go that route with Xbox and PS2., but it would be difficult for X360 and specially, PS3.

If you don't go low level, then you have to do tweaks here and there, which is why Software PS2 BC was partial on PS3, PSone was partial on PSP, Xbox 1 and Xbox 360 are partial. And so on.

And you're right, first and foremost it all costs money and companies won't do it out of sheer good will. But, in Microsoft's case, I'm sure they also do it because it translates to money.

PS3 with PS2 BC is a bad deal. The PS2 upscale adds tons of latency and they're not immune to what caused the Red Ring of Death on X360 and problems on Macbooks with Geforce GPU's (on PS3 it was called PS3 Red Light Blinking)... the transition from solder with lead to without lead (prone to break). Which was addressed later.

Regardless, whenever that is possible to happen, it's often a matter of time until it does.

I don't disagree on possible sales benefit. But that obviously didn't translate to much money for Sony to outweigh what goes into it, hence why they aren't as committed to it. I really don't think BC even for MS gives them much return. Overall it serves more as a distraction from their library deficit, gives extra perceived value to the hardware, and gives extra media attention, which has stirred more conversations about it and is a further distraction.

And yes, hardware dies eventually, but hardware preservation is the closest you'll get to true game preservation. And why physical media and hardware is so valuable for vintage use.

 

[SoraNoKuni]

Responsibility? Nuh, but I would really like them experimenting with older games, old classics with HDR or Ray tracing like the rumored GT1 Ray tracing tech demo they had running.

It would be cool, I don't know if they have the sources but old games with a modern twist (Not remaster, remake) would be pretty nice.

 

[lostinblue]

I don't disagree on possible sales benefit. But that obviously didn't translate to much money for Sony to outweigh what goes into it, hence why they aren't as committed to it. I really don't think BC even for MS gives them much return. Overall it serves more as a distraction from their library deficit, gives extra perceived value to the hardware, and gives extra media attention, which has stirred more conversations about it and is a further distraction.

And yes, hardware dies eventually, but hardware preservation is the closest you'll get to true game preservation. And why physical media and hardware is so valuable for vintage use.

I don't disagree either

 

[Yselacrey00]

Sony has a responsibility to preserve its gaming history | Opinion

Whether it happens this summer, as is widely rumoured, or at some point in the near future, it's an inevitable event; S…

www.gamesindustry.biz

This is why emulation is a great thing. If Sony isn't willing to preserve their past, then we have to do it ourselves.

This is a no brainer. If they aren't going to sell the games anymore the should release them officially for emulation.

 

[Clear]

This is a no brainer. If they aren't going to sell the games anymore the should release them officially for emulation.

Yeah riiiight. Once again, do movie studios do this?

 

[Hatsuma]

Yeah riiiight. Once again, do movie studios do this?

Nope. They remaster on new medium and cashout. And it requires even less effort to remastering or remaking a game

 

[Yselacrey00]

Yeah riiiight. Once again, do movie studios do this?

But movie studios do sell them. We're talking here about hardware that is about to become obsolete because there won't be a way to buy games for it.

 

[Neff]

Sony will never move gaming forward artistically the way they hope to when they make a point of telling us to forget the classics of yesteryear. Every other art form embraces and reveres its own history. Gaming does to a point due to hardware compatibility, but I'm pretty sure PS5 could emulate legacy systems in its sleep.

So, the author is advocating that Sony go ahead and completely abandon their old systems' online stores, and then repackage a small selection of those games for current systems and resell them again? Because that's exactly what Nintendo has done over the last few years.

Still better than doing nothing regarding PSone, PS2 and PS3. Still, it's early days yet, and PS5 is already a more backwards compatibility-friendly platform than PS4 was.

 

[Hatsuma]

But movie studios do sell them. We're talking here about hardware that is about to become obsolete because there won't be a way to buy games for it.

But all movies have not been remastered. Many are still stuck on VHS or film roll. Just happens. The hardware can still be bought 2nd hand and kept and maintained.

But there are so many complaints about paying for remaster and remakes, even of immense quality. DSR is an incredible remake that many try to dismiss because it is a remake of a ps3 game, despite the immense work that went into it. So when they do charge, we're back here again. Vocal minority don't wanna pay for work the others are putting in to provide the product and just want it free.

 

[Clear]

Nope. They remaster on new medium and cashout. And it requires even less effort to remastering or remaking a game

But movie studios do sell them. We're talking here about hardware that is about to become obsolete because there won't be a way to buy games for it.

