In alt.games.video.sony-playstation3 chrisv wrote:
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe non-HDTV people would buy the cheaper PS3,
and HDTV people would step-up to the 4. People buy a wide range of
video cards for PC's, depending on their personal desire for
eye-candy, why not consoles?

For one thing, it'll just confuse the market. Consoles are supposed to be
dirt simple to use. Put in game. Play game.

Furthermore, do you really think that a game made to work on the PS3 and PS4
would look that much better on the PS4 that it would convince folks to
spend $400-500 (estimate) on a new console or $200 on an older console
that gives you the same graphics?

Making the PS4 backwards compatible with the PS3 would be a good idea,

Of course, especially because the PS3 has not been a great seller,
they can't start "from scratch" again.

This is why I can't fully understand why Sony entirely dropped PS2
compatibility from the PS3 so early on in the PS3's life cycle.

Well, just about everyone on the planet already has a PS2. It's
*still* probably the overall-best console to own, with it's vast
selection of games, mostly inexpensive because they're older and/or
used.

Yes, but by dropping PS2 compatibility from the PS3, that basically means
there isn't much of a reason to buy a PS3 until you think there's enough
PS3 games to play, right? With the PS2's PS1 backwards compatibility,
many people (like myself) bought a PS2 and used it to finish up our PS1
games while waiting for more PS2 games to arrive. This way, Sony got the
benefit from us buying a PS2 earlier rather than later.

With the current PS3s, if I'm still playing PS2 games, I'm obviously not
going to even consider a PS3. As a result, the PS2 continued to have
strong sales way beyond those of the PS1 when the PS2 came out. Remember,
by this time in the PS2's lifecycle, the PS1 was basically dead. No new
games were slated, and even production of the PS1 was on the decline. By
the time the PS2 turned 3, the PS1 was gone. However, with the PS3, it
seems the PS2 won't just be around in 2009, but will still have games
actively released for it, and will probably survive long into 2010 -
almost 4 years after the PS3 has been released.


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It's not broken. It's...advanced.