Microsoft Exec: "If You're Backwards Compatible, You're Really Backwards"

[bug_of_war]

I suspect that he won't be an executive for much longer. And when he's wondering why every hates him and wht he said and he's begging for his job, we'll only have this to say;

I don't think he'll be loosing his job anytime soon, and he wont be looking at the fans and asking why, he'll more or less blame people for not getting, "The Future". While I can't say anything about the new Xbox pleases me, I'm not about to shoot it down before it's even come out. Yeah, I'll probably get a PS4 instead of the Xbone, but that doesn't mean it can't have it's uses.

As for backwards compatibility, I always found I got the most nostalgia from video games when I played them on their original console, and I do find it odd that people would trade in a gaming console simply to get $100 or so off the next console. People aren't backwards, they just want good value for their money.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Keep digging Microsoft, keep digging. That hole must be getting pretty deep by now.

 

[flarty]

Considering the fact they have sold over twice as many 360s they did original Xbox's, and the fact they sold nearly triple the amount of games this time round compared to the last generation also. These statistics are probably more relevant than the nonsense Microsoft is spewing out about how relevant backwards compatibility is.

 

[Strazdas]

Oh christ, that was an incredibly dumb statement.

except that it wasnt. im sure many will jump on the badnwago like you. but people who know at least basic knowledge about programming will understand this statement. if you are runing for backward compactability, you end up isntead of going for new features, removing existing ones to make it work on old drivers/hardware/software/ect. there is a reason a lot of games are dropping directx9 support, because being able to support that woudl signifacnatly hamper their ability to do what they want to do. becasue the odl tech simply does not support such possibilities to begin with. a certain level of backward comapctability is a necessity because not everyone upgrades instantly, but the more backward you are the more you turn to what was than what is to be.

Congratulations Mr. Mattrick, you just kicked up a hornet's nest.

This should be an interesting show.

Not really. while here on escapist we like to rage about backward compactability, most gamers cant give less fucks about it. they wont even try to play any of their old games on the new machine. they dont want to. sure, it sucks to be a minority and not ahve everything tailored to you, but thats your own choice.


Capcha tells me to decribe nintendo. even capcha entered console wars.
My answer: nintendont

 

[Orekoya]

Since I have no console at all, I don't really get the fuzz about backwards compatibility.

It's because you have no console at all that you don't really get the fuzz about backwards compatibility. Ultimately the best way to sell a new console to people who already own the current generation, aka most console gamers, as a justifiable expense at launch when the console will be highest in price (and also when sales will matter the most to them) is if it is an upgrade to the existing generation's console, not a replacement. Since most launch titles tend to be veer towards Shit Island at full mast, any incident they can give people to consider this an upgrade should be welcomed with open arms and the easiest way to pull that off is making the new console compatible with their existing library of games rather than trying to sell them on getting a new console at launch with zero games that they want.

 

[Strazdas]

"Wait to buy it again" is what you really said there. And what happens if your old consoles stops working? What happens if you need to trade it in because you are on a budget and just can't quite afford the new one without it?

really? thats your argument? i cant afford it so they must make it work cheaper? how about you cant afford then dont buy it? are they forcing you to buy it with a gun to your head or something? if you cant afford it, your not the person they care about to begin with. why is that so hard to grasp for 90% of people here?

 

[VoidWanderer]

Wow...

What is being passed around the major gaming companies/divisions lately?

EA drops their $10 season pass thing, which is good. Sony drops licensing Fees for Indie developers for the PS4, which is good.

Nintendo screws over any LPers or people who breath the word Nintendo, which is stupid. Microsoft think that Backwards compatibility is stupid and are charging people who try to use any second hand games a fee, which is stupid.

So, I ask again, what the hell are they drinking, and why did Microsoft ask for more?

 

[Anathrax]

I'm afraid Microsoft's head is backwards compatible with their ARSE!*Badum tish*
Will be here all week folks.

Seriously what the hell are they thinking?!

 

[Orekoya]

1) The hardware architecture is so vastly different that BC would either be utterly, totally crap (emulation), or would make the console more expensive (by including the X360 HW), or both

And yet despite "vastly different hardware architecture" I can still use dosbox to play games from the eighties. It's not a very good excuse.

2) Except for Nintendo, noone ever had perfect BC. Usually, lots of games get broken. And frankly if the BC isn't perfect (like GC -> Wii), what's the point?

"Because they can't do it perfectly, they shouldn't bother doing it at all." Did I get that right? Because that's plain silly. They're certainly not going to get it right by not trying.

3) Buying a new console near its launch is a silly move anyway (few games, potential hardware issues)

It is a silly move for the consumer. It's also a vital move to the company. The company has the most to lose or gain in how launch plays out, and they're the ones making the console. Throwing away all the aces they could have in their sleeves is not a smart move.

4) Why would you buy a new console if you'd play mostly just old games? Save the money and don't buy it. Early adopters are tech fans and generally don't need to be bothered that much by BC.

Same reason anybody would buy an upgrade, they want better and faster than what they have. "Blu-ray players can play DVD better than DVD Players" it was one of the major selling points, and it worked.

Also, "Early adopters are tech fans and generally don't need to be bothered that much by BC." What is the logic behind this: that because tech fans are their lap dogs it's alright for that company to spit in these early-adopters' faces because they'll take what they're given? Now I am curious how company word that in the mission statement when they make it their goal to piss on their customers.

5) Okay let's say the BC is there... What you'd do with the old console, sell it for peanuts? Older X360s and PS3 are worth maybe one game. If you bought the console just recently, it's wroth more but also wroth hanging onto and not trading it right away. I think.

What do you mean: "what you'd do with the old console"? People do different things. I've heard that most people store that in case of emergencies. We're talking about a plethora of devices that are fighting to be on the same hdmi ports and displayed on the same tv at a given time. Microsoft will want that choice to include Xbone - the last thing it needs is competition from 360.

 

[Rainforce]

but...WHAT?
Why would he say such a thing - everything Microsoft Windows was about backwards compatibility - you can play most of your games that ran on win95 even on Win7. What about all the shitty compatibility modes, etc.? what about all your Windows upgrades that were just adding another layer of weirdness to the huge pile? Microsoft, you LIVE from backwards compatibility. if you look at Macs, none of their programs from 10 years ago would work on current machines.
you give pretty much backwards compatibility for machines from more than 15(!) years ago. don't just say that backwards compatibility is not a thing D: !

 

[redmoretrout]

Well I guess I'm backwards I use play my PS2 pretty frequently, in fact I'm waiting for a copy of Final Fantasy X to arrive off Ebay so I can try that.

I might end up buying a next-gen console a few years down the line, once it has decent library of games and has had a few price cuts. But, the lack of backwards compatibility has made me lose interest in both the Xbone and PS4 for the foreseeable future.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Sure, why would you want to play your collection of old games on the Xbone, when you can run right out and buy them brand new all over again?

 

[Reaper195]

While the statement is dumb, I can understand the technical reason.

But on the other hand, if you do get a Xbone, would you get rid of your 360?

 

[Dogstile]

What the hell? The backwards compatibility barely worked. The only reason I didn't use it was because none of the games I wanted to play were supported. Ugh, glad i'm sticking to my PC