I have a real problem with Sony's current service, PSNow. It was launched when the PS4 first released. It is a service that streams games across the PlayStation family. It has a limited selection of classic games and lacks a catalogue of PS1 games. It is not good for the PlayStation legacy. It needs to have a serious upgrade. We need to improve it. Fortunately, there is some good news.
I heard Sony is creating a new subscription service codenamed "Spartacus" and it's gonna launch Spring 2022 on PS4 and PS5. What we heard about it is that it'll compete with Microsoft's subscription service, Xbox Game Pass by having three tiers and be a combination of PS Plus and PS Now. Tier 1 offers a basic PS Plus membership while Tier 2 offers access to PS4 and PS5 games while Tier 3 gives players access to extended demos, streaming and the third feature that caught mine and millions of other PlayStation players' eye; a vast library of PS1, PS2, PS3 and even PSP games.
Remember the patent regarding cloud-based backwards compatibility across PS1/2/3 games Sony has filed? The new and better service the Japanese titan is working on applies to it. Sony has planned this because they have finally learned how crappy PSNow is and stated that their current subscription service can't compete with Game Pass, so they are finally catching up, by planning a new and better subscription service involving three tiers with the highest giving players access to playing vast selection of classic games, streaming and extended demos. For the classics department, I'll mention on what does this mean.
When the PS2 came out, PlayStation backwards compatibility became outright to play all PS1 games, but it sucked hard because since the PS3 came out, some can play PS1 games while some can play PS2 games. Since the PS4 came out, it can't even play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games. Same goes for the PS5, which can only play PS4 games as Jim Ryan confirmed and that's why playing remasters of games from back in the day that were originally released on past PlayStation consoles is the best bet. That includes the ones for the PS1 releases of Crash and Spyro games, which received a full remaster and improved visuals and better lighting, but their story and gameplay remain the same as the original, which is the definition of faithful. They literally kill the charm original releases have.
I want to tell you this. The PS3's architecture is hard unlike the Xbox 360, which has a straightforward architecture to get to the original Xbox and that's how Microsoft was able to achieve full Xbox backwards compatibility support for the Xbox Series X/S. I was expecting that piece of news from them that their latest system would be able to have full Xbox backwards compatibility.
Fortunately, with Spartacus giving us access to playing a vast selection of classics in the highest tier, I do not doubt that we get to revisit them. The craziest thing about this is that we can play PSP games on the big screen for the first time. That's the biggest W right there. The golden age is coming as Sony is creating a new three-tiered Game Pass-style service that can totally give that piece of crap PSNow a huge upgrade it really needs to have a vast selection of PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP games and new features. While the PS5 can only play PS4 games natively, the classics can be played through Spartacus on both modern Sony consoles.
Let's talk about what's so special about the classic games and why do we want to play them on Sony's new service.
Charming Environment:
We'll start with the elephant in the room: classics with a charming environment. PS2 games bear a lot more charm in their games' environment. For example, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly. These are two games as examples that contain a charming environment, but turned out to be an absolute fail after they went third party despite the fact that both of them are so charming. But I do enjoy them, as well as others. Especially the JRPGs, but mostly the ones published by NIS America.
Looking solely at their environment, they are nighttime-evident. Remember that term? It means they are well-played at night. The PS3 also has them and they are seemingly nighttime-evident as with the ones on the PS2. I don't care about the graphics. I just care about how charming their games' environment is and that's what the PS2 games use. The GameCube and the original Xbox classics also bear a charming environment. Especially the old Sonic games that I missed playing. It's because the music composed in them is amazing. Even Disney had nothing to do with it.
The Nostalgia:
Experiencing the nostalgia of gaming is something I can do and with the third tier of Spartacus offering classic games, it is likely to happen more than ever. A link to my wish list of classics will be posted later on.
The K-A ESRB Rating:
The ESRB was first created when the first Mortal Kombat came out on the SNES back in 1994. It introduced the former rating of K-A on that time when the ESRB starts posting ratings. You are familiar with the K-A rating, right? It was a rating that assigns certain games to, until back in 1998 when the K-A rating was renamed to an E rating.
But since the third tier is offering PS1 games, you will not see the K-A rating on the hub. Instead, you'll see the E rating on PS1 games that formerly carry the K-A rating.
Dead Video Game Franchises:
Some video game franchises are dead and the developers can't do crap about reviving them. The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises, for example, haven't got a new single game in the works, until Hogwarts Mystery and Gollum have been announced, so both franchises may be revived. There may not be any more beyond them. The 007 franchise went under since Quantum of Solace and that's why there isn't a new 007 game or remake in the works to come to modern day consoles. That is until I heard IO Interactive is working on a new 007 game of the franchise fortunately. I played a couple of his overrated games before.
