Xbox One Cloud Could Offer Backwards Compatibility

59
Lee Bradley

Xbox One could potentially offer backwards compatibility thanks to the power of the cloud.

That’s according to Xbox's senior director of product planning and management Albert Penello, who told GameSpot that the Xbox One could offer access to previous-gen games, in a similar manner to the proposed Gaikai service on PS4.

Responding to an enquiry on the matter, Penello said "Yeah, absolutely. That's one of the things that makes [the cloud] at the same time both totally interesting and hard to describe to people."

"There are so many things that the servers can do. Using our Azure cloud servers, sometimes it's things like voice processing. It could be more complicated things like rendering full games like a Gaikai and delivering it to the box. We just have to figure out how, over time, how much does that cost to deliver, how good is the experience."

Interesting, right? Quite how the service would be delivered, or whether Microsoft will get around to delivering it at all, is yet to be decided, however.

The Xbox One is out from November 22nd for £429.99/$499.99.

[via Gamespot]

Comments
59
  • If it works on a disc based system, Id be rather happy. Just another way to play GTA :P
  • this is what we want , I really don't have the time to keep recovering my profile back and fort..please do this for us the gamers were you make your profits from...please
  • Hopefully this does happen, im going to hate switxhing back to the 360 just for NHL 14.. Or better yet, EA should just make a next gen version of NHL 14 haha.
  • tbh backwards compatibility doesnt bother me all that much, sure it would be nice but even with my 360 being BC i dont think ive ever played an OG xbox game on it haha
  • @2 you,do not need to recivery profile they stated that you can also play online for the 360 and xbox 1 at the same time
  • I remember Microsoft were in talks with OnLive before they went bust, maybe this is an extension of that!
  • This cloud lark seems fantastic... Can it make me a sandwich too?
  • Yea sure, just like the 12 games that were backwards compatible for the OG xbox. I wouldnt want to go back to most games anyway.
  • THIS is what we want! I would preorder today if this article said "will" instead of "if"!!!
  • Sounds fantastic!
  • This would be a major boon. One of the big reasons I'm not getting an X1 day one is because I'll still be playing my 360 more than the X1 for at least 4-5 months. Some sort of BC would really make the cost more worthwhile for me.
  • I think it's going to be download based. Since this is the digital era after all, so I really doubt it's going to be disc-based. So for anyone hoping to use their discs, sorry.
  • Totally agree with #2!!! But i also want to use my pretty pretty discs... That's why I still buy games in a box. XD
  • Keeping my 360 mainly for Dark Souls 2, shame that's not next gen.
  • not gona happen and every one knows that.this is all sweet talk from ms to win consumers back just like over clocking there cpu
  • @2 it auto updates.
  • Don't really care about disk based games, as its 2 different formats anyway, but having all my arcade games BC on the Xbox One would be perfect.
  • The reason I haven't pre ordered a One is because of the amount of 360 games I have yet to play.. The past couple of months I've bought loads off the marketplace on the DOTW.. If the Backwards compatible thing comes true, then I'll be one of the first to stick my name down for the next batch of XB1.
  • surely it would have been cost effective fore ms to have made the x1 bc from the start, because I understand it would be more expensive to manufacture the console in the first place but the extra sales generated by it actually being bc would take care of the extra cost... after all they are keeping the 360 alive for 3 years so it wouldn't be a waste of time,... cant wait for x1 tho.......
  • I would definetly buy the xbone if backwards compatibility is available. I have about 80 games for the 360 and all I would get for them at gamestop would be $20, which is total bullshit. I'm still waiting until the console goes down to $150, which would probably be next year or the year after that.
  • Microsoft is proving day-by-day that anything really is possible with their innovations. While their hardware is technically incapable of playing 360 Discs, if they could be downloaded from your old console, then they'd still be there like a normal Game on Demand for 360 would be! Who knows how much memory the games would take up though.
  • The need to make bundle pack like sony did if you have it for xbox one you can have it xbox 360...for a fee ps you thought i was going to say free didn't you ? You otta know better than that!
  • Please make this happen ms!
  • I'm with #8 here, I doubt I will go back to playing any games on the 360, although I will keep them all for archiving:)
  • This is really a no brainer. Backwards compatibility should have been included from the get-go. With only a handful of titles for the X1 on release(some of which can be bought for the 360; Watchdogs and AC4), why not offer something like this? It would make the price tag more attractive and it would put one over on Sony.
  • And charge you for the priveledge no doubt! £$£$ Kerching!! $£$£
  • Why wouldnt they do this. It should be on the console already. Microsoft wouldnt know what to do if they had backwards compatibility on there new console. What I meam by that is. Every one and there mother would be buying the xbox one so much so fast to microsoft the xbox one would be extinct! But nooooo they wont do that because there stupid and dont want money....oh wait they do! So why not microsoft?
  • Do they mean "Backwards Compatibility" or "Backwards Compatible until we randomly decide to just drop the support?"
  • Sounds like a pipe dream right now, as he threw out a lot of non-committal verbs. No big deal to me. The only games that will come out on current gen that I still need to play are Dark Souls II and South Park SOT (whenever the heck that comes out)
  • So it looks like every cloud has a silver lining...
  • As of now, I'm going to buy an X1 eventually. The instant that I become aware that I can take NHL 14 and GTA5 with me to the next gen, I go to Microsoft's site and pre-order a Day One edition for release day delivery. It means that much to me.
  • Why do you need backwards compatibility when millions of us will still own a 360, you can sign into both the 360 and One at the same time, and you can plug your 360 into your XOne via the HDMI input and switch between the 2 with a voice command. Good idea, but seems a bit pointless when MS said their gonna keep supporting the 360 for 3 years as well.
