Topic: Debate:Should ps4 and xbox one do virtual console?

This is a debate my friends were discussing about. Nintendo has had the virtual console since the wii came out. The purpose was to bring classic titles from the nes-n64 to the modern world. I mean i know a lot of people might want to play classic PlayStation or XBOX titles. What do you guys think. tell me in the comments

Well, they did it last gen.

I do know that PS4 will basically do it through PS Now, since it can't do it through backwards-compatibility (different architecture and stuff).

Surely for PS4 this is a given seeing as PS3 did it for Xbox One MS will probably focus more on remakes like the rumored Halo 2 one.

Yes, Jazzers is on the ball, PS4 will allow you to play PS1, PS2, and in time, possibly PS3 published games through PS now (to launch this summer). Microsoft will most likely either do HD remakes or just rely on third party companies to release their old classics on Live themselves (IE, SEGA with Streets of Rage, or the Capcom arcade classics series).

They are doing Playstation Now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Now

A better question would be, could XBOX utilize the Virtual Console? Because Playstation is kinda doing the same thing for a while now. Though I don't see why not.

PSN already does their own Virtual Console. It's called PSOne (and 2) Classics.
Xbox 360 did that for a little while "Xbox Originals" but it was dropped because it wasn't very popular (though one can argue the original Xbox didn't have a whole of original exclusives, leaving little once they got the big names like Halo out).

A better question is: what does this have to do with the Wii U?

I have a ton of PS Classics on my PS3 and PSP. Probably even more than I have VC games on my Wii U.

Them PS1 era JRPGs.

The rumor is that psone and 2 emulators are being built for ps4 I hope os true. Ps3 is probably impossible to emulate im the ps4 which is why they are going the streaming route. I like ps classics better than nintendo vc because prices are more reasonable. I got parasite eve playable in psp vita and psE for less than nintendo charges for balloon fight in a single platform

Sony has Playstation Now in beta and should help for most PS3 games. There's a rumor from mutiple sources that sony is working on a PS1/PS2 emulator for the PS4 and unlike nintendo which is doing a horrible stilted way of getting VC games on the Wii U, they're going the Vita route where they wait a few months but launch the emulation with pretty much parity of what was on the previous platforms.

Well, PS4 would have VC, if they allowed you to transfer your purchases from PS3 to PS4. The account system didn't do jack s*** in terms of allowing 8th gen consoles to play things you bought during 7th gen. I guess this would count as BC.

@SCAR392

VC is different than BC though. The Vita didn't support PS1 emulation for a couple a months after launch and didn't get it till the summer after it launched.

My point is that with BC, PS4 and Xbox One VC would basically already exist.

I think it would be great if Xbox One had BC, because I have tons of Xbox 360 games.

A VC wouldn't exist because its conceptually its a very different thing than backwards compatability.

The Vita was backwards compatible with PSP games from day one but I didn't gain the ability to emulate PS1 games until a update happened around six month later.

Like wise the Wii U didn't have a Virtual console until a few more this after it launched. Doing VC through Wii mode was possible , but that was the Wii U emulating a Wii Emulating a Older console. Which is only possible bexuase the Wii U has a Wii pretty much instead. It would have cost more than it worth it too do such a thing for the ps4 and Xbox.

A VC wouldn't exist because its conceptually its a very different thing than backwards compatability.

The Vita was backwards compatible with PSP games from day one but I didn't gain the ability to emulate PS1 games until a update happened around six month later.

Like wise the Wii U didn't have a Virtual console until a few more this after it launched. Doing VC through Wii mode was possible , but that was the Wii U emulating a Wii Emulating a Older console. Which is only possible bexuase the Wii U has a Wii pretty much instead. It would have cost more than it worth it too do such a thing for the ps4 and Xbox.

@shingi_70
So are you telling me that they're going to patch all those features in? The PS4 isn't BC with PS3, which also included catalogues of PS1 and PS2 games. The same thing goes for Xbox One.

@SCAR392

Maybe, PS1/PS2 are in theory just needing to build the emulators to run on Wii U. It has nothing to do with the hardware. The Wii U Virtual Console emulators for example are complelty different pieces of software than the Wii ones

Its even been rumored that Sony is working on it.

Thuway a notable GAF insider posted this

Be excited:
1. Local PS2 / PS1 support on PS4 w/ native 1080p rendering for select titles.
2. Bluray+Media Player updates

A month before that Eurogamer posted a similar rumor.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-ps1-ps2...

A well-placed source working with Sony's streaming service reveals that only PlayStation 3 titles are currently scheduled to use the "gameplay over IP" cloud service. PS1 and PS2 titles are set to follow the more conventional route of running locally under emulation on Sony's latest console - but with the possibility of HD visual enhancements.

While Sony effectively phased out hardware emulation of previous platforms during the early stages of the PS3 era, it has worked consistently on opening up the PlayStation back catalogue to publishers via software emulation and PSN downloads. Internally, PlayStation 3's firmware contains emulators for PS1, PS2 and even the handheld PSP, while Vita is capable of running PS1 and Vita titles virtually flawlessly using the same technology. In short, there's a proven codebase that can only get better for the vastly more powerful PS4.

Our information suggests that the same internal emulator strategy is planned for PlayStation 4, and we understand that Sony is actively pursuing the ability for older titles to run without the blurry upscaling seen on PS3, suggesting that native HD resolutions are being targeted. Assuming this intention carries through to final code, we'll be seeing an effect similar to the resolution scaling seen on unofficial PC emulation of Sony's consoles, as well as a great many of the "HD remasters" we saw on PS3 - where original assets were rendered at a higher resolution, often without any actual remastering at all.

Sony plan seems to be too cover PS3 replay ability with PSNOW and its previous two consoles with local emulation.

I read that a while ago. So they must be experimenting with what they can do to get BC running, in one way or another.

If I already own the digital version of something, I think it would be fair to at least stream that title for free. There's no sense in asking for a subscribtion for something that you already own.

For example, since I own Gears of War 3 on Xbox 360, let me stream that game at no extra cost, aside from the Xbox Live payment.

Streaming is a different thing, of course it would be nice if they allowed you to stream for free games you already own but that doesn't make sense for any company financially, you are only seeing the negatives Sony has allowed you to use your PSone classics at no extra charge on PSP and Vita, its quite possible if they introduce PSOne classics on PS4 that they would not charge extra for that (they might but I think there's a good chance they won't)