Not every single title they don't. Most get an initial pressing on DVD/BD and when that stock is sold through, its effectively gone. Until when and if some enterprising third party decides to pick it up, something that is always done piecemeal and again in limited runs.

Movies get "lost". Sometimes that's a tragedy, but more often its a result of them not really catching the audience's imagination and them simply being forgotten.

THIS IS FINE.

You do get that traditionally the hallmark of something being a "classic" is that it survives the passage of time. If everything, every work gets preserved how can you separate the wheat from the chaff? Its just an ever growing mountain of "stuff", and mountains of anything get treated as unimportant and disposable.

This is what bugs me the most about this whole discussion; I simply do not believe this is about collecting and preserving valuable historic works, its more like hoarding. People just want a big list of "stuff" most of which they will never look at again, let alone replay, yet there's this irrational fear of missing out on something important if they don't possess it all.

If you are a true collector, you'll put the work in and find a way to get the object of your desires. That's what collector's do; the pursuit is a huge part of the joy.

But this isn't like that at all... its people getting stroppy because in the future things may not be as convenient as they'd like and are trying to bullshit a "moral high-ground" excuse for their discomfort.

 

[Zog]

You do get that the CMOS "issue" is a PS4 thing, a piece of hardware in active service and still regularly updated, meaning that its something that could be fixed anytime? Both before or after the actual hardware ceases production.

Has it occurred to you that the reason its likely not been addressed is because its a "problem" that literally cannot occur yet!

Not to mention that PS4 B/C is literally part of the PS5's SoC, (not additional hardware elements like the PS2 stuff in early PS3's) making it monumentally unlikely that its ever not going to treat the PS4 library as an adjunct to the PS5's software line-up.

The hand-wringing over this hypothetical is simply idiotic. Its unlikely to ever be an issue, and if it ever does its unlikely to occur for years... the world is more likely to end in the same timeframe!

Most of all though, its got sweet fuck all to do with software preservation.

So hey, do you have any old hardware that I can break for you? I am thinking that since the DS, DS LIte and Game Boy Player all play GBA games, you will be ok with any Game Boy Advance's you have being broken? Maybe you still have a PS1 but you don't need it since PS2 and PS3 both play PS1 discs?

 

[Reality Czar]

Most of these games people are talking about are really old at this point. People need to realize that. Time is passing. I know everyone is in this bubble watching the same franchises for decades but It has been more than 20 years since PS2. That is a long time. SNES came out more than 30 years ago.

These games are literally antiques. And really it is only old people that want them. The new kids who play Fortnite and Roblox and stuff, who generate way more money than the old fogies, do not want to play old games. It is like black and white movies to them. Furthermore the companies don't want them to play those games. They want them on Fortnite and Roblox and tc. etc. etc.

The trend for all consume culture is disposability. This is how these businesses operate. If they are not preserving games to your satisfaction, and if you are an enthusiast of old games, then you should do the work yourself as a consumer. Companies have a vested interest in replacing the old with the new. If you have a PC this is easy. With a little time, you can probably play any game ever released in arcades or on console for free by using Google.

But all movies have not been remastered. Many are still stuck on VHS or film roll. Just happens. The hardware can still be bought 2nd hand and kept and maintained.

Exactly. Many movies are lost to time because of companies not wanting to preserve them on purpose. Look at Song of the South. The film that won the first Academy Award for a black actor and the movie is unavailable on any media past VHS.

Expecting companies to preserve the future is exceedingly foolish especially now if you are paying any attention to the culture wars. Companies want to rewrite the past, not preserve it.

 

[Hatsuma]

Not every single title they don't. Most get an initial pressing on DVD/BD and when that stock is sold through, its effectively gone. Until when and if some enterprising third party decides to pick it up, something that is always done piecemeal and again in limited runs.

Movies get "lost". Sometimes that's a tragedy, but more often its a result of them not really catching the audience's imagination and them simply being forgotten.

THIS IS FINE.

You do get that traditionally the hallmark of something being a "classic" is that it survives the passage of time. If everything, every work gets preserved how can you separate the wheat from the chaff? Its just an ever growing mountain of "stuff", and mountains of anything get treated as unimportant and disposable.

This is what bugs me the most about this whole discussion; I simply do not believe this is about collecting and preserving valuable historic works, its more like hoarding. People just want a big list of "stuff" most of which they will never look at again, let alone replay, yet there's this irrational fear of missing out on something important if they don't possess it all.

