Don Mattrick: 'If you're backwards compatible, you're really ..

By Motoko.
in Xbox

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Motoko.

Posted
Posted
The Xbox One won't play Xbox 360 discs or XBLA games, and that doesn't really bother Microsoft Head of Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick.

"If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards," he told the Wall Street Journal.

Mattrick said only 5 percent of customers play games from previous generations on new consoles, so spending time to make that possible isn't worth it. Sony's PlayStation 4 isn't backward compatible from a hardware standpoint, but with cloud service Gaikai, it should offer a way to play games from the PS3 and older consoles.

It's been eight years since the previous generation transition, meaning players have had longer than ever to build up their libraries. That's a lot to lose ? and even more so with the onset of downloadable games in the middle of this generation.

Source: WSJ, Joystick

Grand Master

dead.cell

Posted
Posted

Many people just don't want to pay extra for it, and I totally agree with them. If Sony's streaming capability actually works, that would indeed be awesome to see. No telling though.

Found this image rather funny, regarding backwards compatibility. :p

g8MzckZ.jpg

  • MightyJordan
  • Like 1
Grand Master

Motoko.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Many people just don't want to pay extra for it, and I totally agree with them. If Sony's streaming capability actually works, that would indeed be awesome to see. No telling though.

Found this image rather funny, regarding backwards compatibility. :p

g8MzckZ.jpg

Call of Duty?

lol

Rising Star

mzta cody

Posted
Posted

is Don Mattrick = Neowin's Dot Matrix ?

i'm pretty sure 'they' share same believes, and somewhat similar 'name' too,

That would be funny, there does seem to be a like-minded attitude- this rejection of anything not brand-spanking new with the dismissive overuse of the term "legacy" to describe a tried-and-true platform like Win32.

I suspect that this is not the guy, as Mattrick is 49 years of age. I think our DM is a young guy, afflicted with "anything new is better because it is new" chauvinism.

Mentor

thomastmc

Posted
Posted

I'm not much of a gamer, and not a console gamer since the NES, so I'm wondering; What exactly makes backward compatibility of games so difficult in these consoles? Is it specially modified performance drivers used, or something hardcoded in the game's platform targeting?

It just doesn't seem like a smart move to not include backward compatibility, so there must be some sort of formidable and/or costly barrier, but I couldn't imagine what that would be.

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

I'm not much of a gamer, and not a console gamer since the NES, so I'm wondering; What exactly makes backward compatibility of games so difficult in these consoles? Is it specially modified performance drivers used, or something hardcoded in the game's platform targeting?

It just doesn't seem like a smart move to not include backward compatibility, so there must be some sort of formidable and/or costly barrier, but I couldn't imagine what that would be.

for the PS4 it's because it's a different architecture than the PS3. but MS has no excuse as both the 360 and the One are running on x86 hardware with a stripped version of the windows kernel
Grand Master

Phouchg

Posted
Posted

for the PS4 it's because it's a different architecture than the PS3. but MS has no excuse as both the 360 and the One are running on x86 hardware with a stripped version of the windows kernel

No. Xbox 360 runs IBM Xenon, a not-so-distant relative to PS3's IBM Cell, both being PowerPC RISC.

No, Xbox 360 doesn't sport NT kernel, either.

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

No. Xbox 360 runs IBM Xenon, a not-so-distant relative to PS3's IBM Cell, both being PowerPC RISC.

No, Xbox 360 doesn't sport NT kernel, either.

i was just telling what i was told so I guess i was told wrong as well. thanks for the correction
Grand Master

Atomic Wanderer Chicken

Posted
Posted

The Xbox One would be a killer console if it had Microsoft Office on it and many things from Windows 8 integrated in it (even the desktop).

Veteran

siah1214

Posted
Posted

The Xbox One would be a killer console if it had Microsoft Office on it and many things from Windows 8 integrated in it (even the desktop).

You're right, it's been my dream for years to do Excel spreadsheets on a game console. Those controllers are awesome for data entry.

O.o

Mentor

thomastmc

Posted
Posted

No. Xbox 360 runs IBM Xenon, a not-so-distant relative to PS3's IBM Cell, both being PowerPC RISC.

No, Xbox 360 doesn't sport NT kernel, either.

So the move from PowerPC RISC to the x86 AMD APU is the cause for difficulty with backward compatibility? If so, that could be a formidable/costly barrier. Sony was smart to try and at least offer some sort of workaround.

Grand Master

Atomic Wanderer Chicken

Posted
Posted

You're right, it's been my dream for years to do Excel spreadsheets on a game console. Those controllers are awesome for data entry.

O.o

I'm being serious though. You'd use a usb wireless mouse and keyboard. The Xbox One is basically a gaming computer with a modified APU and custom OS. It has gaming, tv and social things, but it is missing the computing part. It would definitely be the ultimate "one for everything" console. It would be good for college and school kids, because they could quit playing an Xbox game and launch Microsoft office to start working!

