How Sony can compete with Xbox’s backwards compatibility in two, easy steps

Whether you are a fan of Xbox or PlayStation, you have to admit that Microsoft pretty much owned E3 after it's presentation and revealed backwards compatibility. Even Sony themselves were surprised and said they had no idea how Microsoft was able to pull it off.

Basically, all Microsoft did was create an Xbox 360 emulator inside the Xbox One in order to run all of the games from your last console. Sounds easy, right? Not so much. It was actually a huge undertaking especially considering the Xbox One is now running ANOTHER operating system on top of the ones it already has in its system. But what about Sony?

It's no secret the PS4 has been outselling the Xbox One like hotcakes. It's also no secret a lot of this has to do with marketing. Even before it was released, all of the ads were about how it could achieve 1080P and 60fps much easier than the Xbox One. Is this true? Of course it is. The only issue is it isn't humanly possible with the naked eye to see the difference between 1080P and 900P (which is what Xbox One runs most games at) from the normal distance you are from your TV screen while playing the game. This, of course, is never mentioned.

Both these systems are similar yet different in their own right. PS4 has more power in its base system while Microsoft utilizes the cloud and software to ramp up its power. Realizing sales numbers would take a while to catch up with PS4, Microsoft reared back and fired with backwards compatibility. Surely, PS4 sales weren't the main reason for this, but of course this was in the back of their minds in helping to close the gap with its rival.

What can Sony do to compete with this? After all, surely PS players would like some of their old PS3 games on their PS4. The closest current competitor is PS Now for Sony and unfortunately it doesn't come close to what Xbox One users are experiencing with backwards compatibility.

Let's take a look at Xbox's backwards compatibility setup first, shall we? The program is currently two months old for preview members as non preview members need to wait until November for its full rollout release. With a combination of Xbox Live Arcade games and disc games, Microsoft has said the initial rollout will be at approximately 100 games. Not bad for an initial rollout considering developer permission is needed for each additional console the game is played on. All that is needed, of course, is any one of the included games on your Xbox 360 hard drive under your corresponding gamertag. Simply go to my games & apps, ready to install and click A. Boom! All set. Of course, this is all free as long as you own the game of course and have a Gold subscription.

Now, let's look at Sony's PS Now. Of course, the amount of games available for the service is currently over 400 at time of this writing, a vast improvement over Xbox's backwards compatibility. Regardless of what console you prefer, you must remember that Sony's PS Now service has been available since early 2014, a full year and a half ahead of Xbox's backwards compatibility, so just the amount of games mentioned is an unfair comparison.

Secondly, the price involved is a much better comparison and where the PS Now begins to really drop off. There are currently two different ways of streaming games through the PlayStation Now service: Collectively, using a subscription based service; or else individually, by renting various titles. However, not all games available on PlayStation Now can be played via the subscription model, as many of them may only be streamed for a limited time by users renting the title. This means that whether you choose the monthly $20 service or quarterly $45 service ($15 savings) you still have to pay an additional fee to play certain games. The additional fees are broken down into four pricing and time categories: 4 hours, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. Also important to note, the pricing for each time frame varies depending on the game so there is no consistency to go on. 

Notice the description reads "streaming". Via the PS Now service you can play the available games on multiple Sony devices including Bravia TV's. Although this had its advantages, like being able to play on your big, living room tv as opposed to your smaller, bedroom tv, you are still a slave to your ISP and connection speed. This applies even if you own PS3 game and wish to stream it to another device.  It's also important to note this applies to single player campaigns as well and not just online multiplayer modes.

The disappointing part is no matter what console you are a fan of, Xbox backwards compatibility already has the advantage over PS Now with a much shorter life span. The question at hand, however, is what can Sony due to compete with it? As noted above, Sony has already indicated they have no idea how Microsoft pulled off their digital 360 emulator so I wouldn't hold my breath for PS3 compatibility any time soon.

Absent of creating a brand new program, what could be Sony's best option? I believe I have the idea. It would still entail a streaming service of course, but surely Sony could come up with something just as Microsoft has done with Windows 10 and Xbox One using 1080P and 60 FPS streaming. Assuming this happens as a caveat for success, I believe Sony should do away with the time based subscription models of 4 hours, 7, 30 and 90 days. It's too many options, too much to keep track of and leaves people out in the wind when you don't have to. After all, charging $180 a year at the cheapest (4 x $45 quarterly) Instead, simply charge one base fee of say $14.99. Not a month, but for the year. You can even make it $9.99 if you're a PS Plus member. After all, the PS Plus annual price of $50 is still $10 cheaper than Xbox Live Gold's of $60 so the extra $10 will just bring you up to even. So it's a wash.

Yes, the subscription models for $9.99 PS Plus members would include multiplayer modes for streaming games so it would be another incentive for Sony and most likely vastly increase the number of PS Plus subscriptions they sell. With the recent increase in prices overseas, and most likely in the U.S. in the coming months, it definitely solidifies PS Plus as a must have option for PlayStation users. 

What about trophy support you say? No problem. Sony has already said they would like to add in trophies for all games back to PS1 and have even submitted a patent indicating how they would do it. Skeptical? Go ahead, read it here.  

As a simple breakdown, here is how the full comparison would look between the two.

Bottom line is no matter what console you are a fan of, competition is always key. It's ego. It's good for companies, consumers and the overall growth of the industry. This is why Sony added trophies after Xbox added achievements and also why Xbox One saw a price reduction to compete with PS4. Even if Xbox One never catches up in sales to PS4, why would you want your competition to have an advantage you could easily compete with if you are Sony. What are your thoughts on how Sony could compete? Let us know below.