Xbox One Not Backwards Compatible

[Lunar Templar]

can't say this bothers me that much in comparison to the other two related 'features', but its still stupid of them to not do.

oh well, the wise will hold their systems.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Why do people care about BC? Look, only one console had it PS2. 360/PS3 had a half arsed version for a year or so and stopped and thats it.

I'm just gonna assume you forgot that Nintendo, the Wii, and the WiiU exist. If we're counting handhelds, then most of their handhelds as well.

The point still stands that outside of Nintendo's handhelds and the Gamecube/Wii/WiiU BC, the vast majority of gaming history has shown very little backwards compatibility. And that's perfectly fine. It's not like the Console Generation Ninjas come to your house and rob you of your consoles when the generations switch.

 

[Absolutionis]

Do we even know the shelf-life of this new Xbone? I hope it takes at least more than two years before the Xbone RROD's and you have to buy more Xbones.

Unpopular opinion incoming:
1. Backwards compatibility is not an issue for me. I owned many different generations of consoles and only PS2, PS3 (to an extent) and 360 were backwards compatible. So I am used to not being able to play previous libraries on the nex-gen systems.
2. I hardly ever buy used, so this isn't a big deal for me either. I prefer new items, plus I know how to clearance shop.
3. I never buy a system on launch, I wait for about 6-12 months and see what has changed and what has been fixed.

In closing I care only about the future of the system itself not the past titles I own and have played the shit out of already. And I tend to keep my old systems so if I wanted to play games on them I could.
If they could come up with a way of improving graphics on older games in backwards compatibility I'd be more inclined to rage about the lack of the feature. But it don't work that way.

1. Backwards compatibility is important for people what are willing to buy into the XBox line for the first time. When I bought a PS3, the system I had prior to that was a Sega Genesis. It was a delight to be able to play PS2 games until the good stuff came out on PS3.

2. PC Gamers have had to deal with this for years. The concept of "used" games got replaced by Steam Sales and GoG sales. The developer gets the profit and consumers get a huge discount. Consoles have to make the transition sometime, but with this new iterative Xbone changing for used games, requiring installation, and trying to be a multimedia device, what differentiates it from a simple gaming PC? Pay a little extra and you can get an amazing gaming laptop and don't have to splurge on a TV.

3. Microsoft wants you to buy its system on launch. You may be one of the smart consumers, but at-launch buyers are key for Microsoft.

 

[Big_Boss_Mantis]

Why do people care about BC? Look, only one console had it PS2. 360/PS3 had a half arsed version for a year or so and stopped and thats it.

In this generation, to me, it is a little different, because both consoles developed an ecosystem.

We spent the last 7 years buying digital games, adding friends, collecting trophies/achievements.
And now both companies are just asking us to throw all that investment (of time and money) away, to start all over again.

Lastly, I also think that this generation left a bigger backlog than previous ones, considering how lenghty games have gotten (comparatively) and the tons of digital games being released on the market...

I have survived several times without backwards compatibility, but I think this particular time it's more annoying than has previously been.

 

[Absolutionis]

Backwards compatibility matters if you're trying to attract people to your line of consoles for the first time. It matters to attract the PS3 owners willing to make the switch.

Additionally, considering the Xbox360's life expectancy, it matters to Xbox owners as well when (not if) their old console dies.

Half-assed backwards compatibility is still backwards compatibility, and it's attractive for console-loyalists, people willing to make the switch, and people whose consoles will eventually fail.

 

[Lightknight]

Is it just me or does Microsoft essentially sound rude or combative in all this? I don't remember anything close to this attitude for the 360 information release.

1. Backwards compatibility is important for people what are willing to buy into the XBox line for the first time. When I bought a PS3, the system I had prior to that was a Sega Genesis. It was a delight to be able to play PS2 games until the good stuff came out on PS3.

