It became clear this week that backwards compatability took an official backseat in the next-generation console wars. With Sony's dropping of the PS2 emotion-engine chip from the PS3, Sony is putting most of its marbles into new content. Microsoft seems to be following Sony's lead as well, telling a gathering of industry bloggers at GDC that further development on bringing remaining Xbox games over to the 360 would be coming to a close: "When you get to the end of this year there will be a reduced focus on backwards compatibility. There are so many 360 games out there. I don't know if it's important anymore."MS and Sony sure are singing the same tune on this one. Phil Harrison also told folks at GDC that backwards compatibility isn't what gamers want anymore: "I think the reasons why people buy PS3s are the new games that it offers, and the HD content experiences provided by games and movies, the opportunity to access the PlayStation Network."
Those opinions are great, but what do the gamers actually think? Instead of hearing from Sony and MS execs about the importance of backwards compatibility, let's hear from you... the actual gamer and buyer of these consoles. Is backwards compatability no longer an issue? Do you not care that this feature is being "pulled?" Let us know!
