Rumor: The next Xbox will be 'forwards compatible'

by Justin McElroy on Oct 16th 2008 10:30AM

Brace your earth brains for this one: Xbox Evolved is reporting that they heard from a "reliable source" that the next Xbox (let's call it the 720, just for laughs) will be ... are you ready for this? ... forwards compatible. Woah! Can you believe it? The next Xbox will have the ability to look into the future and play the games of tomorrow, with no present day knowledge of their existence or content.

Well, not exactly like that. Xbox Evovled is using "fowards compatible" to mean that 360 games will be better on the 720, which could mean anything from improved graphics to additional features. (That only applies, of course, to 360 games that have been designed to do so.) That seems more like "improved backwards compatibility to us" but the concept -- which could really help to pad the launch lineup of the 720 -- is intriguing nonetheless.

Source

Tags: forwards-compatible, xbox-360, xbox-720

Reader Comments (112)

OMG. The Xbox 720 can play Xbox 360 games....OMFG

*faints*

lolz

You should faint... it seems BC is slowly dying as technology progresses.

The Ps4 will be 5D GAMING. That pales in comparison to FORWARDS COMPATIBILITY!!!!!

Why no just do the smart think like Nintendo is doing. Re-release last-gen games with a graphical/controller make-over....... *ducks a hail of bullets*

Wait, the 360 can play 720 games? WHAT!@$?

Morisato, BC aint dieing. If it was, the Virtual Console wouldn't be doing so well.

Virtual Console isn't backwards compatibility. I can't plug in my Chrono Trigger, Penguin Land, or Zanac carts into my Wii, I can only buy them in digital form compiled with an emulator on a download service. Emulation =/= Backwards Compatibility.

Emulation does not = BC. If that were true, all PC's are forward and cross compatible... all you need is someone to program the emulator for PS3 and 360 ISOs

lemme ask my 40gb ps3 how backwards compat is doing...

it says "error"

WTF is this ZELDA2 !?@?!@?!

i'm fainting because this is honestly the stupidest thing i've ever heard. they're telling me that the "720" would be designed in such a way that the 360 would be able to play the games? i'm sorry, but this is just dumb. the console would either have to be 1) a pathetically small jump in graphics capability to accomplish this, or 2) the game on 360 would run horribly bad. name any video game you want that is played on the PC platform (dont say crysis). am i the only one that thinks it would be a dumb idea if they developed not OPTIMIZED for a dual core equivalent processor but for a pentium 1? yeah...you'd either have graphics that aren't all that great, or a game that runs like absolute shit on a pentium 1. maybe my analogy works, maybe it doesn't.

Simba, you've misread it totally. What they are saying is, the 720 will graphically enhance 360 games. It's a big marketing spin to make backwards compatibility sound cool again.

ZOMG! When I play Pokemon Gold on my old Gameboy Pocket, it's all in black and white, but when I play it on my GBA, it has COLOR!!! FORWARDS COMPATABILITY!

Microsoft has to copy off of Nintendo yet againzors!

Honestly, I don't know what meaningful additions MS could possibly include that would run on the "720" but not on the 360 now.
The closest I see them doing is essentially what the PC already does with scalable graphics. On the 360, the games will be locked at the lower resolutions with certain effects disabled, and then when you get the "720" it will scale everything up, higher resolution, better antialiasing, etc.

Interesting. It's like a time machine that works for video games.

This is what happens when the marketing morons decide that the words we use aren't good enough for their purposes.

"Backwards-Compatible makes it sound bad"
"Yeah, backwards isn't scoring well in the polling"
"I know, lets call it Forward-Compatible!"
"Yeah! Forward is way better than backward!"

If marketers had their way, all our words would mean the opposite of what they do today.

So "fuck you" would mean "happy sauce"?

Hey Joystiq...HAPPY SAUCE!

HAPPY!

...sorry for the double post.

Ugh that makes me wet!

Did you vomit from the media spin too?

dont forget to bring your towel!

if you're a girl.....yay
if not...............eww

I just hope the games I'd like supported will be supported by the "720". If they are going to make forward compatible games, I think it will now only be future 360 releases, not all games currently out for the system. : (

FC would have to be programmed after the next gen's structure is known. That means developers would have to spent hard hours writing the code etc, which means most likely only the most prominent titles like Halo 3 will be done up, to push systems.

People should really learn what phrases mean before they start using them.

hell... by the time final fantasy 13 is on the x360, i could potentially be playing final fantasy 15 on the x720.

What happened to 14?

Mobile Phone Exclusive maybe?

14 will be like 11 in that it'll be a vessel for Squenix to push some other game outside the series that really would be better suited as a spinoff, but they'll tack a number on it anyway so more people will pay attention. Maybe it'll be a Final Fantasy themed card game.

The middle FF (2, 5, 8, 11) always sucked. Kind of a bizarre trait (although 2 and 5 only sucked by comparison; they were actually decent).

Umm, all of those you mentioned were "proper" FF's compared to 11.

Actually, you'll be on the 720's successor, as Squeenix has said that the FF13 universe is expected to have a 10 year lifespan.

This could be a very big deal.

If, for example, games like Oblivion got updated to say, the highest resolution textures and effects available for the PC version (perhaps even higher resolution... Bethesda could just use some of the mods available) when played on the 720, it could make the experience a lot more worth upgrading to well before the big hits come out. It makes the beginning of a new console generation more worthwhile.

I think the term "improved backwards compatibility" is more applicable. Forwards compatibility would mean that x720 would be able to play the games of the generation *after* that right? I.E. you wouldn't have to buy the next system to play the games. You could just play them on the x720. Seems to me that Microsoft is just trying to change the concept of forwards compatibility.

