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[Bartski]

In 2017 lord emperor Jimbo got everyone's knickers in a twist by responding to a question from Time about backwards compatibility:

When we've dabbled with backwards compatibility, I can say it is one of those features that is much requested, but not actually used much. That, and I was at a Gran Turismo event recently where they had PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games, and the PS1 and the PS2 games, they looked ancient, like why would anybody play this?

Turns out he was right - in the long run, nobody seems to give a shit.

After expanding PSN in response to high demand for backwards compatibility for legacy games with the streamable, PS1-PS3 library emulation, not a single bleep about user base size has ever been published and PS Classics keeps looking like a minimum viable product with zero creative catalogue management remotely following the gaming zeitgeist.

Does anybody feel like checking pre-PS4 Armore Core games after playing the latest installment? How about have some Syphon Filter and fuck off. Silent Hill2 remake is on the way, perhaps access to this classic series you literally can't play anymore unless you curate a home console museum? No but here is Parappa the Rapper.

Is Sony too poor to license out games that nobody will ever play anyway if they don't appear on the platform? Or perhaps, just perhaps, they see such minimal interest, that they just keep the servers going by sunk cost fallacy?

So my question to my fellow ponies who have been signed up to the service from day one like yours truly - how much have you actually used the service?

After short inspection, my personal return on the investment this far is around 3 save points deep into ICO. And while I can afford just to stay signed up waiting for better times, not sure if those times ever arrive, and if they do - not sure if I'll even care, there are just too many new games to play.

Thoughts?

 

[StealthGoblin]

I've played a lot. I've dabbled with streaming but I do love me some PS1 games. I never played the Syphon Filter games first time around so they've been fun to play.

 

[Sethbacca]

I think more people would have played them if they weren't streaming and were instead emulated locally. For a lot of people the control latency of streaming is still pretty garbage.

 

[Bartski]

I've played a lot. I've dabbled with streaming but I do love me some PS1 games. I never played the Syphon Filter games first time around so they've been fun to play.

Fair. I mean a lot of this comes down to taste but IMo the library right now is just unreasonably poor

 

[StealthGoblin]

Fair. I mean a lot of this comes down to taste but IMo the library right now is just unreasonably poor

Definitely need some of the proper classics but the problem is they've been remastered or remade now.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

i bought castlevania SotN on ps3 a while back if that counts.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

A small handful. Adding trophies was a nice touch, but still not worth the hefty price imo.

 

[Bartski]

Definitely need some of the proper classics but the problem is they've been remastered or remade now.

many did but so many more did not. It's just weird looking at the sheer potential, almost as if Sony knew it's just not worth it

 

[Leonidas]

I signed up to a PS+ Premium Upgrade two weeksago for $2.40 (~1.5 months at that time) and have already beaten one PSP Classic, will probably beat 4-5 more before my sub is over, the PSP games seem pretty quick to beat which is good.

I also bought a bunch of PS Classics on the PS3 so I'll have access to several PS1 games when my sub ends, I'm waiting for my sub to end to play those games I already own as I'm trying to get through as many PS+ Premium games that I don't own as possible...

I'll end up playing 10+ PS Classics on PS5 when its all said and done. 5 from PS+ Premium and 5+ from what I owned previously.

 

[Drew1440]

Didn't subscribe to premium but ended up purchasing Ridge Racers 2 and Type 4 when they became available.

 

[shaddam]

I platinumed some of the Syphon Filter games (I will finish the rest later) and I tried out some other games. I would like more classic titles, but I dont regret my sub

 

[Katajx]

The only reason is that the number offered is so low. It has nothing to do with I don’t want to play old games, but the library hasn’t grown that much and not the games that I want.

Having said that…I need to go buy legend of dragoon now

 

[Fabieter]

Legend of dragon tho. Gonna play grandia for sure. Can't get how they dont do more classic jrpgs.

 

[Codes 208]

I had a single month of premium to try out the premium games. But even something as simple as katamari tanked in resolution with noticeable input lag.

I immediately stepped down to the second tier (ps+ and basic psn) and havent upgraded back up since and i dont plan to.

Lack of interest wasnt the issue for me, it was the execution. When i had my xbox SX i used it almost exclusively for BC with 360 and XB1 titles and i still have NSO+ for n64 and gb games. So imo the problem with sony’s was execution. I want to download and play ps3 games natively via emulation, not stream them.

