PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

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noah98
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PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby noah98 » April 12th, 2021, 7:52 pm

I've read reports about PS3 digital games no longer working after the cmos battery dies, even if they are already downloaded. But, the PS4 situation might be far worse:

https://wccftech.com/ps4-no-offline-games-cmos/

I've read multiple reports that suggest that even physical games will no longer work in a PS4 once the cmos battery eventually dies. Cmos batteries have a lifespan of about 5-10 years, although I'm sure that varies. Essentially, Sony designed a ticking time bomb in the system hardware, one where your physical discs won't work in the future. Not sure if the PS5 has the same issue, and at least it is mostly backwards compatible with the PS4, but then again, I'm sure it requires a download for backwards compatibility, effectively negating the security of physical media.

As a side note, my Atari 2600 from the 70's still plays original cartridges just fine--no internet required!

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 12th, 2021, 8:33 pm

I find it hard to believe the internal battery of a PS4 only lasts 5-10 years, considering I still have NES games from the 80's with working batteries! Still, the fact that these consoles are so dependent on the internet is a disturbing thing.

It appears that people will be playing their Atari 2600, Intellivision, and NES systems long after all their PS4s have been relegated to landfills.

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DrLitch
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby DrLitch » April 14th, 2021, 7:45 pm

Looks like emulation and ripping of blu rays will be on my agenda for the PS4 to preserve gaming content should I ever wish to replay.

Breaker
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby Breaker » April 14th, 2021, 9:46 pm

This topic, combined with the PS5 storage topic, makes me consider selling my PS3, PS4 & Xbox 360 consoles and games and just focus on sixth generation and earlier consoles in my collection.

Given how many games I currently buy with an eye to playing "at a later date, when I have more time," these topics make me wonder how many of the 7th+ generation games will actually function whenever I get around to trying them.

Maybe that's an overreaction; maybe I just won't engage in a PS5 or Xbone or anything beyond.

djc
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby djc » April 14th, 2021, 11:23 pm

I think the CD-i has a similar issue. It contains a proprietary battery that had an expected lifespan of something like 15 years and when it dies, I believe certain games do not work. It's possible (but not easy) to replace said battery.

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MSR1701
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby MSR1701 » April 15th, 2021, 4:51 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:I find it hard to believe the internal battery of a PS4 only lasts 5-10 years, considering I still have NES games from the 80's with working batteries! Still, the fact that these consoles are so dependent on the internet is a disturbing thing.

It appears that people will be playing their Atari 2600, Intellivision, and NES systems long after all their PS4s have been relegated to landfills.

Given how so many games on the PS4/5 and XBONE require Day One Patches to fix game killing bugs, add features, etc., once the internet services are discontinued, other than hacking your console, collecting for a system to play may be a lost cause...

bluenote
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby bluenote » April 15th, 2021, 8:04 am

I've read that Sony can/may release a patch for the CMOS issue in the future.

Myself, I'm going to continue to collect for the PS3/PS4 and will worry about the systems CMOS issue (or any other issue) when the time comes. All video game systems will eventually have issues. Everyone says that they won't have these issues with atari/NES systems, etc, but yes, you obviously won't have internet/cmos issues, but what about the actual electrical boards, capacitors, etc?

Atari systems/games are over 40 years old. Will they still be working in 20 years? I don't know. All of this stuff won't last forever, enjoy them while you can.

My Life in Gaming made a great video on this very issue of issues our consoles may have in the future:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X04_D1k9Ybs

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MSR1701
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby MSR1701 » April 15th, 2021, 8:20 am

bluenote wrote:I've read that Sony can/may release a patch for the CMOS issue in the future.

Myself, I'm going to continue to collect for the PS3/PS4 and will worry about the systems CMOS issue (or any other issue) when the time comes. All video game systems will eventually have issues. Everyone says that they won't have these issues with atari/NES systems, etc, but yes, you obviously won't have internet/cmos issues, but what about the actual electrical boards, capacitors, etc?

Atari systems/games are over 40 years old. Will they still be working in 20 years? I don't know. All of this stuff won't last forever, enjoy them while you can.

My Life in Gaming made a great video on this very issue of issues our consoles may have in the future:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X04_D1k9Ybs


Another reason I am glad Mini/Classic and systems like the Evercade and "multi"systems are in, and companies are producing Repro carts for games that otherwise would be inaccessible outside of emulation (SNES Ys IV, for example).

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noah98
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby noah98 » April 15th, 2021, 8:32 am

I think for systems like an Atari 2600 or NES, I have a better chance at repairing them in the future. I'm not confident I have the skills to repair a PS4. I'm not so worried about the PS3 losing the ability to play digital games. That's sort of inevitable with digital games and piracy will likely solve that problem in the future. But PS4's losing the ability to play disc based games is unacceptable. It's bad enough that day one patches, updates, and DLC already complicate our ability to play these games in the future. Now we have to worry about all of the systems having a shelf life. If this cmos issue is inevitable in all PS4's, it's likely that none of them will be functional in the future. I doubt in the future we'll see the PS4 rereleased as some mini console for emulation, where we will still be able to play these games. Sony needs to update their firmware so that games can still function, cmos or not.

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MSR1701
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Re: PS4 physical games may no longer work in the future

Postby MSR1701 » April 15th, 2021, 8:47 am

noah98 wrote:I think for systems like an Atari 2600 or NES, I have a better chance at repairing them in the future. I'm not confident I have the skills to repair a PS4. I'm not so worried about the PS3 losing the ability to play digital games. That's sort of inevitable with digital games and piracy will likely solve that problem in the future. But PS4's losing the ability to play disc based games is unacceptable. It's bad enough that day one patches, updates, and DLC already complicate our ability to play these games in the future. Now we have to worry about all of the systems having a shelf life. If this cmos issue is inevitable in all PS4's, it's likely that none of them will be functional in the future. I doubt in the future we'll see the PS4 rereleased as some mini console for emulation, where we will still be able to play these games. Sony needs to update their firmware so that games can still function, cmos or not.

Instead of a Mini PS4, the games would be rereleaded (probably digitally only) on the PS6...


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