Playing the Old on the New:
Backwards Compatibility Guide to Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PlayStation 3

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With every new game console, there comes that one awful thought: “What am I going to do with my old games for my last system?”  Well these days, that’s not much of a problem any more!  All three major next-generation systems, the Xbox 360 , Nintendo Wii , and PlayStation 3 , all have varying degrees of backwards compatibility.  Backwards compatibility, of course, is the ability to play games from previous systems on the newest one. But how much backwards compatibility do these systems provide?  Read on to find out!

 

Nintendo Wii

The Wii is the simplest of the three systems. Simply put, it will play every single GameCube game there is. You may be asking how you can control it, considering the Wii has the new controller with significantly less buttons! Well, at the top of the console is four GameCube controller ports, in addition to two memory card slots. So if you ever get tired of playing your Wii , pop in a GameCube classic and a controller and start reliving the last generation!

PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 is just as simple as the Wii, but with one additional positive and one additional negative feature.  On the positive side, the PlayStation 3 not only plays PlayStation 2 games, but it plays original PlayStation games as well!  That is three generations worth of titles on one game console. In addition, since the PlayStation 3 controller is relatively unchanged since the original PlayStation, no additional controllers or peripherals are necessary.  As for saving your games? If you want to upload previous saves, you will need to purchase the PS3's Memory Card adapter, a cheap attachment that will allow you to import all your saves without a problem. But, if you are starting fresh, there's no need to buy a memory card. You can simply create one using the system's hard drive! Now, on the negative side, not all PlayStation 1 and 2 games are playable on the PlayStation 3. The current versions of the PS3 on the market feature limited backwards compatibility. The 40 GB model does not feature any backwards compatibility, save for a few PSOne games. The 80 GB PS3 is currently lacking in a fair amount of backwards compatibility as well. While downloads and patches are constantly being released to fix this issue, just know some games do work. Luckily, Sony's website features a search engine to find out which games are backwards compatible with your model of the PS3!

 

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is also not 100% backwards compatible.  When you purchase your system out of the box, you will not be able to play your original Xbox games. You must go online and download backwards compatibility firmware (all at once, not for individual games), or download it via Microsoft’s website and later burn it to a disc to install onto your console. As of November 27, 2007, there are 478 Xbox games playable on the Xbox 360 in the United States, with more coming all the time. You can be sure, though, that all of the biggest titles have been taken care of, with plenty more working as well. If your collection of Xbox 360 games ever grows stale, be sure to take on the quick download and have a blast with all of your original Xbox games.

Just a note about the writer of this guide:

Thumbmonkey  is a small company dedicated to providing its customers with a reliable, friendly and affordable source for their gaming fun! We carry a wide selection of video games and accessories for most of the major video game platforms.

(If you found the guide helpful, please indicate so below, thanks.)