 

[rabbity-thing]

I could get a significantly better premium classics selection from a PSP. So, yeah, I haven't touched it cause it's a joke.

 

[Nankatsu]

Why did you have to remind me I had Premium OP?

 

[Bartski]

Another thing, this is an old school forum and most posters here were born in the 80s- early 90s so there is the additional factor of nostalgia in the mix.

So it would seem people here would be more inclined to revisit older gen titles than the current average gamer demographic.

My theory is most old-timers don't care either way. Younger gamers even less so. Sony knows that and they're done investing in it.

A lot of the push for backward compat was greatly inflated by false assumptions about what people think they want vs what they really want but that's a whole other can of worms

 

[Kerotan]

Ghostbusters
Heavenly sword
Pirates of the Caribbean
7 ratchet games
Resistance 3
Lost planet 1-3
Star wars force unleashed 1-2


So that's 16 ps3 games streamed

Killzone liberation ps4 and ps5 version which is a psp game.

18 classics so far.

Upgrading to premium over extra wasn't expensive for 5 year's because of the deal. I'm definitely getting value and there's whatever else they'll add over the next 5 year's. But when it's finally up I'll likely drop down to the extra tier as I'll have played everything on premium I want by then.

When I drop to Extra I'd return to premium after another year or two if they added more I cared about.

 

[TGO]

Mainly the Namco games, others not so much

 

[SportsFan581]

I played I.Q.: Intelligent Qube, that's the only one I tried.

 

[Aldynes]

1. And I'm pissed, tried Resident Evil 1 Director's Cut, looks like utter shit on any screen other than a CRT, that's on top of being region locked, which means 50htz PAL version for me, it's a complete letdown for me this gen, I remember before the "next gen" arrived the talk was about including backward compatibility with SONY, when you see what duckstation can do it's such a shame...

 

[tmlDan]

Im not one to play old games, and I will admit i havent finished them, but i've played about 6-10. Started with the syphon filter games.

Played Rogue Galaxy too!

 

[DeepEnigma]

Zero, because I don't sub to it.

 

[Bartski]

1. And I'm pissed, tried Resident Evil 1 Director's Cut, looks like utter shit on any screen other than a CRT, that's on top of being region locked, which means 50htz PAL version for me, it's a complete letdown for me this gen, I remember before the "next gen" arrived the talk was about including backward compatibility with SONY, when you see what duckstation can do it's such a shame...

I know what you mean. 3d ps1 gen games should have some kind of mandatory crt emulaton built in, otherwise those low poly models just jitter all over the place, looks horrible and distracting

 

[Elysium44]

Didn't subscribe to premium but ended up purchasing Ridge Racers 2 and Type 4 when they became available.

Same here (well actually IIRC Type 4 was free to me to 'buy' because I already had the PS3 version).

 

[reinking]

I passed on the premium in hopes that it would get better. It did not.

 

[adamsapple]

Zero, because I don't sub to it.

And this is probably the last year I'm on Extra too.

 

[DeepEnigma]

And this is probably the last year I'm on Extra too.

She was so yummy in that movie.

 

[adamsapple]

She was so yummy in that movie.

 

[reinking]

And this is probably the last year I'm on Extra too.

I am probably done with single console subscriptions after both run out. I will do an occassional sub but unless I get a killer deal nothing long-term. I might go back to Gamefly and if I ever feel the need to stream sub to GeForce Now.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

They should have mandated trophies. Not that I am a trophy hunter in any way, but I have actual hardware hooked up to a CRT so in order for me to play these versions there needs to be a reason, any reason, to pick them over the actual thing. Without trophies there is basically none (other than the save states, but at that point I may as well just use cheat codes).

 

[fart town usa]

There's a lot of great games in there, I understand if they don't appeal to everyone but there's still plenty of good games.

People like to complain, we all know it and people enjoying themselves fly under the radar cause they're too busy having fun.

It's also another reason why trading in old consoles and games is always a bad decision. It's much easier to buy a cheap 2x scaler for your modern TV vs paying for a service that you think is lacking or waiting for games to be made available that you want to play.

Pretty much all the PSX/PS2 games that people want are on PS3, I'm sure some have been delisted but all the same, there were there and if you bought them and then sold your PS3, you'll just have to live with the shame of trading in the most baller console of all-time.

