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Thread: What if backward compatibility had remained the standard on post-Crash consoles?

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    Default What if backward compatibility had remained the standard on post-Crash consoles?

    In the 4th (Wiki 3rd) generation, the Atari 7800 was the only major competitor in the USA to which backward compatibility was easily possible, and they did it, adding several hundred games to the system's library. In Japan, the Sega Master System was also backward compatible with the SG-1000. The NES had nothing to be backward compatible with, so effectively, backward compatibility was a standard in this generation as much as it could have been.

    But in the 1990s, backward compatibility suddenly wasn't so important to most. The Sega Genesis had it at its 1989 launch, although it required an additional adapter which was only sold for a few years and was not compatible with systems produced from 1993 on (Model 2 and 3). The SNES eschewed backward compatibility entirely, despite having a console with a massive game library they could have been backward compatible with.

    And going into the next generation, the PS1 had nothing to be backward compatible with, but the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn both skipped it despite the fact that both had cartridge slots. Similarly, the Dreamcast skipped Saturn backward compatibility as well.

    So, what I'm wondering is, how would it have affected the market as a whole and the fates of the SNES, N64, Saturn and Dreamcast if they'd been backward compatible with their immediate predecessors?

    Could it have kept the SNES from lagging in 1991-1992 and built up more early success? Would it have helped the Saturn, as the Genesis continued to get large numbers of games in 1995 and 1996 as developers still struggled with Saturn programming?
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    The Power Base Convertor is technically compatible with the Model 2. It just does not physically fit the console without either modifying or removing the adapter plastic housing.

    The problem with backwards compatibility is that it forces the new console to retain similar hardware (or software emulation, as the PS3 did to support PS1 games as well as PS2 emulation for a time after the hardware compatibility was removed but before support was entirely removed).
    That can sometimes be detrimental to the new console, as reportedly the 7800 was left using the same sound chip as the 2600, which would have been nearly a decade old and thus significantly behind the competition by the time the console launched.

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    Quote Originally Posted by WelcomeToTheNextLevel View Post
    Similarly, the Dreamcast skipped Saturn backward compatibility as well.
    And we could see how well the Dreamcast sold, compared to the PS2 with both PS1 and DVD compatibility. To be fair, you could still play PS1 games on the Dreamcast using Bleemcast and use a PS1 controller with an adapter, though by that point it would just make more sense to buy a PS2 and also enjoy DVDs. And enjoy PS2 games, which were better than 99% of all Dreamcast games.

    The PS1 wasn't backwards compatible with an earlier console, but it did have a built in CD player which convinced plenty of people to upgrade to this console. Basically a console being multipurpose is what helps sell it, not just with backwards compatibility. Lots of people at that time didn't have CD players yet, it was a big deal when it launched. Plus there were accessories that let you play VCDs on the console which could be appealing as well, though not necessarily in North America.

    With the NES, not having any predecessor was a benefit at that time. Nintendo avoided marketing it as a video game console because people avoided those due to the crash, adding backwards compatibility would have associated it with an earlier console that people would want to avoid at this point. Nintendo was a success at that specific time because it was viewed as something completely new, it wasn't seen as just an updated video game console with cartridges like a newer Atari, it was a completely new home entertainment system using Game Paks and had a robot.

    As for the SNES, it was originally supposed to be backwards compatible with NES games but that feature was dropped to lower console costs. There was a 3rd party adapter that accomplished the same thing, though it's pretty rare to find. At least the SNES did get the Super GameBoy to play that library on the console, not at launch but it might have helped with later adopters who already had a larger Gameboy library.

    That said, with Nintendo portables backwards compatibility was usually kept as a selling feature. The Gameboy Color and later the Gameboy Advance were backwards compatible with earlier cartridges, then the DS was compatible with Gameboy Advance games, and the 3DS was compatible with original DS games.

