Microsoft's Don Mattrick Says 'If You're Backwards Compatible, You're Really Backwards'

[Shawn Zipay]

Some rather harsh, blunt words today from the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, Don Mattrick. When many gamers were disappointed with yesterday's unveil of the Xbox One, the disappointment was not aleviated any when word came that the console would not be backwards compatible.

Today, Mattrick explained the company's decision to not focus on backwards compatibility. He said, "if you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards."

Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cannot natively support backwards compatibility with the older generation due to hardware changes (namely the CPU), Sony has at least stated that they will offer support for older titles through its cloud service.

(via The Wall Street Journal)

[CptainCrunch]

That's right. You are backwards from the agenda these companies have to make trillions of dollars. Why would they want you to keep replaying games you own on your new system when you can buy the re-made, "new" version?

Its like Blu Ray. You're backwards if you don't want to dump all your DVD collections and go straight Blu Ray. Of course consumers spoke with their wallets and told the industry backwards compatibility or Blu Ray dies a slow painful death. Unfortunately the gaming consumers just cant seem to pull together to accomplish the same thing.

I will even go further and tell you what they will say next:

"The next gen <insert console here> uses new architecture and coding that simply wont be able to play the outdated coding the previous generation supported. To get the better <insert graphics, gameplay, feature here> we had to make sacrifices to bring you, our enduring customer, the best that we currently can at this time. It was a hard decision, but we had to move forward so that we can bring the best in content, sports, Call of Duty, and TV."

So there we go