According to the internet, the next Xbox will be "forward compatible", meaning current Xbox 360 games will be enhanced on Microsoft's next console. Pass the salt.
That's according to a "source" belonging to site Xbox Evolved anyway.
According to the site current Xbox 360 games will see graphical improvements, such as increased draw distance, framerate and more anti-aliasing, on the next Xbox, similar to how PC games will look better on more high-end hardware.
"Our sources indicate that Microsoft is in a stage of 'testing the waters' before they nail down the final specs of the new machine. Introducing these options early on to developers means that the games they make for the Xbox 360 will have no life on the next platform," says the site.
Sounds likely enough to us. What do our technically apt readers think? Sound off below.
Microsoft got bored of updating BC on 360, they'll get bored of it on the next one too. Not all games will work, some will work better than others, etc. How about this effect on Xbox 1 games on the Xbox 3?
is the source of this articlereliable? did you get this from wikipedia? i think personally microsoft would be stupid to not have backwards compatibilty like the PS3 has done, because all the games people have liked on the old consoles have become obslete apart from some have gone to download form which means that the money you spent on the disc version was wasted and you would have to pay again for another version.
I agree that forwards compatibility is not really the correct term but it is quite clear what is meant by it. I imagine the next xbox will either use a more powerful version of the chip already in the 360 and the games will be able to make use of the extra power just like pc games do, or they will have a 360 chip in there alongside the new one and the games can make use of a better gpu.
The PS2 did a similar thing although it was just a graphical effect rather than running the game better as far as I can remember (either way id did not seem to have much effect).
Forwards compatible? Surely they mean backwards compatible with enhancements? Forward compatibility would imply that the third Xbox would be able to run software designed for the fourth Xbox. I doubt that's what they mean.
@AJDarkstar BC on the 360 had to be done in software, due to licencing issues with Xbox 1 hardware. That's the reason for incomplete compatibility, emulation glitches etc. Those issues should not exist with the next Xbox, much like the early models of PS3. Compatibility will probably exceed 99% at launch. Microsoft explained this in an article I read somewhere about 18 months ago (will try to find a link). Let's keep the fingers crossed eh?
interesting to know how this would be done if possible as i thought the draw distance and stuff like that was controlled by the graphics engine of the game. i can see how the resolution may be better or improved AA and texture smoothing - the sort of thing you can edit in your graphics drivers on the PC. i think ati has a tessellator in its chips that can make geometry from flat shapes to improve graphical complexity, perhaps this is what they mean?
Great idea. Now Sony just have to start producing PS3s with full backwards compatibility again and I'll be happy!
Funny how Microsoft didn't think much of it at first to the point of no longer making any more existing XBox games compatible with the 360, then Sony drops it from their PS3 hardware altogether, and now we've come full circle again with Microsoft at the forefront. Tiss a funny world we live in.
so its actually backwards compatible not forwards, which is no new idea, neither is the improved graphics on the next console.
i think everyone expected this anyway. good way to turn nothing into a story.
Hey chill out man, the idea of an article is to provoke a discussion, which is exactly what it's doing. Not every item has to be groundbreaking news, but it is interesting to think about the next gen....isn't it?
no. its miles off. this gen is just starting to get interesting.
No, this gen started to get interesting 2 years ago, 'round about the time Gears of War was released.
360 is 3 years old this year and was released when the original Xbox was just 4 years old. How far away do you think the next generation is? I'll bet MS will have a new console on the market in 2 years, which will exist alongside the 360, much like Sony's strategy with the PS2/PSone. Halo 4 available at launch?
Nice microsoft,very nice,now how about improving your xbox originals section? the last two games were the severly dated jade empire and the plain s**t destroy all humans how about doing us all a favor and put up dreamfall or something good again eh??????????
As others have said, forward compatibility is a misleading term. The idea is that once the next XBox specs are nailed down (ie a couple of years before the launch) devs will make their 360 games compatible with the new spec as well.
It would be more accurate to say that they are making the 360 forward compatible, in that it could play the same games as it's successor.
The defining factor of the 360 is Live, and I fully expect the interface and profiles etc to carry across so this news makes sense.
Obvious questions are whether this will be required of all releases on the new console, and if this means the new console will be sticking with DVD9.
Time will tell (and I hope my Rockband tracks carry across!).
I can understand improved framerates and to a certain extent a forced increase in AA for older titles but surely draw distances are controlled solely by software and not hardware?
Forwards compatible? Surely they mean backwards compatible with enhancements? Forward compatibility would imply that the third Xbox would be able to run software designed for the fourth Xbox. I doubt that's what they mean.
@AJDarkstar BC on the 360 had to be done in software, due to licencing issues with Xbox 1 hardware. That's the reason for incomplete compatibility, emulation glitches etc. Those issues should not exist with the next Xbox, much like the early models of PS3. Compatibility will probably exceed 99% at launch. Microsoft explained this in an article I read somewhere about 18 months ago (will try to find a link). Let's keep the fingers crossed eh?
I know all that, but Microsoft suddenly realised that there was no money in making future BC updates, so they stopped. As did Sony with the older PS3. I have that PS3, and some PS2 games are unplayable because Sony dropped BC in later models. Microsoft have said they're allowing people to take their gamertags and achievements over to the next Xbox, so let's just hope for the best. Hopefully the new Xbox will allow users to install their own hard drives, and if Microsoft are planning to make more Xbox 1 games available for download, they might actually sort out some of the BC issues.