It isn't important to them, per se. It's just a nice feature that really adds to the selling point. The ps4 had to correct the ridiculous mistake they made with the proprietary processor of the ps3 that actively made things difficult to program for so this was necessary for them. I'm not sure why the 360 had to do this. How could it be that different unless they went from a fairly standard setup to a proprietary one themselves (making the same mistake their competitors did)? Hopefully emulation will clear that up but I'm not sure there something else at play here. We'll have to wait on that though. It's nice to have a back catalogue but a new entrant into the console brand isn't going to have an established catalogue in their closet like we would. If someone really wants that, I recommend waiting for the $150 addon that allows for backward compatibility. The PS4 is releasing one of those too. For the Xbox 1 the addon is called a pre-owned 360 and for the ps4 it's called a pre-owned ps3. In another year they may be even cheaper than $150 like the PS2 was last time around.

2. PC Gamers have had to deal with this for years. The concept of "used" games got replaced by Steam Sales and GoG sales. The developer gets the profit and consumers get a huge discount. Consoles have to make the transition sometime, but with this new iterative Xbone changing for used games, requiring installation, and trying to be a multimedia device, what differentiates it from a simple gaming PC? Pay a little extra and you can get an amazing gaming laptop and don't have to splurge on a TV.

I have to admit, this was no small motivation in building my pc. Very cheap games and a very high quality service that steam was offering.

3. Microsoft wants you to buy its system on launch. You may be one of the smart consumers, but at-launch buyers are key for Microsoft.

Hmm, I don't think I've ever gotten a system at launch. Maybe half a year afterwards. I thought Sega already taught us that lesson?

 

[Zeckt]

I am happy to say I have finished the process of getting rid of all of my 360 and non exclusive ps3 games and replacing everything on pc at this point. Seriously, after the 360's failure rate I won't be looking back except to maybe spit. I'll maybe buy a ps4 2-3 years down the line for its exclusives but thats it.

 

[Lightknight]

Backwards compatibility matters if you're trying to attract people to your line of consoles for the first time. It matters to attract the PS3 owners willing to make the switch.

Additionally, considering the Xbox360's life expectancy, it matters to Xbox owners as well when (not if) their old console dies.

Half-assed backwards compatibility is still backwards compatibility, and it's attractive for console-loyalists, people willing to make the switch, and people whose consoles will eventually fail.

Considering the fact that I can get practically any system all the way back to the Atari within 30 minutes of where I am right now, I don't think it will be a problem. They're not even getting more expensive, they're all less than $100 at this point and so will the ps3/360 be soon. They're a little more complex than previous consoles so they may have some difficulty where private refurbishing is concerned but I know local shops that do a good job at it.

 

[NLS]

So many people here that don't understand that you can't just run PowerPC code on x86-64 hardware. There's no way in hell they can "just emulate" the 360 on current hardware. Or they would have to heighten the price and include a separate PowerPC chip.
It's like getting outraged at why your car won't run on coal, I mean your old steam engine ran on coal. Why didn't they just make the car run on coal?
Or why doesn't your DVD player play VHS cassettes? (Yes they make a few dual purpose machines, but they are still very different).

Moving away from PowerPC ( and Cell) is great news though for this generation, as developing multipolar form games for one kind of processor architecture is less of a chore than what it used to with the 3-4 of current generation. It could in return mean "better"PC ports that are made with 64bit, mulicore, and 8GB ram+ in mind

 

[Trishbot]

I'd like to keep playing these games more than a few years from now.

Then keep your 360...

I don't see what all the complaining is about!? If you have 360 games you love then keep your 360 and plug it in when you want to play. It doesn't take long to switch a few cables around and bingo. Sorted.

Because 360s are notoriously faulty pieces of hardware. I've gone through three already, and my third one is already showing signs of failure and breakdown. It's not a matter of keeping it... it's a matter of knowing that, eventually, the system is going to DIE again and I'd rather invest in an upgrade rather than pouring money into an old system just so I can keep my library of games.

My NES still works just fine 26 years later. I'm fairly sure my Xbox will be dead by the time the new systems hit.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Accidentally quoted myself?
[Snip and fix]
I'm rolling my eyes a bit at the people screaming bloody murder at no backwards compatibility, just keep your old consoles, it would be one thing if this was suddenly out of the blue but no backwards comparability isn't a new thing. Hell Xbox to 360 had a limited system of backwards compatibility and even then that was broken.

