"Microsoft has) implemented compatibility purely through emulation (at the CPU level). It looks like emulation profiles for each game are going to be stored on the hard drive, and I imagine that a certain number will ship with the system. They already have the infrastructure to distribute more profiles via Live, and more and more can be made available online periodically."
...
So, it's a waiting game. And it's going to be a frustrating one. The first list of backward compatible games, we suspect, will be short. But as time passes, the list will grow to include many more favorites.
There's been a lot of debate about the XBox 360's backwards compatability and the meaning of "top selling titles", or whether it's fully backwards compatible, but this confirms it; my original theory about patches (Microsoft is using the term 'emulation profiles') was correct.
Microsoft had made some mention of preloaded "emulation profiles" but not enough to end the debate.
Basicly, the hard drive comes preloaded with some of these 'emulation profiles' so the XBox 360 can play some of the 'top selling' games. As time goes on you'll be able to download more off of XBox Live, making more and more games compatible, though if you don't have the XBox 360 hooked up to the internet, you're stuck.
Backwards compatibility is overrated. Maybe one out of every ten gamers goes back and picks up back-catalogue games.... and if they already own the games, they likely already have the system, too.
Is it a nice feature? You bet your ass. But it's by no means a system killer.
XBox 360: Can't play all games, can't use old controllers or peripherals, I'm not sure if it can take the old memory cards or not.
PS3: Can play all games, but can't use old controllers or peripherals and can't take memory cards.
Nintendo Revolution: Can play all games, can use all controllers and peripherals, can take old memory cards.
Nintendo, who has never made a backwards compatible console excepting the GameBoy, who most people expected would not have backwards compatability at all, is the only one that has full and complete now-you-can-sell-your-gamecube-and-still-use-everything backwards compatability. Meanwhile, Sony, who STARTED the notion of backwards compatability, loses all peripherals and memory cards in the process.
OT: IGN thinks those earlier released PS3 details claiming no ability to save games to the hard drive, most games won't have 1080p, a TiVo-like addon, the ability to improve performance by choosing a lower resolution, no PS2 or PS1 peripherals, and using the PSP to browse media on the PS3, are unsubstantiated.
Well, there's a LOT that's unsubstantiated. I have a suspicion that a lot of rumors have been thrown about for economic reasons rather than technical (ie - the reason Sony is nixing third-party controllers would be so they could get a few extra bucks themselves).
Backwards compatibility is a selling point and a good way to let a new system start with an established library. If you have two competing systems of relatively equal capabilities and current libraries, backwards compability could be an advantage point. But on its own, it won't make or break a system.
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Praxis wrote:XBox 360: Can't play all games, can't use old controllers or peripherals, I'm not sure if it can take the old memory cards or not.
PS3: Can play all games, but can't use old controllers or peripherals and can't take memory cards.
Nintendo Revolution: Can play all games, can use all controllers and peripherals, can take old memory cards.
Not quite so fast. The Revolution can only accept proprietary disks from the Gamecube (and, of course, the new disks made for new games). I'm unaware of it being able to use controllers and peripherals from pre-Gamecube consoles, also, so even though it is capable of playing every game they've made (at least in theory), you still have to pay to download them onto the rather limited flash memory the system shifts with. It is kind of interesting how limited the backwards capabilities of all three systems are, but it's not as clear-cut a win for Nintendo as it may seem (especially since Microsoft will ship earlier and has time to come up with a library before Nintendo releases the hounds).
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Praxis wrote:XBox 360: Can't play all games, can't use old controllers or peripherals, I'm not sure if it can take the old memory cards or not.
PS3: Can play all games, but can't use old controllers or peripherals and can't take memory cards.
Nintendo Revolution: Can play all games, can use all controllers and peripherals, can take old memory cards.
Not quite so fast. The Revolution can only accept proprietary disks from the Gamecube (and, of course, the new disks made for new games). I'm unaware of it being able to use controllers and peripherals from pre-Gamecube consoles, also, so even though it is capable of playing every game they've made (at least in theory), you still have to pay to download them onto the rather limited flash memory the system shifts with. It is kind of interesting how limited the backwards capabilities of all three systems are, but it's not as clear-cut a win for Nintendo as it may seem (especially since Microsoft will ship earlier and has time to come up with a library before Nintendo releases the hounds).
Well, I was referring to the previous console, not all previous consoles. The GameCube can use everything the GameCube can, and play ever game the GameCube can, and is pretty much just as good as having a GameCube in every way and is even smaller than the GameCube.
You're right, it does not have the ability to use anything pre-GameCube.
Besides, 512 MB is plenty, when Zelda: Ocarina of Time is only 20 MB when zipped.
you still have to pay to download them onto the rather limited flash memory the system shifts with.
I thought it still wasn't clear whether you'd have to pay to download old Ninty games. I wouldn't be surprised, but the Revolution has less concrete information known about it than either of the other two...
you still have to pay to download them onto the rather limited flash memory the system shifts with.
I thought it still wasn't clear whether you'd have to pay to download old Ninty games. I wouldn't be surprised, but the Revolution has less concrete information known about it than either of the other two...
What was said around E3 suggested that the 1st party games were going to be free, and the third party may be free or may charge.
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The latest issue of Game Informer has an exclusive interview with J. Allard, in which the Chief XNA Architect revealed that Microsoft has not yet announced the different variations of the Xbox 360.
"I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all [approach] over the next five-year horizon." Allard told Game Informer, opening the possibility to the much rumored HD DVD replacement of the DVD drive in the near future.
Back in June, Todd Holmdahl, Corporate Vice President of the Xbox Product Group at Microsoft, revealed exclusively to TeamXbox.com that Xbox 360 games do not require the HDD or a Memory Unit for them to work. Allard seems to confirm Todd’s comments:
"We've said, 'Hey look, don't bank on the hard drive always being there,'" Allard revealed that Microsoft has instructed developers. "There may be a scenario in the future where we don't want to have a hard drive, and in that case, we have to make sure that the games that you've created are accessible to the broadest possible audience."
It has been reported by various analysts that the Xbox 360 might ship in two versions, one which will not include the detachable hard drive unit.
After the recent comments by Allard, can we expect two Xbox 360 SKUs, with one not including the hard drive unit? Would this basic SKU cost the traditional $299 launch price? What would a second SKU include? How much would it cost?