  • not interested still unless i can physically put the disc in teh system.
  • @33 Read my last comment, if you get a XOne you can do both at the same time. Play 360 and XOne on the same screen. The key phrase no-one remembers is "HDMI input".
  • just let the ONE read the 360 disc dammit!
  • Yes please lol
  • @3 yeah, I was so annoyed by EA not putting NHL 14 on xbox 1. Will wait NHL 15 for xbox 1 hockey! NHL 14 looks great and all, but not getting it bc I want next gen graphics for NHL!
  • @32 Totally correct pal I can sign into Xbox live on my windows phone,computer and Xbox all at the same time.Plus once you sign in using your Xbox one you don't need to keep recovering your profile like some people are saying so if you want backwards compatibility play the games on your 360. Simple.....
  • If it was fully backwards compatible, I would pre-order in an instant. Until that time, I am content to clean up my 360 backlog before buying a new console.
  • It's not a big deal to me ,I don't trade my consoles because I still have my first XBOX but I still play HALO2 on my 360, but if they will do it, that would be awesome, but I have something to say: "Disc based backwards compatibility or GTFO Microsoft" , I never liked 'Streaming services for video games.
  • @7 yes it can, have a byte
  • Would you kindly stfu about backwards compatibility ffs. If you care so much about it just stick to the 360 -,-
  • I'd love to be able to trade over my digital purchases to the next gen console.I have over 35 games and while its not really a problem having two consoles, why wasn't BC put in the console to begin with? They've told us X1 is so powerful but it can do a basic function present on current gen consoles?
  • so basically they are twisting our arms into putting back the online crap buy making us buy the games we already 'Own' again. Why would I choose to pay again, then have to wait for a download & install, when I already own the disc?
  • I thought they already mentioned that few weeks ago? Maybe I was just dreaming or only I picked up on it? Either way, once I am done with all the games I have for this gen (sometime next year I reckon), I will have hardly any reason to go back, so this is not mandatory for me...
  • El stupido scenario, why should I buy console for dunno me how much $$$ to use streaming of games, c'mon, Cablebox one was already dead after the announcement and the show off the TV/Kinect features for so many people that now it's just barking in the dark. Good for fat-ass Americans when they couldn't reach the remote. *Kinect Command* "Xbox, die."
  • Let me just say that not all of us are fucking rich, so I embrace the opportunity to maybe be able to sell my 360 and use the money I get from it toward the One. For some people, like myself, the ability to sell my 360 will be the difference between getting the system by year end and not getting it by year end. Not to mention, I'm not ultra hyped to clear two wall sockets to run two systems simultaneously in order to use one of them. Fewer systems, less clutter, more money to buy a single system; tons of advantages. The idea that people are violently opposed to backward compatibility on this system is fucking retarded; if you don't care about it, then shut up and don't use it. It's a valuable feature to some people and it doesn't detract from your experience whatsoever, so keep the bitching to yourself.
  • Microsoft own everything involved with the 360 hardware, according to the specs the XB1 has enough grunt to run a full fledged emulator. Why is this not happening? Frankly I'd be sorely tempted if they were to sell the hypothetical emulator for $20 and full network connectivity would very likely tip me over the edge
  • I thought they said that this hardware was so great they couldn't do it? Did they lie?
  • IF the cloud is so amazing and powerful, why do we need the new XB-one? why not just play the next gen games through the cloud on my 360 console. just a thought....
  • for those of you who say you wouldnt play xbox games. do you remember great games like. outlaw golf 1 & 2. outlaw tennis and volleyball. which game devs are no more. also whacked raises hell and tons more. also i am sick of selling my stuff just to go next gen. so i will stick with 360 and ps3. consoles need to be like pc. let us keep all our games. we pay more than enough each gen to spending on a good pc. no reason why we cant keep our games. with systems now costing half a grand not including games controlers chargers extra. which would run a grand or more. we deserve to keep all games from all generations.
  • This is the exact same scenario as when people found PS2 emulator code on the PS3. Everyone got all excited because they thought it meant that they were going to be able to play PS2 discs on their PS3, but it was just prep by Sony to eventually sell PS2 games through PSN. If MS does add 360 backwards compatibility to the XB1, it will only be to play downloads of 360 games (notice there's no mention anywhere in this article about actually playing 360 discs on the XB1). Hopefully this means that any 360 games already bought digitally through GoD won't need to be repurchased on the XB1 too.
  • @52 Windows 8 doesn't have backwards compatibility
  • my friend's step-mother makes $66 hourly on the internet. She has been fired for 6 months but last month her paycheck was $20051 just working on the internet for a few hours. Read more on this web site http://www.mac22.com
  • 53: The way I perceived it was that you'd be able to move your current collection onto the cloud from your 360. Your take on it seems much more likely. And I also hope that games purchased on demand won't be lost in the fray. I have quite a few myself.
  • I hope at the very least the XBLA arcade games get the BC treatment. I also have a few bought as DOTW. I dont like the idea of not being able to play games that I digitally have the right to own just because the hardware will become defunct. Surely with the power behind the Xbox One this shouldnt be out of reach of such a big company. Same goes for PS owners too.
  • Voice processing... like, auto-tune?
  • my co-worker's mother-in-law makes $87/hr on the laptop. She has been out of a job for 9 months but last month her check was $14411 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Read more on this web site http://www.mac22.com
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