If you are a true collector, you'll put the work in and find a way to get the object of your desires. That's what collector's do; the pursuit is a huge part of the joy.

But this isn't like that at all... its people getting stroppy because in the future things may not be as convenient as they'd like and are trying to bullshit a "moral high-ground" excuse for their discomfort.

I meant to say " it takes less effort than remastering or remaking a game". Especially a quality remaster or remake.

I agree with your assessment and I'll add to it. I think the concern for preservation boils down hoarding and because MS is pushing it XD. Literally, I've never heard of such a big stink about this until this generation. Numerous gens have been long lost. Either with media changes or just poor returns on basic BC.

But if you care so much about game preservation, you would do all in your power to get the vintage hardware. I definitely agree with that

 

[Clear]

So hey, do you have any old hardware that I can break for you? I am thinking that since the DS, DS LIte and Game Boy Player all play GBA games, you will be ok with any Game Boy Advance's you have being broken? Maybe you still have a PS1 but you don't need it since PS2 and PS3 both play PS1 discs?

How about I send you my old broken consoles, and you fix them for me instead? Obviously I expect you to cover transportation costs both ways.
Because, I mean, why would I want to take any responsibility in maintaining my old, out-of-warranty hardware when I can get somebody to do it for me at no expense to myself!

But seriously; if you want to ensure your ability to play your old games in 20-30 years time, then you need to put the work in. Probably starting now. Very few products and services come with life-time guarantees because the reality that its generally unreasonable to hold a vendor liable in perpetuity or for them to guarantee their products function into an unforseeable long-term future.

I hate to have to point this out but nothing electronic lasts forever. Ask any electrician about the life-span of something as simple and passive as the wiring in your home, they'll tell you that it decays over time and after 30 years or so you should get it all replaced. That's thick copper, how long do you think sensitive micro-components are going to last?

This is why I brought up the issue of disk rot. Look into that and you'll see manufacturer estimates about the life-span of rewritable media, but noone wants to commit to the same for pressed mass-media. Because its done in bulk, and often using cheap materials to keep volume costs down.

Preservation is not a given. Its a commitment that requires real effort and dedication. In short its precisely the sort of thing that people pay for. Hell, the entire insurance industry is based on this reality.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

How about I send you my old broken consoles, and you fix them for me instead? Obviously I expect you to cover transportation costs both ways.
Because, I mean, why would I want to take any responsibility in maintaining my old, out-of-warranty hardware when I can get somebody to do it for me at no expense to myself!

But seriously; if you want to ensure your ability to play your old games in 20-30 years time, then you need to put the work in. Probably starting now. Very few products and services come with life-time guarantees because the reality that its generally unreasonable to hold a vendor liable in perpetuity or for them to guarantee their products function into an unforseeable long-term future.

I hate to have to point this out but nothing electronic lasts forever. Ask any electrician about the life-span of something as simple and passive as the wiring in your home, they'll tell you that it decays over time and after 30 years or so you should get it all replaced. That's thick copper, how long do you think sensitive micro-components are going to last?

This is why I brought up the issue of disk rot. Look into that and you'll see manufacturer estimates about the life-span of rewritable media, but noone wants to commit to the same for pressed mass-media. Because its done in bulk, and often using cheap materials to keep volume costs down.

Preservation is not a given. Its a commitment that requires real effort and dedication. In short its precisely the sort of thing that people pay for. Hell, the entire insurance industry is based on this reality.

Big difference is you are combining hardware and software. The best product in the world will eventually break, but for gaming it's software that is key. If someone's system holds up (there's Ataris and NES' that still work), someone cutting off the store when it's a digital world and places like Steam and GOG can keep up 30 year old games, Sony could too. And emulators are out there to allow BC for old systems. Sony even had BC themselves in old systems like PS2 and PS3.

GOG even has Alkabeth which is Richard Garriett's first game made in 1979 on the site. All these sites do is add games to the online store and if you need to dissect the games by platform, there's filters on the side. GOG allows you to filter between Windows, OSX and Linux. Sony can allow filtering to PS3, PS4, Vita etc....

All they got to do is design the UI to allow gamers to download on whichever OS/platform they use. And Steam/GOG were launched in the 2000s.

Why is that so hard?

 

[longdi]

imo it is clear if SCE is still ran by Andrew House or Shu, we won't even have this discussion.

The ideology of SCE is now changed under Jim and Herman. instead of gamers first, they are implementing top down decisions, which might be fine if Jim plays games. the old geezer don't even have a gamer tag!