    In regards to your main question the N64 and Saturn probably would have sold better if they had backwards compatibility assuming the console costs would remain the same, though the N64 didn't exactly sell poorly overall. The Saturn would have sold better if it was fully backwards compatible with at least the Sega CD, though much better if it was fully backwards compatible with the Genesis and 32X. At least with the Sega CD weren't those games on clearance when the Saturn was out? If so those would have been an easy cheap library for people who never spent the money on Sega CD hardware previously, personally I'd find that enticing while waiting for the latest and greatest new Saturn games to come out, all this before people were burnt out on trusting Sega hardware. The biggest reason that affected the sales were the competition, if the competition wasn't so good then the Saturn would have done better even without backwards compatibility. Not sure about the Dreamcast though, people were burnt by the Saturn so few people trusted Sega by that point, plus the competition with the PS2 was just too good, that and Dreamcast games and controllers mostly sucked in general. I'm sure if the Dreamcast had much better games then it would have sold better too before the PS2 launched.

    Quote Originally Posted by SparTonberry View Post
    The Power Base Convertor is technically compatible with the Model 2. It just does not physically fit the console without either modifying or removing the adapter plastic housing.
    You can use a bridge type adapter too instead of modifying the adapter, like an early import converter cartridge that doesn't deal with actual region lockout. It raises the Power Base Convertor above the console so the shape isn't a problem anymore. There's also a Master System Converter II available in other regions that does fit with a Model 2 Genesis/Mega Drive. It just wasn't sold in our region as Master System Games didn't sell that well here so few people would have needed or wanted it.

    As for your other point with limiting hardware to old specifications, that's both yes and no. Instead of just sticking with using an old sound chip, they could have had 2 separate sound chips. Lots of backwards compatible consoles do this, they'll have both a new and old set of chips to play both types of games. This does free up the issue with limiting hardware, but doing this adds to the console cost and companies often decide that lowering the price is overall better for business than offering backwards compatibility.

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    One problem with Dreamcast selling was that Sega's reputation had dropped. Certainly releasing the 32X had done little benefit for Sega, but then the poor performance of the Saturn outside Japan.
    Having competition is what should force companies to get more creative with their work.
    Nintendo has a history of getting complacent when they are highly successful and then scrambling to catch up when they fall behind.

    From what I've heard, the "FAMICOM" button on prototype Super Famicoms may not have been a backwards compatibility button, but a video passthrough button. It sounds like it was designed to be used in conjunction with the remodeled Famicom that was planned to go with it. I think the idea was to let users hook up both consoles with one set of cables. (That would've been like 1988 or 1989, and despite the NES launching with composite output in 1985, the AV Famicom didn't launch until 1994.)

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    i have not heard about a famicom button on a super famicom prototype. I do remember seeing pictures some where, i cant remember where, of dev stations for super mario world. I remember them being very frakensteined famicoms with many added extras, probably because of the fact that hardware wasnt quite pinned down yet and they needed to get going on a game for a new system that didnt quite exist yet.

    if i can find those pics i'll share them but if it was in any of my mags it'll be some time, most of my life is still packed away after almost 2 years

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    Quote Originally Posted by SparTonberry View Post
    Having competition is what should force companies to get more creative with their work.
    This should work if a company is competent, otherwise it ends up destroying a company. You can see what happened with Sega as it disapeared from selling consoles, though that did leave room for Microsoft to enter the market. I suppose it's all for the benefit of the consumer, the survival of the fittest.

    Quote Originally Posted by SparTonberry View Post
    Nintendo has a history of getting complacent when they are highly successful and then scrambling to catch up when they fall behind.
    This is true, though sometimes when they try innovation things get worse. Like with the Virtual Boy. I never really liked the N64 but the Gamecube was alright.

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    Revisiting the topic... I think it would have helped the SNES quite a bit. The SNES was late to the party, but the NES was still very strong when the SNES launched. Nintendo lagged a bit in the 1991 to early 1993 period because the SNES had a much smaller game lineup than the Genesis in those first couple years, adding NES games would have helped a lot.

