I was just thinking about the "backward compatibility" arguments and debates of years gone by, and I've never really understood the argument being made in favor. Let me give a typical example, circa 1991:
"I'm not sure if we're going to buy a Super Nintendo for Peter [I refuse to use "Johnny" or "Little Johnny"], because it won't play his old Nintendo games"
I've seen this in print articles ad nauseum, with different variations in emphasis (dollars spent on older games/ space used by older games/ etc.), but I never understood the point. Buying a newer system does not require that you sell the old one, does it? Does the newer system change the refresh rate of your TV so that older games won't play on it? Is it that hard to hook up two different systems, or even alternate them when the urge strikes? Does the purchase of a newer system send a minor EMP ripple through the guts of your older system, striking it dead?
I don't get it.
The only scenario where backward compatibility could even be a legitimate issue would be for financial reasons (ie; selling the old system to offset the cost of the new one). If that is the case, wouldn't you stand to make more "offsetting" money by selling the GAMES with your old system? Isn't the point of getting rid of the old system "to make money"? Why keep your expensive and voluminous collection of games if it's necessary to sell the system itself just so you can afford the newer one? Certainly the selling price of the old system will not equal the purchase price of the new one, so you still have "out of pocket" expenses to cope with.
I guess I just never understood this line of reasoning. Aside from convenience and/or living room aesthetics, can you give a reason for this idea to even exist? People would get angry becase their NES carts didn't play on SNES, SNES carts didn't play on N64 (don't bother telling me about the import scene: I know. I'm talking about Mom and Pop.), GC won't run N64, Saturn won't run 32X or anything else, etc. etc. etc.
Did it never occur to these people that as long as they are keeping the old games to play, they might as well keep the associated system? Is it that hard to figure out?