No Backwards Compatibility for Xbox 2?

[Flack]

I hadn't seen this posted yet.

Because two boxes under the TV are as good as one, apparently

Sources close to Microsoft's senior Xbox executives have confirmed that the company does not intend to make its next-generation console, which is set to be launched by late 2005, backwards compatible with existing Xbox software.

Speculation about the backwards compatibility functionality has been rife since it emerged that Xbox 2 - codenamed Xenon - will have radically different hardware to the original system, with a non-x86 processor, no hard drive and an ATI, rather than NVIDIA, graphics chipset, all of which would make running Xbox titles on the platform very difficult.

It was widely believed, however, that Microsoft had retained a team of hardware emulation experts to work on the problem - although concerns over the viability of such an endeavour were voiced by some experts, especially regarding the company's ability to emulate the functions of the graphics unit in the Xbox without violating NVIDIA's intellectual property rights.

GamesIndustry.biz has now learned that Microsoft does not plan to provide any backwards compatibility in the next-generation Xenon platform - and indeed, that senior executives at the company don't believe backwards compatibility to be an important feature for consoles.

According to a source close to the project, internal Microsoft figures suggest that only 10 per cent of PlayStation 2 purchasers were interested in the console's ability to play titles developed for the original PlayStation.

Although this still represents some seven million consumers on a global basis - which is around half of Microsoft's entire installed base for Xbox - the company apparently believes that allowing consumers to play existing Xbox titles on the next-generation hardware would not be a significant deciding factor for Xenon purchasers.

However, a report into the videogames industry published today by Wedbrush Morgan Securities senior vice president Michael Pachter disagrees with this conclusion - arguing that failing to provide backward compatibility could have the effect of alienating Microsoft's existing Xbox installed base.

"In the event that Xbox Next is not backward compatible, we think that the device will be very slow to grow its footprint," the report warns, while elsewhere it suggests that such a move could damage the company's long-term prospects for the console.

"We do expect Microsoft to launch its console first, perhaps as early as 2005," says Pachter. "Should it choose to do so without backward compatibility or significant third-party software support, we expect to see its first-mover advantage evaporate."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=3645

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, that just confirms what I heard over the last few months. :) Where have YOU been? LOL

Does'nt matter that much to me. It's way too early for me to even THINK about those new consoles. When they come out and the price drops to $200 and some good games (at least 5) come out for it, THEN call me. :D

[Mr Mort]

I'm not surprised, but I am dissapointed. After hearing there would be no HD, no black and white buttons on the controller, that obviously tipped me off to it.
I think it's a big mistake, but we'll see...

As of right now, I'm a little dissapointed with what they have to offer, but things yet may change, and there are plenty of details to be revealed.

[YoshiM]

No big deal about backwards compatibility with me. Seeing as how trade in value is probably going to be very low for the Xbox when #2 arrives, it's not going to be worth it to trade it in and selling it outright might not bring a whole lot of cash either. Might as well keep the thing. To be honest, I'd rather NOT have the system be backwards compatible as that would probably add to the price and possible complexity. I wonder sometimes if Sony dropped PS1 compatibility if the machine would have been cheaper.

The lack of hard drive...well that kinda hurts as I like to listen to my own music in racing games. True I could just play a CD but it's somethin' special hearing tires squacking and metal crunching while listening to Marilyn Manson's latest CD.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I can't believe they wouldn't make the Saturn compatible with the Gen...oh, wait, sorry, little industry flashback there. ;) LOL

[ianoid]

Is anyone in this industry paying attention? The two largest success stories in modern gaming offer complete back compatibility- PS2 and GBA.

Lack of back compatibility will utterly alienate the Xbox user base. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Fools!

I agree with the final statement- the lead time advantage will evaporate with the lack of back compatibility. Might as well drop the Xbox name as well. Just call it Wastebox. (And BTW I am a big Xbox fan- I just think this is a stupid mistake for what might have been real competition for Sony. Oh, well. Looks like Sony will rule for another generation.)

[Half Japanese]

In other news, King Sony munches on a big ol' turkey leg and gets blown by a serf.

[tholly]

well, backwards compatability is no big gain / loss for me, but it would have been nice to see it as an added feature....oh well, no big deal....ill still have my 3 xboxes when the new one comes out and i will be buying the new one no matter what features are included

[-hellvin-]

Well, what can ya say? It shouldn't be that much work to include it, but oh well.