While I'm not raving at the lack of backwards compatibility, I always have concerns about my consoles' lifespan. Backwards compatibility is a safety net for me just in case my old consoles break. The old consoles won't last a lifetime and I go back to play my old favorites every once in a while, but if the console breaks and the new ones aren't backwards compatible, I'll have lost my ability to play those old games. The ability to replace the console diminishes every year after manufacturing has ended. The only hope I would have to play them is if they release the games again as a digital dl so I'm paying for my games all over again.

There will probably be emulation on PC but I have a feeling there will be a strong push against that if a digital version is being sold again.

 

[Vault Citizen]

Backwards compatibility was pretty much the only feature that I was hoping for. I,Vogt to waive few years before I get a second 8th gen console and I am going to see which one turns out better before making a choice.

 

[Trishbot]

So many people here that don't understand that you can't just run PowerPC code on x86-64 hardware. There's no way in hell they can "just emulate" the 360 on current hardware. Or they would have to heighten the price and include a separate PowerPC chip.

I'm pretty sure the original Xbox and Xbox 360 had this very same difference, yet that didn't stop them from letting me play Halo 2 on my Xbox 360 through emulation software integrated into the machine.

Backwards compatibility is ALWAYS a good thing, ESPECIALLY when games/music/movies have allowed technology to adopt more universal standards and open-source software to run them. Blu-Ray would have died in the water if the player didn't allow DVD playback, and I know quite certainly that the PS3 was carried through it's troubled starting years by allowing its extensive library of PS1 and PS2 games to run on the system until it had built up a strong enough library of its own.

Let's be honest here; they absolutely CAN get backwards compatibility to work, but they simply think it's not worth spend the time or money on... and this is typical of the same company that asks you to pay them a monthly fee to play online games (something NO other console maker does) and then turns around and floods your dashboard with invasive ads, eats up all your harddrive space with mandatory features you may not want like Kinect support and Avatar junk, and decides to hide the indie games as far away as they can in a tiny little corner that you have trouble finding even if you know where to look for them.

Because, ultimately, you don't matter. You don't. They're getting so much money from EPSN partnerships and ad venue and Xbox Live subscriptions that I'm not even sure they care that it's not much of a game machine anymore. We'll see if people flock to them again like they did when Halo 3 was selling systems, but as an Xbox 360 owner who has slowly watched the system slip into gimmicks and anti-consumer behavior, I've quickly lost faith.

The lack of backwards compatibility and the loss of 7 years of digital purchases is one thing, but the used game sales penalty fees are a whole different beast. We'll see how kindly consumers, and even retailers like Gamestop, deal with this.

 

[Two Angels]

I'd like to keep playing these games more than a few years from now.

Then keep your 360...

I don't see what all the complaining is about!? If you have 360 games you love then keep your 360 and plug it in when you want to play. It doesn't take long to switch a few cables around and bingo. Sorted.

Because 360s are notoriously faulty pieces of hardware. I've gone through three already, and my third one is already showing signs of failure and breakdown. It's not a matter of keeping it... it's a matter of knowing that, eventually, the system is going to DIE again and I'd rather invest in an upgrade rather than pouring money into an old system just so I can keep my library of games.

My NES still works just fine 26 years later. I'm fairly sure my Xbox will be dead by the time the new systems hit.

I've got three 360s, had one since they came out, and never had a problem with a single one. I actually don't know anyone who has. Always find it odd that people have so many issues with them.

On that note that's an understandably annoying position to be facing. Who knows, they might have a work around.

 

[Icehearted]

Not all is lost, however. The lack of native backwards compatibility doesn't prevent Microsoft from putting some kind of emulation system in place like it did with the 360.


Permalink

Aye, but a heaping pile of greed and some lazy variation of the HD Collection cash-grab/ double-dip can be all the incentive they need to hold back such things.

 

[Jesse Billingsley]

XBone is my new favourite name for this console! Long may it haunt Microsoft!

OT: I'm not particularly interested in Xbox this time around. I'm going to go for the PS4 because so far Sony seem to have more of a focus on games than Microsoft does. That's kinda important to me, as a gamer.

Either way, backwards compatibility seems less likely with each generation so it's no longer a deal breaker. Looks like I'm just going to have to make more room for all these damn boxes under my TV.

