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

[Motoko.]

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

[dead.cell]

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

[Motoko.]

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

Call of Duty?

lol

[Torolol]

is Don Mattrick = Neowin's Dot Matrix ?

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

[Motoko.]

is Don Mattrick = Neowin's Dot Matrix ?

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

It's this guy

[mzta cody]

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.

[Motoko.]

That would be funny, there does seem to be a like-minded attitude

I believe they call this "hive-mind"

[thomastmc]

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.

[RageOfFury]

I never played an Xbox game on my 360. However, I did play some PSOne and PS2 games on my PS3. Hmmm... :/

[Shiranui]

Hey, just realized, this is the guy behind Accolade's Test Drive. Nice!

[Brandon H Supervisor]

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

[Phouchg]

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.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

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

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

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).

[siah1214]

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

[thomastmc]

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.

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

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!

[Yogurtmaster]

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.

[Motoko.]

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.

[Boxster17]

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.

[Torolol]

You'd use a usb wireless mouse and keyboard. The Xbox One is basically a gaming computer ...

But xbox-1 only have like 2 USB ports ... not enough for my typical PC usages.

[thealexweb]

This man sums up how out of touch game industry bosses are :/

[+Warwagon MVC]

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.

[Xilo]

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!

[seta-san]

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.