Disclaimer: This just for venting purposes and if you disagree that's find just don't be a douche about in the comments.

I can't say that I was really excited for Sony's next generation console before yesterday's conference. I would definately credit that to all the nasty rumors going around about it (always online DRM, blocked used game, no backward compatibity) and I guess I was just more interested in finiding out just how much of it was true.

So ok, with that said as you can imagine, I was not thrilled with the news of the PS4 having no real backward compatibility but instead will eventually (who knows how long into the cycle) have a cloud service to play the legacy games. Before I go into my views on that...you should get to know a bit about me as a gamer first to get a complete understanding:

I have been a devoted owner of Sony consoles since 1998 when I was 13. I have been building a collection since then...having very rarely ever traded a game in. My collection of retail games are larger from one generation to the next, meaning my PS3 game collection is indeed the largest. I also have bought several digital downloads from psn (for ps3 or cross platform for the portables) many of which are still in the download queue waiting to be played. I'm/was a proud subscriber to Playstation Plus. This all includes an enormous backlog of unwrapped and unplayed games between the two.

Now, its one thing for Sony to decide to not intergrate backwards compatibility for its first to generation of consoles but to complete negate it from very last one is just ri-damn-diculous. Not even the the digital versions of any of the prior legacy consoles! What is the point of buying another console if I cannot play ANY of my current collection on it? I doubt that there will be a suffiecient amount of or the affordibility of having a sufficient amount of launch titles to play on the PS4 to make up for this! BC (backwards compatibility) helps smooths the transition for brand loyals from one console generation to another. In the beginning of PS3's life cycle (when I bought it), I still played so many PS2 games because of the same backlog/affordability issue. Eventually, I eased right on in to playing mostly PS3 games on the console.

I've been in debates with serveral other users today about the fairness of this alone and the most common rebuttal I get is the complete change of technology being used (a PC like engine from a "x86") and how PS3 emulation would be nearly impossible or too painstaking to explore. However, here's my point:

1. If Sony repatedly found away for it to be done in the prior 2 generation then they definately can for this upcoming one.

2. If doing so would take more time, then maybe that should tell us all something? Maybe...just maybe its a bit too early for the next gen. The current one still has more to offer. Personally, I think Sony knows this and wants to have their cake and eat it too. Encourage and maintain the purchase of legacy hardware while making the current hardware accessable. They stand to make more money that way. More people like myself are more likely to hold on to and invest in the PS3 for longer because of the huge investment they've made for years then Sony makes a little money off the PS4 for those that want it immediately in the meantime...besides, you can't sell away any of those PSN game you bought. Take away today's supply and say its because its tomorrow for sake of increasing yesterday's demand (think about that a bit and it'll make sense to ya ;) ). The short version...this isn't about PS4 people, its all about PS3 and increasing its sells and longevity!

3. Why not just say, "we're going to reformat digital PS3/PSN games so that down the line they are playable on the PS4"? Why not just make and eventually a third party accessory that allows it? Better yet why not just plan to release a more expensive version that has BC intergrated in? I'll tell you why...because it is more profitable for Sony to charge us on a periodical basis to play the very same collection of games that we've already owned for years! They offer our legacy collections to us in the form of a service instead of the reimbursement or return in investment that we deserve. Not only that, but who's to say which games of ours they'll actually have in this cloud service...they do. That's because they would totally be in control of the accessibility and avalibility of THEIR games not yours. My concern...if too many of us actually start to pay for this nonscense then who's to say they won't just complete convert to a cloud only gaming service. They hinted at it in the press conference.

Secondly, even though Sony has said the PS4 itself won't block used games, third party publishers can! So in a way many people's greatest concern may become a reality this upcoming generation thanks to Sony for allowing it! I mean they did allow the whole online pass thing, so why be surprised about this?

Lastly, when questioned by Gamespot, the Sony president refused to give a direct answer about whether they would start charing for PSN! One distinct core advantage that Sony has had over its competitor Microsoft for years!

Just hearing all of this make me believe that Sony and possible the gaming industry is taking several HUGE steps backwards. This all feeds my theory into it all being a way to further boost PS3 sells and to eventually fill in a lot of these blanks down the line with PS4. As of yet they haven't given me any real reason as to why I should look forward to buying a PS4 or more so why I should transition away from playing my PS3 as my console of choice. Right now, I'm still keeping my eyes on everything next gen but for the time being PS4 is not on my radar for a possible purchase...or at least any time soon.

Well that's my two cents...love or hate it, its spent now!