 

[Dacvak]

I’ve played probably four or five since that service came out, it’s been awesome discovering new PS1 games I never got to try.

Though I should mention I’m playing those games on an actual PS1, not this service lol

 

[splattered]

I cancelled my subscription when they raised the price... Ps5 is my secondary console so don't really take advantage of older games on it like I do Xbox. I think the library of older games sucks too, there is so much more they could be putting on the service. I also think it just flat out sucks to gate all these games behind expensive subscriptions.

 

[Camreezie]

If they put the ps1 games im interested in up id play them without a dout

 

[Yoboman]

About 2. Generally I realise when playing PS1-2 era games that they are best left in my memory

 

[Leonidas]

There's a lot of great games in there, I understand if they don't appeal to everyone but there's still plenty of good games.

People like to complain, we all know it and people enjoying themselves fly under the radar cause they're too busy having fun.

It's also another reason why trading in old consoles and games is always a bad decision. It's much easier to buy a cheap 2x scaler for your modern TV vs paying for a service that you think is lacking or waiting for games to be made available that you want to play.

Pretty much all the PSX/PS2 games that people want are on PS3, I'm sure some have been delisted but all the same, there were there and if you bought them and then sold your PS3, you'll just have to live with the shame of trading in the most baller console of all-time.

PS3s are pretty cheap on eBay, if anyone wanted to access all the old digital games they bought.

I still have mine, but I prefer playing PS3 games on RPCS3 at higher FPS/resolutions... I wouldn't dare play the selection of PS3 games on PS5 via PS+ streaming.

 

[Kilau]

I’ve started a few but never played very long. I want to play them though but never get to it.

 

[SkylineRKR]

I played a fair bit of RR Type 4 but generally these games are too old now. I'd rather see them being remade. I did beat Star Ocean 3 but this was when it was sold as a PS2 classic on PS4. Ape Escape 2 I bought back then too and played a fair bit.

I bought a PS3 last summer and I didn't regret it. First of all I still use the same account on PS5 so I had access to a good lot of downloads you can't otherwise purchase anymore. I'd advise everyone to do this. PS3 prices were low again when I bought it, I paid 60 bucks for a 320gb slim without controllers but I still had 2 good ones. Games can be bought rather cheap. Resistance 3, Virtua Tennis 3 and NBA Street Homecourt were like 4 bucks a piece. And I have access to my RR7 and Kenzan copies again.

Create a JP account, and download games like Einhander for about 600 yen (5 bucks?). Profit for you.

 

[Bartski]

zero as the most popular answer is just what I expected

 

[fart town usa]

PS3s are pretty cheap on eBay, if anyone wanted to access all the old digital games they bought.

I still have mine, but I prefer playing PS3 games on RPCS3 at higher FPS/resolutions... I wouldn't dare play the selection of PS3 games on PS5 via PS+ streaming.

I can't fault people for feeling that way but if PS+ Classic is your only option it honestly isn't a bad experience, I've tested alot of game for the hell of it and they've all been fine. The worst aspect is that PS3 games are locked to 720p and there's artifacting. It's not too egregious but it's definitely there, though playing on a 4k would probably look rough, I haven't tried that, only on a 1080p plasma. Emulation or actual PS3 hardware is definitely better.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Ridge Racer Type 4 is it. Best classic available though for sure.

 

[NeonDelta]

Played one of the ridge racers. That’s it

 

[Fake]

Just Toy Story 2. Again, I don't play the subscription party, so I only get games alone. Wish I could get Resident Evil Director Cut.

 

[DrFigs]

Yeah i guess playing old games really isn't a draw like i thought it would have been. i still have premium, but i did the ps now conversion.

 

[RavageX]

I am down to play SOME ps1 games, and damn near all ps2 and ps3 games. However I have no interest in streaming them. I want them downloaded and on my system.

 

[ReBurn]

I tried it when I had premium.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

5-10. Rough estimate.

Played all of Legend of Dragoon, want to platinum Wild Arms 2, but I've primarily rushed through the shorter options.

 

[delirium trigger]

PS Plus is great but they shouldn't even advertise a "classic catalog" because it's an atrocious selection of games. The ps1 mini still has a better collection of games.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

The selection sucks, and even if they had the games I want to play, I'd just buy the originals anyway and play them on the real hardware.