That’s right, the “home console king” can finally rest. An article from Famitsu reports that shipments will cease as of December 28th, 2012 (in Japan). The PlayStation 2 began its life in March of 2000 and almost had a run of 13 years. The console is very memorable, from its extensive library to its records set amongst current generation consoles.
When I had found out that the PlayStation 2 would be able to play its predecessors games, I was instantly sold on the product. Keeping my old controllers, memory cards and games and using them on the new system was a big deal. It was a genius concept and a great way to keep a consumer base. It makes things an easy sell and sounds like something that should iterated upon with every console generation.
Backwards compatibility is great, I have played and finished numerous games using current gen consoles, namely Persona 3 and Persona 4. Using the feature wasn’t without issues though. Persona 3 would often times fail to save my file properly to the hard drive and Persona 4 would sometimes crash or freeze. These errors were probably not present if played on the originating console. Not only that, the resolution was scaled to fit a certain ratio.
There are some things you have to give away when you use backwards compatibility. Sometimes it is relatively error free when the hardware is built into console. Other times it might use a form of emulation like late models of “fat” PlayStation 3s. This may rub some fans the wrong way. Problems with backwards compatibility have been raised with the Nintendo 3DS with critics citing that old DS games better off on being played on a DS Lite or the like.
Backwards compatibility is not a new concept to the industry. You could even go back to the Super Nintendo to find the Super 8 and the Power Base Converter for the Sega Genesis. I have a feeling we won’t see it at all for the next generation of consoles. Besides some obvious technical and financial reasons console makers have to take into account, I think this generation has proved that it may not matter as much to fans.
If the current generation of consoles have proved anything about backwards compatibility it would be the fact that older games are constantly being re-released for current fan bases to enjoy. Nintendo has the Virtual Console, releasing titles from their previous consoles and even other consoles like the Sega Genesis. Sony does similar things, putting out titles from the PS1 and PS2 to be played on the PS3 and their handheld systems. It’s things like these that beg the question: why even implement hardware/software for backwards compatibility if you can just sell it again for current gen platforms?
I think it simply comes down to profit. You may not make as much as you originally did from the initial release but, you can still make money from it. Some extra money might be needed for porting, emulation and QA testing but, you will certainly make some sort of sales. All of that stuff may or may not come into play. Either way you have released a title that is currently not available on current gen consoles, making it less of a hassle to track down the game and other requirements to play said game.
So in essence, backwards compatibility has just adapted to a changing market and taken advantage of better technological resources. This can best be seen with the plethora of HD collections. From Silent Hill to Sly Cooper, gamers can enjoy dozens of games in a better quality than intended without having to search for multiple titles, consoles and peripherals.
The next problem is deciding which series or gem deserves to be remade/ported to our HD televisions.
It’s hard to forget franchises that set industry standards. For 25 years, the titles in the Final Fantasy and Street Fighter series have been making history and this year is no different. Capcom has put together a very nice collection of Street Fighter goodies in the 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set. The package includes games, soundtracks, an art book and more.
Square is not far off either, releasing the 13 Final Fantasy titles in one package according to Andriasang.
Do take a look at the full offerings at http://www.streetfighter25.com/ and the complete Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary gallery. Watch your wallet, these two collections are sure to be pricey.
The collection contains the original three games and sadly does not have ports of the PSP games Jak and Daxter The Lost Frontier which continues the story after the third game nor the standalone Daxter which takes place just before the events of Jak II. In all the games you play as Jak and your partner Daxter, is the comic relief. Jak remains silent for the first game but become vocal later in the series. All three of the included adventures are well worth the time it takes to beat them.
While I haven’t yet jumped into the last piece of the trilogy, I can safely say that the first two games are ported gracefully with a few enhancements as well. I have played Jak and Daxter to completion several times, the other two only a couple times. That being said, I am more familiar with the first installment. Nothing seems to changed structural overall. The frame rate has been increased, the resolution is clearer and the animations are smoother. However, like everything from the previous generation, you can’t judge an aged product by today’s expectations, that would just be unfair. So we have to rewind a little bit … having played all of them on the original platform helps make decisions on how I feel about it now.
Jak and Daxter is a fun, whimsical platformer with bright colors, a basic story and characters, tight controls and very good production values. It’s a resilient game that any gamer can have fun with. It’s something we don’t see very often in this generation of gaming which I think is a shame. Naughty Dog really made a leap here from Crash Bandicoot and the effort is shown however, I always thought something on this scale was expected from them: a fully 3D adventure game as opposed to Crash which only allowed linear paths to the end of a level. Playing Jak for the first time in five or so years, it’s refreshing to get away from all the complications and mechanics that a lot of games bring to table. Most of all, Jak is fun and easy to pick up. While most of the game consists of collecting items to progress the story through each of its expansive worlds, it doesn’t hold back the fun factor. Although, I do remember the camera being less of pain and more versatile, playing it now made me wish I had more control over it. For a game made in the early 2000s, I am pleased with it but, the camera has a hard time getting around corners and sometimes won’t budge within closed and claustrophobic environments.
The following two sequels to the series are much different than the first but, similar to each other in nature. Both Jak II and Jak 3 keep the platforming elements of Jak and Daxter, adds a single “sandbox hub world” to the mix, provides vehicle travel and gives the protagonist the use guns which some might find objectionable given the quirky overtones the prequel had. If you play them all back to back, you can see the different direction Naughty Dog took with the series and any player will notice how different each of them play within the first five minutes. Both of them are much darker in story, character development in addition to the world. It’s a more mature game, if the ESRB rating didn’t give that away, than Jak’s transform move and attacks will. The story and plot elements really pick up in latter of the two games, the first game really seems weaker in the writing department the more you get into the series. Jak 3 is bigger than the second, adds onto the innovations and changes from it and I remember really liking it just as much as Jak II.
Personally, the first will always be my favorite. I’ve played the hell out of it and almost wish they would go back to it and do a spin off or something just to experience the Jak and Daxter world again. The $40 price tag is fair I suppose, although I would pay $60 for all of them. If you have a PS3 and haven’t taken the time to play through these excellent games of the past generation then you are really missing out.
Nostalgia Gamer 