Mentor

Yogurtmaster

Posted
Posted

Well, based on the low specs and no Back compat this thing has to be cheap. At least $299 is what I am expecting. Sony has a lot more added to the PS4, so I am calling $499. The only way Sony will make it cheaper is using some kind of deal where you subsidize the console and I don't think they are quite ready to do that yet.

Grand Master

Motoko.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The Xbox One would be a killer console if it had Microsoft Office on it and many things from Windows 8 integrated in it (even the desktop).

You managed to beat MS on tacking on features that don't play games.

Mentor

Boxster17

Posted
Posted

I figured it had to be a super low percentage of people that actually made use of it, granted I always figured it was something in the 2-3% range. If people care that much about backwards compatibility they'll keep their old consoles, which I personally plan on doing.

Grand Master

+Warwagon MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

No. Xbox 360 runs IBM Xenon, a not-so-distant relative to PS3's IBM Cell, both being PowerPC RISC.

No, Xbox 360 doesn't sport NT kernel, either.

True But the first Xbox was x86. So now Xbox One should be compatible with the first Xbox's games.

Grand Master

Xilo

Posted
Posted

The Xbox One would be a killer console if it had Microsoft Office on it and many things from Windows 8 integrated in it (even the desktop).

You haven't heard? This console has been released for a long time now. It's called the PC. It even features upgradeable hard drives!

Grand Master

seta-san

Posted
Posted

I'm not much of a gamer, and not a console gamer since the NES, so I'm wondering; What exactly makes backward compatibility of games so difficult in these consoles? Is it specially modified performance drivers used, or something hardcoded in the game's platform targeting?

It just doesn't seem like a smart move to not include backward compatibility, so there must be some sort of formidable and/or costly barrier, but I couldn't imagine what that would be.

processors don't all speak the same language.. yes they all speak binary but they speak different "languages" of binary

An intel compatible processor has different commands and structures than say a MIPS(n64 and PS1) or a IBM (gamecube/wii). The PS3's cell processor had a wildly different processor/architecture and is nothing like a more conventional CPU like what AMD is going to make. Interesting fact is that someone might be able to get things to work between ps4 and xbox 1 since they will have the same processors.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Politically funny images of the World

      By +primortal · Posted

    • Celebrating Windows XP's 25th anniversary this year

      By KMilenkoski1202 · Posted

      Carol, Windows XP is still being used today only in a small capacity. It is still the best OS there is due to its backwards compatibility with other older software, the customization features, and friendly UI, and people often feel that upgrading to newer OSes is cost prohibitive in specialized Industries or developing countries, so the market share as of now is around 0.2%-0.3%
    • The official Funny Pictures thread

      By Steven P. · Posted

    • Celebrating Windows XP's 25th anniversary this year

      By carols23 · Posted

      If I could, I would commemorate it the best way possible: Replacing old machines that are still running Windows XP with something more modern, stable and better.     Noone and nothing should be running Windows XP in 2026.
    • Google's new hand-wave reCAPTCHA can be bypassed with a stock photo

      By Ivan Jenic · Posted

      Google's new hand-wave reCAPTCHA can be bypassed with a stock photo by Ivan Jenic Image: Screenshot Google is testing a new reCAPTCHA method that asks you to wave at your camera to prove you're human. So, besides solving puzzles and reading distorted text, you can now use your computer’s camera to pass the verification test. When the hand gesture verification is triggered, your browser asks for camera access and prompts you to perform a simple gesture, like a wave or an open palm. Google says it records a short video of the movement and uses AI to extract 21 hand-knuckle coordinates to complete the verification process. The video is then immediately deleted, and Google swears it doesn't keep it. The process alone can be uncomfortable for people who wouldn’t want their biometric data, which hand scans technically qualify as, recorded. But it gets even more nuanced, as early testers discovered that the new hand-waving reCAPTCHA can be passed with a simple stock image. A user on X tested the new challenge using a stock image of a hand fed through OBS Virtual Camera, and it passed. I wanted to verify it, so I tried the same thing. It took me a few tries and a few stock images, but in the end, I was also able to pass the test. I simply had to readjust the stock image of a generic person waving inside OBS, and Google’s mechanism registered it as a legitimate hand gesture. Once again, it didn’t even have to be a video or an AI-generated hand animation. Given the simplicity of the process, the entire action can be automated in minutes. All it takes is a simple Python script to render the new reCAPTCHA method obsolete. And it doesn’t even have to be an AI bot, which is usually used for solving puzzles and other verification methods. The new reCAPTCHA method is still in its early phase, and Google will, hopefully, update its AI to at least reject still images. However, this incident, combined with users’ initial skepticism about Google’s practices regarding user data, likely won’t make too many people wave at the camera anytime soon.

  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post
    • First Post
      carols23 earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      Tom Willson earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Apprentice
      Asgardi went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • One Month Later
      sunrisea2milk earned a badge
      One Month Later

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      495
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      262
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      151
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      90
    5. 5
      macoman
      67
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!