About 20 posts complaining about the wording of the article? Come on guys, we know English and grammar are not CVG's strengths!
I guess it is some kind of BC+? They'll come up with some kind of snazzy name for it no doubt. It can only be a good thing though can't it?
Regarding the new 360/new PS3. I thought the main gubbins of the PS3 were ready six months or so before the Nov 2006 release, but it was the costings and BR drive that held it back? So maybe the tech is six months newer?
I may very well be wrong, I'm sure some of you lovely chaps will confirm/correct me.
I can understand improved framerates and to a certain extent a forced increase in AA for older titles but surely draw distances are controlled solely by software and not hardware?
Yeah, I think that's the point. Developers will be able to detect if they the software is running on the 360 or on the '720' and adjust the graphic settings to suit.
Sony appear to be doing the same thing, with the rumoured PS4 specs suggesting that it will just be more or less the same hardware running faster. It makes sense for both Sony and MS to be taking this route as it will keep their development costs reduced (which will hopefully mean a lower launch price point) and it should also mean a near seem-less transition for us as all our games will carry over with the later ones looking even better - this also helps get around the launch problem of only a handful of games being available.
PC games look better on more powerful hardware because they are built to run on it first and then scaled back to suit older hardware with certain features disabled or turned down. 360 games are not built that way and I can't see how more powerful hardware would make the game look any better unless the game was designed that way in the first place(i.e with hidden options/features disabled). It'd be great if it were true, but sadly sounds like corporate B.S to me.
speak for yourself. ps3 is only a year plus. developers are nowhere near peaked this gen..
the 360 spunked prematurely down its trouser leg. microsoft have been paying the price ever since. it will be severed like a gangrene arm when the 720 arrives - the exact same as xbox one when 360 came out - and that had no problems! no way can they afford to support 360 when the 720 is out... dream on, they are barely coping at the moment. if it wasnt for the xbox live, they would have no profit whatsoever.
they are gonna think twice about jumping the gun a second time. especially when ps3 will be in its prime - and cheap as f**k, with some of that uptapped power getting released. the 360 will be on life support with 101 bolt-ons until they can get their act together.
you are so not a fan boy hey. tell you what, i'll even the score. at least microsoft didn't feel the need to release loads of cgi movies of games like killzone about a year before release and call them gameplay to make it look like they had a good machine. still got the disc upstairs might fish it out to make my smile! and your comment on live being the only thing giving them profit is laughable. you really have no idea whats going on do you??? sony are still operating at a huge loss and will do for a very long time. plus they removed the backwards compatability chip in ps3 at the last minute to save money but they didn't drop the price down. why do you think the first generation could but all others couldn't. they werent making nearly as much from sales as they needed so every little helps!
ps. sorry to all i'm not a fan boy i own all three but i hate tossers that carry on when they have no idea
speak for yourself. ps3 is only a year plus. developers are nowhere near peaked this gen..
the 360 spunked prematurely down its trouser leg. microsoft have been paying the price ever since. it will be severed like a gangrene arm when the 720 arrives - the exact same as xbox one when 360 came out - and that had no problems! no way can they afford to support 360 when the 720 is out... dream on, they are barely coping at the moment. if it wasnt for the xbox live, they would have no profit whatsoever.
they are gonna think twice about jumping the gun a second time. especially when ps3 will be in its prime - and cheap as f**k, with some of that uptapped power getting released. the 360 will be on life support with 101 bolt-ons until they can get their act together.
where to begin. the ps3 is actually coming up 2 years this November in Asia and USA so it has been out for a fair while. couple that with the fact it was delayed somewhat and the devs have been making games for it for a lot longer than 2 years. i wouldn't be surprised if dev kits have been out for 4-5 years already.
where is this untapped power you talk about, surely if it was there it would have been used by now? why arent people using it? do you know anything about cpu architecture and programming?
the next 360 will likely be more powerful than today's PC's which in turn are already more powerful than the ps3.
you do know bill gates doesnt really work for MS anymore, he certainly isnt the CEO. he spends most of his time doing charity work and does more for the needy than you ever will so shut up!
so its actually backwards compatible not forwards, which is no new idea, neither is the improved graphics on the next console.
i think everyone expected this anyway. good way to turn nothing into a story.
Hey chill out man, the idea of an article is to provoke a discussion, which is exactly what it's doing. Not every item has to be groundbreaking news, but it is interesting to think about the next gen....isn't it?
no. its miles off. this gen is just starting to get interesting.
Agreed, I just got my 360 less than 6 months ago and may even get a PS3 next year. Next gen can wait a while, I've just entered the current gen.
I've just got another 360 after a year without and am still catching up on games like Halo 3, Bioshock, and of course the glorious Ikaruga - which I'm saving for my beloved Friday afternoon.
And on another note, WTF is up with the Wiitard above.
He rants about "evolving gaming experiences" while playing a non-HD console which isn't much more powerful than the original xbox.
Not that I don't love a bit of Mario Kart and bowling, but I mean trying to bring the rumble against the adult gaming fraternity...what a loon!
That's just backwards compatibility with enhancements. The PS2 did it with PS1 games with the texture smoothing (which worked particularly well with the likes of MGS). With the PC like style of the Xbox increased framerates and further draw distance would be very cool but what about 720p games running at 1080p on the next gen box?
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