Head of PlayStation Europe, Jim Ryan, says PlayStation has no intention of following suit with backwards compatibility and here’s why.
Talking to MCV about the Xbox announcement, he said “It is an entirely legitimate approach, and if you are seeking to upgrade 360 owners to Xbox One, it is a very logical approach to take.”
Ryan commented that the Xbox announcement wasn’t very clear on how the feature would work, adding ” I suspect there might be a few twists in that particular tale. But we will see”.
He confirmed that Sony would be investing in software updates like SharePlay, Play as you Download, and Suspend/ Resume features.
“Unfortunately there are just not sufficent enough software engineers in the world for everyone to do everything. Each platform holder has to make their choices, we made one and they made another. Their choice is entirely legitimate, and I think our choice is legitimate, too. In some ways it is quite nice to have points of difference between the two platforms, and people will decide which approach suits them best.”
Addressing the backwards compatibility feature of consoles, Ryan said “We have experience of backwards compatibility. The earliest PS3 model was backwards compatible with PS2, and it is a much requested feature… but actually it’s not so greatly used.
“On balance, we are happy with our approach and we don’t wish to be defensive about it at all. But as I say, both approaches are legitimate.”