Microsoft E3 2015 - Xbox One Backwards Compatibility

Published: June 15, 2015 1:55 PM /

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E3 2015 MICROSOFT

In a surprising announcement from the Microsoft E3 2015 press conference, Phil Spencer announced that the Xbox One will now support native backwards compatibility. That opens up the library for the console in a whole new way, and gives people a lot of new options and trade in for the old console. What's more interesting about this is that no work is required from the developer side (it does require publisher approval it seems), and you won't have to re-buy the games at all. In addition, there will be multiplayer across both the Xbox One and 360, so there's no segregation of player bases.  Needless to say, the announcement was indicated that the developers were listening to the fans. It's projected to be ready in Holidays of 2015. No specific date was given, however a beta period seemed to be announced during the conference as well, which seems to start with 100 titles. As more information becomes available, we'll be sure to report it.

Well, there's more reasons to get a Xbox One later this year.
Well, there's more reasons to get a Xbox One later this year.

During the demonstration, the Mass Effect 3 was shown off, and it's looking like features such as screenshots will still work with the console as well. What it made to sound like was that there was full compatibility with no specific quirks or caveats, which wasn't necessarily true of the consoles of the generations before. How this will effect user confidence in buying the console is unseen, but with price cuts and various new exclusives on the horizon, Microsoft is doing it's best to really bring their best foot forward in making their console appealing to the consumer. Granted, it's older games, but with a huge catalog of games now as possibility. Games mentioned were Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 by other companies during the conference, as the backwards compatibility seems to be a central focus during the conference.

Will this be a spark for you to buy the console at all, if you don't already own the Xbox One? Are you surprised by the announcement coming this much later after the release of the console? Any games that you Xbox One owners plan on picking up now that you have this backwards compatibility?

 

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Shaun Joy TechRaptor
| Former Video Lead

YouTuber Dragnix who plays way too many games, and has a degree in Software Engineering. A Focus on disclosure on Youtubers, and gaming coverage in general… More about Shaun