Its not even that big of a deal. Its the same game with better graphics. It's bad enough that the main selling point and fanboy whinging point is graphics as it is. Graphics don't matter one bit. Making a new game for a new console with better graphics is all good if the game has evolved and improved and plays well. To take the same game and add better graphics means nothing if it plays the same. I like what Nintendo are doing with GC game ports, but thats only cause i like playing games in native widescreen and i think the Wii controls are the best thing to happen to gaming since 3D. Just IMO of course *watches his immediate vote-down*

correct me if Im wrong, but for that "upgrade" to happen, wouldn't new data be needed? if so, and as this article states, all of that data would have to either already be stored on the HDD, or downloaded one by one, right?

New content would need to be downloaded, but higher resolution would be simply upscaling.

I'm sorry, but wouldn't that be the same as the 360's upscaling feature?

What I was referring to was about what Jeff mentioned

"If, for example, games like Oblivion got updated to say, the highest resolution textures and effects available for the PC version (perhaps even higher resolution... Bethesda could just use some of the mods available) when played on the 720"

That would mean all that content for games would indeed have to be either already stored on the HDD or downloaded one at a time...

Yah...I can see it working well...

You really think there will be anything higher than 1080p on TV's for a while?

Not to mention you'd need a seriously gigantic screen (or sit unhealthily close to a less gigantic screen) to notice anything past 1080p.

So I hope you meant better textures or something like that. Resolution isn't even that important.

Well they've already made the jump from 60fps HD to 120fps HD, so a boost in resolution to match it is possible.

@ Slaziman

Yes and no. Displays made for computer input already have resolutions more than three times 1080p. It's not about what's technologically possible, it's about what the cable and dish networks want to make standard. PCs easily transmit these higher resolutions, but with consoles they don't bother since most people will play them on a TV, where the standard is 480, 720, or 1080. TV manufacturers don't bother allowing higher resolutions because the majority of consumers are just going to be using them to watch TV, not hooking them up to something with a higher-res output.

And yes, it would be a noticeable difference. Besides that, once you get into the ultra-high resolutions, anti-aliasing actually becomes less important since the pixels are so small.

Here's what I'd like to see:
- All Xbox 360 and Xbox games re-rendered at a resolution up to 1080p rather than just upscaling
- All Xbox 360 and Xbox games automatically given 8x MSAA and 16x AF (AF mandatory, MSAA depending if it causes compatibility issues such as with HDR)
- Linear PCM 5.1 audio output for all games supporting 5.1

@monkey thing

I have seen those 120hz (fps) tv's and I think the extra frames make the motion look not natural. There is one TV that even adds another extra frame between each frame to eliminate any and all blur from motion. It's a toshiba tv that had a red look and can be about 1-2 inch thick.

From what I seen the 120hz technology looks fake. Hard to explain unless you see it in person.

I would prefer a larger 60hz lcd tv over a smaller more expensive 120hz lcd. lcd have to start doing 120hz to compete with the motion ability of plasma.

I am interest to see what happen with the new oled display that is now much to expensive and early on. That have the best color and motion capability. Throw some toshiba cell processer and you have a full feature TV.

@Ciatrick Leodis McKelvin

You can't really compare games to video content though. The 120Hz video probably looks off to you because the TV is either just showing the ssme frame multiple times or "guessing" at what would be in between via interpolation and showing (i.e. it's fake). A game running actually rendering at 120FPS would be different since each frame would be unique and not "faked" via interpolation.

vidikron

This is true. The problem with the 120hz is that it use an algorithm to put in the extra frames. Some people think it look fine while others (like me) think it looks fake.

In best buy they have a blu-ray teaser from the new batman movie that show the bank robbing scene. It is played on the 120 hz television. It just does not look right to me. Something about the motion make it look not natural.

Probably to do with the algorithm.

If I have to choose (I did choose) from a 40 inch 120hz lcd for $2,400 or a 60hz 52 inch (sharp aquos)for $1400 I pick the 60hz. In addition to the bigger screen I think the picture look better.

Everyone see it different. Even the BB guy say that some people can see that it looks not natural others think its better. Hard to explain without seeing it in person.

Wish the next wii was forwards compatible... with HD.

Im a total graphics whore.

Nintendo needs to bring the 4MB ram cart back.

You must be young. It's only the older gamers like myself, who grew up on excellent 2D and non-HD titles, that can still play and appreciate old titles and are non-graphics-whores. While i would also love to see the Wii 2.0 upscale Wii games to 720p or higher, i also wouldn't care if it didn't happen.

Im not young but I wouldn't call my self old either.
College Grad. I like my technology and I like my HD TV.

I've been playing games for 23 years (since i was 2) and the other day i went from playing Crysis maxed out on my PC, to multiplayer split-screen Pikmin 2, to Donkey Kong Country 2, not even remotely phased by the difference in the graphics of the 3 games. I guess its just something that comes with playing games since the Atari 2600. I just wish all gamers felt the same way.

I'm with you, I am older, have kids, got NES for Christmas and loved it and duck hunt. Remember the first time you got crowned in Mario 1? Sweet times. Now I love my HDTV also, but I still play my 64 (its all my brother did not sell, moron). The 360 has good enough graphics that I would not rush out and buy the 720 just to play my 360 games on. With the launch problems there were (are) I am gonna wait a while before the next gen comes in to my house. If I buy a new system, it is for new system games.

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Rumor: The next Xbox will be 'forwards compatible'

Reader Comments (112)

Posted: Oct 16th 2008 10:32AM Foetoid said

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