Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Tag: backwards compatibility

Remembering PS4

Posted on by Viljami

It has been eleven years already since I bought my PS4. I remember hooking it up back in the day and replacing my PS3 in my gaming setup. Back in 2014 I only used one gaming console. So, I had only PS4 connected to my television for several years. I have lots of games for PS4 in my game library. Today I am thinking about getting a PS5t that was released already five years ago. I am also waiting eagerly for PS6 to drop some day.

Lately I have not focused so much on playing video games on my PS4. It is still a very good console. Although it has its limitations. It doesn’t have a SSD and uses HDD hard drive instead. I remember clearly replacing the HDD that was only 500 GB to one that had 2 TB of space. This was an easy way to update the system and the hard disk I bought wasn’t actually pricey at all. I definitely think that extra hard disk space is expensive on newest Xbox consoles (Series S/X). I do have a 1 TB space unit installed on my Xbox Series X. Series X also has 1 TB of internal disk space unlike Series S that has only half of a 1 TB. There are also some newer models available that have different amounts of internal disk space.

I have been thinking, lately, about buying a PS5. It has some good exclusive games that I would like to play. I did buy a new PC two months ago. It was a bit of a disappointment for me. I paid over 1 500 euros for a new Windows 11 desktop computer. When I started playing Silent Hill f the computer was running the game at 30 FPS. I thought that a computer that has such a high price tag would perform way better. But this was the case after all. I think today a desktop PC can cost over 3000 euros and you are still not going to get a good performance. So, why not buy a PS5 for about 500 euros. I do know that it cannot be as powerful as a PC that cost several thousands of euros but it does save a lot of money.

You can also play PS4 games on a PS5. You cannot listen to music from audio CDs on a PS5. The backwards compatibility is a nice thing for me as a gamer because I do have lots of games for PS4. When PS4 was released back in 2013 (I bought it in 2014) it didn’t have a backwards compatibility at all. Also the release of PS4 was the point when a newest PlayStation didn’t support CDs as a format for games or music. PS4 still outsold Xbox One that had also many problems. As a console generation this was somewhat a dull one I think.

I think that the most interesting games that are available only for PS5 as exclusives are Silent Hill 2 Remake, Ratchet & Clank – Rift Apart, Astro Bot and Spider-Man 2. Some of these exclusive games are available for other consoles or for PC. Some titles I have already enjoyed very much on PS4. These games are Gran Turismo 7 and God of War – Ragnarök and also Spider-Man Miles Morales. I am hoping to get to play PS4 games God of War and Uncharted 4 and also The Last of Us Part II that I already own but haven’t yet played so much.

If we briefly gather here some thoughts about PS4 in this last paragraph of todays blog post we can conclude that PS4 was a remarkable system that sold very well. There were no delays in deliveries as was the thing with PS5 during pandemia. The first game that I played on PS4 was Tomb Raider. PS4 saw many games that were very good. It also had some exclusive games. There is information moving around and it is rumored that Sony would stop manufacturing PS4s in 2026. PS4 has sold to this day over 115 million units world wide.

Yesterday’s Purchase

Posted on by Viljami

Just yesterday I made a tiny purchase from a local flea market. I bought a pocket book titled Resistance – The Gathering Storm. It was only two euros. I also found a driving game for Xbox One. The game was Forza Horizon 3. It is an open world racing game. I have just recently finished Forza Horizon 5 and I very much enjoyed playing it. The game was three euros.

This is why I like going to flea markets. You never know beforehand what you will find. I had to think for a moment several times, yesterday, when I was walking inside the flea market. They had some neat programming books, some hardcover books, many Tom Clancy titles, and also several very interesting pocket books. Pocket books had mostly a price of one euro. I came across also some Ilkka Remes books. He is a Finnish writer that writes these popular thrillers and has tens of books already written. Also there were many Stephen King books.

I had to hold back a little bit since there were many interesting things available. At the beginning of this year (2025) I handed over lots of books that I didn’t have time to read since I do have lots of books that I haven’t had time to read yet. This time, while visiting the flea market, I didn’t find any audio CDs or movie DVDs. At this particular flea market CDs have a price of two euros and DVD movies are one euro. There are some exceptions of course. Sometimes a CD or a DVD has a bit higher price tag on it.