[PapaStu]

Kinda unnerving to not think of a system without backwards compatability, but almost NONE of the systems have implemented this system outright. The PS2, and a few others have been the exception and not the rule.
I like the whole notion of the PS2 being backwards compatable and have used it, but i still have my PSOne, and use it for those games. Id like my PS3 to handle the PS2 stuff, and it would be nice to have the NextBox (still sounds better than any other XBox2 type name IMO) play my Xbox stuff. But how am i getting that data off the Xbox HD... not by memory cards, unless they make something to handle that. Or some system that can plug into the Xbox controller, but be integrated to work with the NextBox, and I highly doubt that will happen. What about XBL, will that have a dual system, for XBox and NextBox, or will those be compatable with each other. I doubt that as well. They have created a system that will not work with an older version of itself, much like the older windows opperating systems.

All of this is so far out that were not going to know anything before next years E3, when they launch the specs for this thing, along with the New Nintendo system.


Is anyone in this industry paying attention? The two largest success stories in modern gaming offer complete back compatibility- PS2 and GBA.
Once the PS2 hit, the main force of the PSOne started to fall by the wayside, with both games and systems producing dropping steeply. and i dont think that all that many really used their PS2's for the PSOne, like the article said. Id think more than 10% but not much more than 20-25% tops. Now if Sony was cool, they'd have made the memory cards compatable between systems, but they like to sell more stuff and make a raping on that.
My problem with what you said is that I dont think that Sony sold systems enmasse because of the backwards compatability of it. They sold systems because of the step in games, and the popularity that the PSOne brought into the market. Did you buy your PS2 because of backwards compatability, or was it a nice little added perk in owning the thing?

[EnemyZero]

the only reason backwards compatability is so big is because when a console is released theres really not that many games to choose from, so people figure they can dump there old system off ay EB or something and use the money for more games. i can give a rats ass about back comp...i am kinda dissapointed about not adding a harddriive..but then again my current xbox is already modded, so dont need to mod another.

[Sniderman]

See, I believe backwards compatibility is a HUGE plus/bonus. When I got my PS2, it was great that all of my PSX games were still playable. When I got my GB Color (and later GBA SP), it was great that all of my black and white, and color, and SP games all worked on the new system.

I think BWards compatability is a must nowadays to sell a system. No one wants to start from scratch every 4 years when the newest upgrade is ready.

[QBert]

See, I believe backwards compatibility is a HUGE plus/bonus. When I got my PS2, it was great that all of my PSX games were still playable. When I got my GB Color (and later GBA SP), it was great that all of my black and white, and color, and SP games all worked on the new system.

I think BWards compatability is a must nowadays to sell a system. No one wants to start from scratch every 4 years when the newest upgrade is ready.


I concur :)

[macabre26]

I agree with Spiderman. The backwards compatabliilty has been use with my ps2 since I got it. I haven't had a ps1 in ages and ages (though if I thought I could get away with stealing it back from her...). Anyways, back to reality, I decided long ago that the current generation of video consoles is my last, until the unit gets a resonably price drop at least. For now, i'll get my DS, and play metroid prime 16 player network battles on the skytrain.

[omnedon]

Is anyone in this industry paying attention? The two largest success stories in modern gaming offer complete back compatibility- PS2 and GBA.


You forgot about the 7800! It was backwards compatible too. yeah! woo hoo! It could play the largest library of games...tap tap tap... is this thing on?

What? Casual gamers don't care about playing old titles? That's why they pile up in the pawns and game stores bargain bins? And the casual user base buy's the most stuff en masse?

Oh.

Seriously, I think that this forum will skew heavy towards being in favour of backwards compatibility. If this thread is any indication, taking into account the skew factor, Microsoft may be right.

[dethink]

Is anyone in this industry paying attention? The two largest success stories in modern gaming offer complete back compatibility- PS2 and GBA.
What? Casual gamers don't care about playing old titles? That's why they pile up in the pawns and game stores bargain bins?

LOL

i agree...especially with the "franchise o ramas" of todays games, is it really that fun to go back and play the exact same game as this year's version, minus all the improved control mechanics and slightly sharper graphics? for example, trying to go back and play the original GT after GT3 is like night and day, even when completely throwing visuals aside. take out the fine analog controls of 3, and you're left with GT1 feeling like a plow heavy or tail happy version of ridge racer.

dunno, i find it funny that from what i've heard, the xbox 2 is basically a power mac G5. LOL the initial spec sheet IGN/etc. was quoting listed a PowerPC processor and ATi chipset the heart of the thing.

dunno, simple console, online connectivity, all of sega's GOOD franchises = DC2?

[Kejoriv]

I am very disapointed. This is one of the reasons that the PS2 and the Gameboy dominate the industry. This is a huge mistake on M$'s part.

[Trixie]

Is anyone in this industry paying attention? The two largest success stories in modern gaming offer complete back compatibility- PS2 and GBA.


