Xbox One's backwards compatibility potential...
The Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility functionality, currently in preview, was a curve ball I don't think anyone saw coming. And the only thing I can fault MS for, was not letting people know they were working on it in advance. Simply knowing that this was coming during the first year of sales could have changed the landscape a lot in terms of sales as, especially early on, this was a huge complaint against both the XB1 and PS4.
I had argued that while this wasn't technically impossible, that backwards compatibility would be such a difficult thing to do, that without their main competitor offering it, it was effectively impossible. And, the fact that this has come to pass has not changed my mind on just how massive an undertaking this must have been. Especially considering that at the same time they continued to expand the functionality on the Xbox One while the PS4 was pretty much at a standstill.
This isn't someone flicking a switch and saying "yes you can play Xbox 360 games". The architectures are completely different, and this isn't bytecode we're talking about, this is machine code that is simply incompatible.
To give a measure of the complexity you need look no further than Sony. Their solution? Stream the games via a subscription service. So the games effectively run natively elsewhere and your gaming device is just a remote monitor and gamepad. The company that claimed to be about gamers first is offering the lesser of the gamer centric approaches to backwards compatibility. And it isn't JUST about making money off of the service. In fact, that service probably won't break even for a very long time. So you can bet your butt that Sony would have done backwards compatibility in a similar fashion if they thought that they could do so feasibly.
Side note: It IS worth noting that Sony's solution is also incredibly complex and cool and like Microsoft's has far reaching potential beyond just their consoles. Simply noted it here because streaming a game is less reliable (requires always on internet connection of decent quality and both ends of connection need to be up and running). It also effectively forces people to re-purchase their last gen titles. The are the same or similar to launch jabs at some of Microsoft's original plans for Xbox One.
And, Microsoft isn't JUST emulating the games. The games required services and functionality baked into the Xbox 360 API. So, they are emulating parts of the console OS as well. This is more a kudos for overcoming another technical hurdle. But, it was probably one that needn't exist. This had to be done because MS clearly hadn't intended on delivering backwards compatibility when they built the Xbox One. Otherwise, they would have made sure that all necessary system calls were also backwards compatible (IE, no need for Xbox 360 dash controls because those calls and interactions could simply be rerouted to the Xbox One versions). Likewise, had they planned for backwards compatibility, they probably would have made sure the new Kinect sensor could deliver the data needed to drive Xbox 360 Kinect games. Impressive nonetheless.
Anyway, where this is all going is, I read an article the other night that claimed that Microsoft had allowed users to play Xbox 360 games on their PC's and while the article was a tad click bait-y, they did state correctly inside the article that it was only indirectly. With Windows 10 you can stream gameplay to the PC and play with an Xbox Controller which means you can stream your 360 games to the PC. But, here is the thing... the Xbox One is an x64 based processor. If the XB1 can emulate 360 games then the same emulation layer COULD be used directly on the PC.
Furthermore... Windows 10 is coming to Xbox. And backwards compatibility won't be disappearing at that point. Which means that technically, Windows 10 WILL be ABLE to run 360 games.
Of course, I doubt this will happen immediately if at all.
Though, I'll be interested to see if hackers are able to strip this piece out and get it to run on the PC.
Reasons to not see it officially any time soon are fairly numerous.
Firstly, even years after the console launch, most PC's run integrated graphics that still can't handle the games so it could taint the experience. Also, a unified store across PC, Tablets, Phone and Xbox solves some of the problems. If a game is released into all stores, there is no reason to emulate. In most of these cases you'll pay for the game once and be able to install anywhere. This only applies to new games of course, and ones which hit multiple stores.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, some game publishers would undoubtedly throw a fit. This is for the same reason that the Xbox One backwards compatibility catalogue will never be 100%. For instance, I don't think you'll ever see the Xbox 360 version of Tomb Raider. The Xbox 360 title undoubtedly costs less and they would rather you buy the definitive edition. If XB1 owners could buy and play the 360 version cheaper, many undoubtedly would. So, licensing and rights type stuff is probably the biggest hurdle.
Granted... I think most publishers would actually want this when it comes to PC. Games are usually bought much cheaper on Steam than on the Xbox Store. Being able to play a game on multiple devices might make for a compelling argument for some to pay more for the game via the Xbox Store than through Steam.
So, while licensing is a big unknown because bridging to PC from a console would be new territory, performance requirements probably stand the most to bury the project.
Lastly, on the performance topic, not only do most consumer PC's still not have the same power as last gen consoles, last gen consoles also use that hardware much more effectively. So, it wouldn't be unexpected to see better equipped machines unable to match the console performance which, once again, could taint the perception.
But who knows... a few years from now the market for 360 games may be all but dead in the console world and average hardware may catch up and this could serve as a way to breathe new life into old game titles.
Similarly, the Xbox One is, from a hardware perspective nothing more than a PC in fancy case, and come November it will be running a Windows 10 derivative OS. All of its games and services could be easily made to run on a PC version of Windows down the road if the company so decided.
