Xbox 720 to have backwards compatibility with bells on?
Backwards compatibility in the games industry is hardly a new concept, but Microsoft could be about to take the idea and monumentally improve upon it. This would be done by making Xbox 360 games look, feel, and play better on the console’s next gen successor, tentatively called the Xbox 720. Sound far-fetched? Maybe, but it’s certainly possible.
I personally love backwards compatibility. It helps garner brand loyalty, helps people adjust to a next gen console, and means your beloved back catalog of games isn’t suddenly worthless. It was the main reason why I bought a PS2, and also chose the 60Gb PS3 above the other models. While Sony doesn’t seem to like the concept any more (because it harms sales of the PS2), Microsoft seems to be all in favor.
The next iteration of the Xbox hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it’s highly likely to appear sometime between 2010 and 2012. And while the name of it and any kinds of details are still shrouded in secrecy, Xbox Evolved reckon that they have some information from one of their sources concerning one aspect of the machine.
Not only will the Xbox 720 be backwards compatible, able to play Xbox 360 games, it will actually improve the performance of these games. Evolved is calling it forwards compatibility but it’s more accurate to describe the idea as backwards compatibility with bells on.
The Xbox 360 already does this to a certain extent, playing Xbox games with upscaled resolutions and anti-aliasing, but what is now supposedly being proposed is another level up from that entirely.
The site claims that the next Microsoft hardware will actually make Xbox 360 games better. Graphics will be sharper, draw distances improved, frame rates improved. The new controller would also be usable, and new features or even levels would also be opened up. Sounds impressive eh?
This already happens to a degree in the world of PC gaming. You can play a new game on any PC that fulfills the minimum specs requirement, but buy a new PC or new graphics card and watch the game come to life. So there’s really no reason why this couldn’t happen on home consoles. But developers will have to be in the loop as to what specs the next Xbox is going to have in order to be able to make games that will utilize the new hardware.
It’s a great rumor that could end up being true. Or it could alternatively end up being a complete pack of lies. In which case, I’d ask why aren’t console manufacturers looking at such a scheme, particularly for games made towards the end of a current gen console’s life?
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19 Responses to “Xbox 720 to have backwards compatibility with bells on?”
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October 16th, 2008
Maybe what it actually will do is fix the scratches on the discs left behind from the 360. Now that would be inovation.
October 16th, 2008
Whatever, I just hope they release it really soon, so I can get an “old” 360 for under $100 and FINALLY freakin play Lost Odyssey.
-Arvis
October 16th, 2008
whoa Microsoft, lets not rush into these things and forget about a simple thing as say, oh i don’t know, cooling this beast. If you cant get it Cool enough to function then you can have all the bells and whistles you want because its simply going to be an expensive paperweight.
October 16th, 2008
Come on guys your acting like the next Microsoft Console will have problems. I think if anything Microsoft learned big time about producing a quality console. It’s in development right now so it’s not like it will be rushed. Since the only knock on Microsoft this time around is RROD I expect this machine to be awesome. I really can’t wait. If the next console does break down I will personally go get a PS3 or 4. I don’t know what takes longer though waiting for a game to come out on PS3 which can be forever or a week or two for the 360 to come back from being fixed. Hummm!
October 16th, 2008
Heres how I think this will work ::
PC games tend to use sharper textures etc etc, so putting those assets into a 360 game and simply ‘turning the settings down’ gives the impression that the 720 is ‘improving the game’ when infact its simply running it at its ‘max settings’.
So pretty much the same theory as the article
October 16th, 2008
CAD:
WOW you don’t know if the the next Xbox would have a decent enough quality if it ever comes out… Microsoft has many KNOCK like you say HDD problems no when it came out it had no HDMI disc scratching and still no next gen media player drive. And with still have the red light of death problems and noisy disc drive. Oh waiting for PS3 is no problem always on time ad delivers unlike some others. I wonder why they talking about a new system hmm i know PS3 is powerful ut Microsoft is pathetic.
October 16th, 2008
I figure MS has done the right thing with the 360.
Its running on almost off the shelf parts anyways right? So its just the OS (and i am sure some more technical stuff! so don’t jump all over me!
) thats unique.
So beef up the power, rehash the OS a bit (as ms LOVES to do
) and there you go, xbox 720 that is really just one step closer to a full blown pc with a cut down OS running on it…
October 16th, 2008
CAD- I’m just having fun with the article. I’m sure they have learned their lesson. I would think that the $1 billion mistake on the 360 would be lesson learned.
October 16th, 2008
The idea of having new levels is a little silly but 360 games would look a lot better if they were rendered at 1080p and had a little higher frame rate.
October 16th, 2008
COPYCATS
October 16th, 2008
Wow….
October 17th, 2008
sounds like what sony would be implementing with the report that the PS4 will retain the same architecture- this would even allow some new games to be backward compatible to some degree, allowing the same disc to play on both the 720/ps4 and the 360/ps3.
October 17th, 2008
@rimmer.
you stole my post…lol.
Its not a terrible idea and its cost effective.
October 17th, 2008
lol!
exactly – why reinvent the wheel?
October 17th, 2008
No don’t reinvent the wheel because that would mean the price goes up. Even Sony needs to stick with it’s setup because developers don’t need to learn how to program a whole new setup. Improve what you got and that’s it.
October 17th, 2008
I hope Xbox 720, ships with Windows 7.
October 17th, 2008
This is already happening. Pop a game into a GameCube, NES, Genesis, whatever. If you have an HDTV it will be up-converted to your TV’s native display whether it’s 720p or 1080p. Same deal with the PS3 now. Pop in a PS1 or 2 title and either the PS3 or your HDTV will up-convert it. All you need to do is figure out if your TV does a better job of up-converting than your PS3.
October 17th, 2008
Pfreak,
Yikes, aren’t TVs that upconvert standard A/V expensive as heck?
-Arvis
October 17th, 2008
Kradie, not very long, but it’s got girth.