You forgot about the 7800! It was backwards compatible too. yeah! woo hoo! It could play the largest library of games...tap tap tap... is this thing on?

And don't forget the Commodore 128!

> GO64

8-) :D

[john_soper]

Backwards compatiblity may not seem like a big deal, but Microsoft should want to throw in every perk they can considering how intense the next system war might be. Besides, the PS3 will come out being backwards compatible with an instant library of up to 2000 games!

[swlovinist]

I really really really think this is a bad move, and I am going to tell you why. While I agree, that probably most people dont use their backwards compatability in their PS2, the fact is that they can if they want to. The PS2 proved that consumers wanted a system that could not only play previous gen games, but also a DVD player. While the DVD player is not the best, and the backwards compatable thing was probably not overmarketed, the fact still remains that it was a key selling point. Whether we like it or not, we live in a time when the video game system has to do more than play games. I for one dont really care, but I think for a next gen console to succeed, you are gonna have to play ball. Lets look at the Market right now. The PS2, aside from its own problems of durability, is still the clear winner of this console war. I for one am not a huge PS2 fanboy, but you have to face the fact....they have the most games that everyone wants. In other words you are goning to have to comepete with what the leader in the game industry is doing. Honestly, I feel really bad for all the hardcore Xbox fans that have loyally stuck with their system and poured alot of money into it....And now you are going to tell me that none of this shit is going to play in my new system??? Another thing I heard that even the next incarnation of the Gamecube will be backwards compatable. The problem is that I feel that just making a game system that has limited compatability is a big big mistake. You may save money in the process, but you arent going to win the console war...ask Nintendo...I am going to end this disconjointed rant by saying this...Microsoft better include it because backwards compatability isnt something people are gonna want, it is something they are going to expect!

[LAGO]

Microsoft better include it because backwards compatability isnt something people are gonna want, it is something they are going to expect!


yup

[GaijinPunch]

Does anyone else in this forum besides me NOT like having so many damn systems lying around? I'm even married and it's hard to get laid b/c they just suck the sex drive out of the whole atmosphere!

[SoulBlazer]

Suck the sex drive out.....? O_O

[Ed Oscuro]

I can't believe they wouldn't make the Saturn compatible with the Gen...oh, wait, sorry, little industry flashback there. ;) LOL
Hah! Sat/Genesis CD or 32x compatibility would've been pretty hard to pull off, but you could feasibly have accomplished it. With the XBox, I'm guessing there's enough nVidia-specific code in there to make the games broken from the standpoint of getting them working on a sort of generalized framework - and that's to say nothing of the problems x86 to PowerPC would present.

That said, how many original XBox games are there to think about in the first place?

Here's to cheap XBox games in the next year, then. :rocker:

[sabre2922]

Backward compatibility is a big deal for me I have enjoyed the PS2's ability to play all the older titles that I have owned for years and would have it no other way.
I have to say that I am definitely not a Sony fanboy and would actually consider myself more of an Xbox fan the thought of the next Xbox coming out with no backwards compatability whatsoever is complete bullshit IMOA :angry:
If this is in fact the case I will pass on both the Nintendo Revolution and the Xbox next and wait happily for PS3 for the simple reason that IM sick of getting burned with hollow promises and shortened system lifespans i.e. DREAMCAST etc.
Any way if all I have is my PS2 and XBOX for the next 5 years I would be perfectly happy so Im in no rush to upgrade from these two systems wich in my opinion still have much to offer gameplay wise and look perfectly fine for me as far as graphics go.
IN fact I believe that all of the big three Nintendo,Microsoft, and even Sony may be in for a big surprise when they do launch the next gen systems as to how few early adapters their will be compared to when the PS2 and Xbox launched, but thats just my 2-cents.
LATER GAMERS!!!

[Avenger]

i dont care either way.....im not getting rid of my Xbox, i have never really cared about backwards compatibility....but the Game Boy capabilities are pretty nice, it beats carrying around a GBA, GBC, AND a GB...

i just cant wait for the next gen tho....cuz then i can start racking in Gamecube, and Xbox games for CHEAPPPPP

[kainemaxwell]

Bad move for M$ considering they'll alienate most of their customer base with buying the new system, and tossing all their older games which most them waited a long time for. Backwards compatibility is a big thing nowadays and M$ is stupid not to include it with the X2.

[kainemaxwell]

Bad move for M$ considering they'll alienate most of their customer base with buying the new system, and tossing all their older games which most them waited a long time for. Backwards compatibility is a big thing nowadays and M$ is stupid not to include it with the X2.

[Avenger]

i'd love for all the xbox owners to sell their games....TO ME :D!