I think, from an OS perspective, in the future we may start to see Microsoft target just two segments. Enterprise and gamers. And they are well positioned with Windows 10 to offer interesting new things to gamers.
I had argued that while this wasn't technically impossible, that backwards compatibility would be such a difficult thing to do, that without their main competitor offering it, it was effectively impossible. And, the fact that this has come to pass has not changed my mind on just how massive an undertaking this must have been. Especially considering that at the same time they continued to expand the functionality on the Xbox One while the PS4 was pretty much at a standstill.
This isn't someone flicking a switch and saying "yes you can play Xbox 360 games". The architectures are completely different, and this isn't bytecode we're talking about, this is machine code that is simply incompatible.
To give a measure of the complexity you need look no further than Sony. Their solution? Stream the games via a subscription service. So the games effectively run natively elsewhere and your gaming device is just a remote monitor and gamepad. The company that claimed to be about gamers first is offering the lesser of the gamer centric approaches to backwards compatibility. And it isn't JUST about making money off of the service. In fact, that service probably won't break even for a very long time. So you can bet your butt that Sony would have done backwards compatibility in a similar fashion if they thought that they could do so feasibly.
Side note: It IS worth noting that Sony's solution is also incredibly complex and cool and like Microsoft's has far reaching potential beyond just their consoles. Simply noted it here because streaming a game is less reliable (requires always on internet connection of decent quality and both ends of connection need to be up and running). It also effectively forces people to re-purchase their last gen titles. The are the same or similar to launch jabs at some of Microsoft's original plans for Xbox One.
And, Microsoft isn't JUST emulating the games. The games required services and functionality baked into the Xbox 360 API. So, they are emulating parts of the console OS as well. This is more a kudos for overcoming another technical hurdle. But, it was probably one that needn't exist. This had to be done because MS clearly hadn't intended on delivering backwards compatibility when they built the Xbox One. Otherwise, they would have made sure that all necessary system calls were also backwards compatible (IE, no need for Xbox 360 dash controls because those calls and interactions could simply be rerouted to the Xbox One versions). Likewise, had they planned for backwards compatibility, they probably would have made sure the new Kinect sensor could deliver the data needed to drive Xbox 360 Kinect games. Impressive nonetheless.
Anyway, where this is all going is, I read an article the other night that claimed that Microsoft had allowed users to play Xbox 360 games on their PC's and while the article was a tad click bait-y, they did state correctly inside the article that it was only indirectly. With Windows 10 you can stream gameplay to the PC and play with an Xbox Controller which means you can stream your 360 games to the PC. But, here is the thing... the Xbox One is an x64 based processor. If the XB1 can emulate 360 games then the same emulation layer COULD be used directly on the PC.
Furthermore... Windows 10 is coming to Xbox. And backwards compatibility won't be disappearing at that point. Which means that technically, Windows 10 WILL be ABLE to run 360 games.
Of course, I doubt this will happen immediately if at all.
Though, I'll be interested to see if hackers are able to strip this piece out and get it to run on the PC.
Reasons to not see it officially any time soon are fairly numerous.
Firstly, even years after the console launch, most PC's run integrated graphics that still can't handle the games so it could taint the experience. Also, a unified store across PC, Tablets, Phone and Xbox solves some of the problems. If a game is released into all stores, there is no reason to emulate. In most of these cases you'll pay for the game once and be able to install anywhere. This only applies to new games of course, and ones which hit multiple stores.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, some game publishers would undoubtedly throw a fit. This is for the same reason that the Xbox One backwards compatibility catalogue will never be 100%. For instance, I don't think you'll ever see the Xbox 360 version of Tomb Raider. The Xbox 360 title undoubtedly costs less and they would rather you buy the definitive edition. If XB1 owners could buy and play the 360 version cheaper, many undoubtedly would. So, licensing and rights type stuff is probably the biggest hurdle.
Granted... I think most publishers would actually want this when it comes to PC. Games are usually bought much cheaper on Steam than on the Xbox Store. Being able to play a game on multiple devices might make for a compelling argument for some to pay more for the game via the Xbox Store than through Steam.
So, while licensing is a big unknown because bridging to PC from a console would be new territory, performance requirements probably stand the most to bury the project.
Lastly, on the performance topic, not only do most consumer PC's still not have the same power as last gen consoles, last gen consoles also use that hardware much more effectively. So, it wouldn't be unexpected to see better equipped machines unable to match the console performance which, once again, could taint the perception.
But who knows... a few years from now the market for 360 games may be all but dead in the console world and average hardware may catch up and this could serve as a way to breathe new life into old game titles.
Similarly, the Xbox One is, from a hardware perspective nothing more than a PC in fancy case, and come November it will be running a Windows 10 derivative OS. All of its games and services could be easily made to run on a PC version of Windows down the road if the company so decided.
I think, from an OS perspective, in the future we may start to see Microsoft target just two segments. Enterprise and gamers. And they are well positioned with Windows 10 to offer interesting new things to gamers.
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