Backwards Compatibility: Sony’s Dumb Idea

Do you love the fact that your living room is a seething tangle of cords and game systems? Oh man, who doesn’t. But for those who might want to flee when their apartment is on fire versus tripping over things and dying, backwards compatibility is an issue. When you buy a new system, it’s extraordinarily handy to play your old games on it and retire the new console’s predecessor to a closet.

It seems like a simple idea, but thus far backwards compatibility has been handled in a sketchy manner at best. Not long ago, Sony removed the Playstation 3’s ability to play titles from the Playstation 2. This helped reduce the cost of the PS3 and boost sales, but it sucks for anyone whose PS2 crapped out at the end of the race.

Backwards compatible PS3s can still be found (somewhere), but it’ll cost you. If you don’t care to spend the extra $100, fear not: PSN might soon be letting players purchase downloads for games they already bought.

Wait, what?