F that! I'm just going to buy a new Standard 360 and a 32 gig flash drive when my first gen dies. XBone won't even have a good selection of games by the time it comes out. So what's the point in getting it.

 

[xPixelatedx]

May I ask you how often you spend time playing old games? I've always kept my old systems and my old games in pretty good condition but I'll say I haven't pulled out an old console for some time now and am wondering if I've just been slowly building a video game shrine/museum for decades now. Maybe it's just me but I methodically play games the first time through and generally to as near 100% completion as I want to get.

Don't get me wrong, I almost cried the day FF Tactics (The Lion Wars, not that advanced crap) came out on the PSP. But I never considered cracking my old PS1 out an playing the original game even though I still have both. I'm always too preoccupied with newer games and the recent backlog of games I'm still catching up on. There's too much in the now and near future to spend too much time looking back.

Backwards compatibility is a nice feature. But it's never been that useful for me. If you and people like you genuinely have a different method of replaying games than I do, then ok. But I don't see many people who can afford the new systems and yet still spend their time playing old games with any regularity.

First off, I would like to thank you for wording your position and opinion very well even though it was clearly contrary to my own. I wish more internet comments were like this!

Second:

May I ask you how often you spend time playing old games?

The thing is, I probably spend most my time playing old games now, as a lot of the newest ones don't really interest me. Oh sure, there are exceptions, that's why I would have considered getting a new console to begin with. Last year I bought Halo 4 and Borderlands 2 for my 360... however, that's all I bought. I am thinking about getting Bioshock Infinite on my 360 as well, but nothing else coming out this year for that console interests me. I do however have quite a large backlog of 360 games that I do enjoy. It seems I liked the 360 much more when it first appeared, and it appeared (to me) the games have more variety in their library.

But overall, I am a BAD person to ask this lol. I bought a PS3 to basically play PS1 games. I held off getting a PS3 for the longest time because I only wanted 1 game for it (MGS4) so I couldn't justify the price. However I then learned every model of PS3 can play PS1 games, and I love my PS1 library (58 games). My PS2 is one of those finicky models that often has trouble reading specific kinds of discs, so I bought the PS3 to basically play MGS4 and all my PS1 games... and I do!
I am currently also buying new PS1 games that I am playing and enjoy right at this very moment. After Seeing game grumps episode where they play Strider 2, I saw I missed an amazing gem and paid $60 (the price of a New 360/PS3 game) for a near mint copy of it on ebay. It was worth every penny.
I am currently using the wiiU's downtime to play my wii games as well, as well as virtual console games which technically count as 'Old Games'. Super Metroid is actually paused on my wiiU game pad right now as I took this opportunity to charge it while I reply to comments online. I've been playing it off and on at my desk today, so I was playing an old game on a new console while you were typing your comment... that answer your question? XD

I've always kept my old systems and my old games in pretty good condition

This brings up another important topic related to the xbox... Even if I did keep mine in good condition for the next 4 years (and I will) I honestly doubt it will still work. 360's aren't known for that, you know? Even my fat PS3 died at some point and I had to eventually get a slim, much to my reluctance. Long gone are the days of sturdy design like the SNES. These things we have now? Yeah, most of them won't be here down the road. All the more important that we have the ability to play these games.

 

[Crazie_Guy]

Having skipped the 360 I was looking forward to maybe starting the next gen with a box that could bring me the massive 360 backlog while also looking toward the future.

Congratulations Microsoft, this was your one chance to make me buy your Xbox over the PS4 without hesitation or second thought, and you threw it away.

 

[Zeckt]

In my experience there is absolutely no way a 360 will work in 4 years. It will become a giant paperweight and any games I have will become worthless. My first 360 had an RROD, my second one had other random problems, and my third ones limited edition gears of war controllers BOTH died shortly after 3 months of owning. The controller thing pushed me over the edge, that was completely unforgivable. Limited edition my ASS with THEIR failure rate. I hate microsoft and will always hate microsoft till I'm 6 feet under for good reason. They are $@##ing terrible. If I was in their press conference I would need to be taken away by security.

 

[creamy5000]

Wow finally a console that will have specs the same or slightly better than my PC. To bad I'm going to be upgrading my PC to blow all the console away again and it will be backwards compatible.