Lately I have noticed that there aren’t as many video games available in our local flea markets. I think this has everything to do with that some people do this kind of “scalping”. They try to find as many games for as low price as is possible and then they resell them with a bit higher price. Also, if you are going to buy these games from a dedicated game shop you are going to have to pay a bit more. This is of course understandable and it happens to be so because game shops have to pay rents and salaries of their employers.

The pocket book, Resistance – The Gathering Storm, was a nice find and purchase. I think that scalpers aren’t so interested in buiying and then reselling books. I hope I get to read this book through sometime. The author of the book has also written a Halo themed book titled “Halo – The Flood”. My yesterday’s purchase has over three hundred pages in it.

I haven’t read the book yet but its plot centers on fighting against an army of aliens and/or zombies that are trying to wipe out whole human existence from planet Earth. I have Resistance as a video game for PS3. I bought it and started playing it also but really didn’t get into it. I hope the book is going to be a good and exciting one to read.

I don’t have high expectations about Forza Horizon 3. It was also a nice purchase. I am expecting to experience some exploration and easy to handle driving from this purchase. It was originally released in 2016. It is released for Xbox One but since Xbox Series X has a wide backwards compatibility it is playable also on the now latest Xbox gaming console, also. Xbox Series X is fully compatible with Xbox One games. You can certainly find some good titles from the game library of Xbox One.

Going to flea markets now and then is a fun activity. I just hope that I would find even more games as I visit these places. The prices are usually low. There seems to be more and more people interested in making a purchase or two and the popularity of flea markets seems to be rising.

Six More Switch 1 Games Now Added to The Collection!

Posted on by Viljami

While browsing the web I noticed some Switch 1 games. You must have already figured that Switch 2 is very much compatible with Switch 1 games. All of these games were on some sort of sale and I got them for a pretty neat price. Follow along as we go through every one of these games.

We can actually go just in the order that can be found in the featured image right here in this blog post. The first one of these Switch 1 games is Sega Mega Drive Classics. I have seen these collections all the time. I think the latest I have actually bought was the collection for PS3. I have seen these collections released for PS4, Xbox Series X and so on. What I do find interesting about them is that you can actually play them in the handheld mode and when you are travelling. Just wanted to play these classics on my Switch 2. I really enjoy Mega Drive games.

Pokemon Shining Pearl is a very new game for me. I don’t have, yet, so much experience in Pokemon video games. That’s excactly the reason for me to buy this game. I wanted something recent and also something that could get me introduced more to this franchise. I could have bought some earlier game in the series and I am not 100 percent sure about if this is a game that suits my interests after all.

The next game has its title in Finnish (“Nuuskamuikkunen”). The game is titled “Snufkin – Melody of Mooninvalley” in English. The translation has been made this way so that, obviously, smaller children could also enjoy playing this video game. Also Moomins are actually from Finland. They were created by Tove Jansson, but you can probably find some more information from your favorite search engine. I don’t know what to really expect from this game but I found it somewhat interesting. Also, it cost me just a bit under 30 euros. So, I just went and bought it.

Next up is Final Fantasy XII – The Zodiac Age, This game is very familiar to me. It is a very good role-playing-game that does seem to take forever to play through. I first experinced it on PS2 and later went on and bought it as a remaster for PS4. I wanted to give this game a try once more and to play it on my Switch 2. So, this one was now added to my collection of Switch 1 games.

Turok 3 – Shadow of Oblivion is a “Limited Run” release. This was the most expensive game in this group of Switch 1 games. Turok is a video game series that I have not studied a whole lot earlier. I do remember a friend of mine presenting how the first of these games looked on his PC back in the 1990s. It did look impressive in that particular environment and time. The game has everything to do with fighting dinosaurs. I do have  a Turok game also for Nintendo GameCube but I haven’t, yet, played it a whole lot.

The last game in this bunch is Chocobo GP. This game seemed to be a fun one. I definitely know what Chocobos are. I was introduced to them in Final Fantasy VII back in the 90s. Oh, I have so many memories. I am hoping to get to play this game also soon. Lets hope its a good one. I think this game had the cheapest price out of all these six Switch 1 games that I bought and just today picked from the post office.

That’s it! We went through every one these six Switch 1 games that I have just bought. It soon weekend again. Lets see if I get to play these games this weekend. I haven’t yet finished Donkey Kong Bananza, on my Switch 2, but I am working on it. I have played a bit over 15 hours of that game already. See you again, soon!