The only 007 game I liked the most is Quantum of Solace because of the effect that makes the screen briefly go white after dying. It's kind of hilarious seeing that since the antics we would experience on the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. But this paves the way for new adventures and moments of revisiting classics.
It's not the only video game franchise that is dead because they are others that are dead as well, like Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Well, it's not dead because it has an HD remaster in modern day consoles. I played it on the GameCube back in the day and I plan to get the HD remaster, but digitally thanks to my 4TB external storage device that holds over 200+ PS4 and PS5 games so that I don't have to worry that I'll soon be out of space anytime soon. And Duke Nukem. There has not been a new game in the works for years, so it's probably dead. The dead game franchises also use a charming environment that classics use.
Copyright Screens:
This is my most favorite part in video games. The copyright screens have disclaimers. I like the ones with the black background better. What I like about them is that they take place outside of the game and are silent. This goes for all platforms, but this is mostly for the PS2 games since they have copyright screens that are more charming than their predecessors. Especially the ones in first-party PS2 games that use the "Sony Computer Entertainment America/Europe presents" phrase. It's now called "Sony Interactive Entertainment."
Let me tell you this. When I was a kid, I was picked on at elementary school, so I was able to stand up to a bully. It's all in good fun to experience that. I know it is irrelevant to the copyright screen topic, but I just want to relay something for a bit that putting the disclaimer before it is better. In this case, some videos on YouTube have disclaimers at the beginning. It's the old days of the 6th generation era games. Also the 7th generation era games like Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, which has a copyright screen after the logos. Except that it's exclusively on the Wii.
And with the third tier offering classics, I will have the power to revisit them. I'll be recording and capturring flows of copyright screens and logos like I did with the ones in modern games.
Defunct Video Game Companies:
Those companies that released classic games faced tough challenges that caused them to go defunct and some of them were brought out by the existing companies. If you look them up on Wikipedia, you'll find out exactly how and when they have gone defunct.
If you remember, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was the pinnacle of the Midway era before their liquidation. They had to be bought out by WB Games and rebrand themselves into NetherRealm Studios back in 2011 to release Mortal Kombat 9 and beyond. That's a decade ago. This brutal and gory franchise was first released under the Midway umbrella until back in 2011 when games on that time were released under the WB Games and NetherRealm umbrellas.
That said, defunct video game companies are one of things that made classic games so special, tied with the charming environment and copyright screens topics. Certain companies like Bandai and Namco were merged into one company to make Bandai Namco. But the Bandai name still exists, but for toys and other stuff.
PlayStation backwards compatibility has been stuck in limbo since the PS3 came out and that's why later systems couldn't play older titles. But thanks to the third tier to offer classics, I have the power to revisit the ones that are released by defunct video game companies. The moment is finally drawing ever closer.
Problem with Buying Games Physically:
Some consoles have problems reading discs and they had to be taken in for repairs and a version of the game is out of stock. GameStop didn't have the PS3 version of Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing, so I went ahead and bought the Wii version, even though it doesn't have voice chat. I heard it reminds me of Whacked! because they have character-specific jingles that play during their All-Star Moves.
Price Problems:
The used game market has some problems. You buy the game for $60 and you sell it back for $4-$12. It is among classics and they do have values. Best Buy given me a lot more money than GameStop would've given me. GameStop offered me $9 for Aggressive Inline. I went to Best Buy and they give me 20. It is not based on their environment. It's based on how well the classics are sold.
Throwback Streaming:
I will be streaming a handful of PlayStation classics that I am willing to revisit. This is gonna help me grow my channel, no doubt. I am looking to evaluate my experiences as a PlayStation player.
Because Sony has planned to create a better service than PSNow to have three tiers with the highest tier giving players access to PS1/2/3/PSP games, I plan to create a random wheel to help me decide which classic game to play. But I won't put them all together in one wheel. Instead, I'll put the classics into separate wheels with their Advanced editor. I have a link to my wish list of classics I want for Sony's new service.
Why I'm telling you about this is because I look forward to revisiting my favorite classics and the PS4 and PS5 can't play the PS1, PS2 and PS3 games natively. But thanks to Spartacus' highest tier, I can revisit them and probably play the ones I never played. I know you're eager or anxious to experience a charming environment and play the classics that are released under the defunct game companies' umbrella as much as I do and you can once the new service launches.
But you see, I am a 100% independent gamer from caring about graphics. My formal caring is about the nostalgia. Most people have the right to play classics no matter the graphics. One of the things that made classics is the charming assets that made the games retain their nostalgia. Once Spartacus launches, you're in for a nostalgic ride.
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