    N64 on the other hand, it was unstoppable for its first year due to Super Mario 64. Backwards compatibility probably wouldn't have mattered much. By the time the PS1 surpassed it in the latter half of 1997, the 16-bit generation was becoming a distant memory.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gameguy View Post
    In regards to your main question the N64 and Saturn probably would have sold better if they had backwards compatibility assuming the console costs would remain the same, though the N64 didn't exactly sell poorly overall. The Saturn would have sold better if it was fully backwards compatible with at least the Sega CD, though much better if it was fully backwards compatible with the Genesis and 32X. At least with the Sega CD weren't those games on clearance when the Saturn was out? If so those would have been an easy cheap library for people who never spent the money on Sega CD hardware previously, personally I'd find that enticing while waiting for the latest and greatest new Saturn games to come out, all this before people were burnt out on trusting Sega hardware. The biggest reason that affected the sales were the competition, if the competition wasn't so good then the Saturn would have done better even without backwards compatibility. Not sure about the Dreamcast though, people were burnt by the Saturn so few people trusted Sega by that point, plus the competition with the PS2 was just too good, that and Dreamcast games and controllers mostly sucked in general. I'm sure if the Dreamcast had much better games then it would have sold better too before the PS2 launched.
    Agree 100% (except the Dreamcast did have good games), backwards compatibility would have been a huge help for the Saturn. I'd argue it's the system that lost the most from not having it. For one, the Saturn launched the year before the N64, and backwards compatibility helps consoles the most early in their lives, before the new console's game library builds up and the old generation gets too outdated. Certainly with the 16-bit generation still being very current in 1995 and the Saturn's early lineup lacking, these older games could have been an important bulwark for the system until better games came along after programmers started to figure out the system from 1996 on.
    Genesis compatibility would have helped immensely, but even just Sega CD compatibility would have been a lot of benefit.
    Last edited by WelcomeToTheNextLevel; 04-21-2023 at 11:47 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by WelcomeToTheNextLevel View Post
    Agree 100% (except the Dreamcast did have good games), backwards compatibility would have been a huge help for the Saturn. I'd argue it's the system that lost the most from not having it. For one, the Saturn launched the year before the N64, and backwards compatibility helps consoles the most early in their lives, before the new console's game library builds up and the old generation gets too outdated. Certainly with the 16-bit generation still being very current in 1995 and the Saturn's early lineup lacking, these older games could have been an important bulwark for the system until better games came along after programmers started to figure out the system from 1996 on.
    Genesis compatibility would have helped immensely, but even just Sega CD compatibility would have been a lot of benefit.
    I mostly focused on Sega CD compatibility as I figured most people interested in Genesis games would have already owned a Genesis so they wouldn't have purchased a new console for Genesis games, being able to play Sega CD games when not previously owning the Sega CD add on due to cost would have been a real appeal for people at the time. Though thinking about it more I do see the logic in Genesis compatibility as that could draw SNES fans towards it when upgrading to the new generation, and even with existing Genesis owners I didn't consider the potential cost saving as someone could sell their existing Genesis console to help pay for the Saturn without losing the ability to play their existing library.

    It's either the Saturn that lost the most or possibly the Atari 5200 at launch. The Atari 5200 did eventually offer a device for backwards compatibility but not at launch, and early systems weren't compatible with the 2600 cart adapter without modding. The Atari 5200 might have succeeded if it was compatible right from the start.

    With the Dreamcast it mostly comes down to personal taste, I personally will always say "it sucks" because of how disappointed I was with the various games I played on it, and the hardware issues I came across with various consoles like random resetting and the general awkward controller. It's really Shenmue that disappointed me the most and convinced me to sell off my Dreamcast stuff. There's still decent titles like EGG and various import releases, but just about anything else worth playing would have been ported to other systems in enhanced versions so today there's little reason to prefer the Dreamcast versions over the ports. I do exaggerate about the library partially as a joke, but I do still think it's close to the truth as well. Most games really weren't what most people wanted to play at the time. People blame piracy for the Dreamcast's failure, but that didn't kill the PS1 as that succeeded extremely well even with extensive piracy also affecting it.

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