360 backward compatibility's days numbered

Xbox chief Peter Moore says "nobody is concerned anymore about backward compatibility."

When the Xbox 360 was announced, one of the hot topics on gamers' minds was backward compatibility. People wanted to make sure they could play Halo 2 on the new machine, as well as anything else that may be in their Xbox libraries.

The 360 came out of the box with more than 200 games on its BC list, but has since seen few updates to the list. As Microsoft pushes forward into the next generation, does that mean additions to the Xbox BC list are going the way of the dodo?

According to a Kikizo interview with Microsoft VP Peter Moore, that could very well be the case. "Nobody is concerned anymore about backward compatibility," Moore said. "We under promised and over delivered on backward compatibility. Yeah, there are a few games...It's a very complicated thing. Developing software emulation for this thing is very complex work."

While phasing out BC with future Xbox games was almost certainly going to happen sometime, Moore's comments seem to imply that it's happening sooner than most thought.

"More are coming...but at some point you just go 'there's enough,' or 'let's move on'...people aren't as worried about a game being backward compatible," he said. "I like to think we upheld our end of the bargain [with backward compatibility]."

663 Comments

  • jorjuela

    Posted Jun 7, 2007 10:39 am PT

    Wait a minute. Making an emulator can't be that difficult. Especially if the target platform is unchanging. However, I can imagine that if they are looking to do this by game (It can't be that so they are doing it by engine), it could eat up the time they have alloted.

    However, it is ignorant to think that Xbox 360 Programmers are being pulled off 360 games to create emulators. It is just as silly to think that Msoft is going to piss off a core base of consumers and go back on what they have said without at least trying to get 70% to 80% of the games playable. We just have to wait and see.

  • DADA_007

    Posted Jun 5, 2007 1:36 pm PT

    this is not true i have many games of Xbox but i am not able to play them in X360:@ what the hell? i have wasted my money on x360 Ah i could buy ps3

  • iory2

    Posted Apr 4, 2007 1:00 pm PT

    the true is microsoft promissed all games on the 360 and isnt giving us major titles like pazer dragon riddick project gotham 2 and much more ridiculous next generation maybe i wont be buying xbox since they lie so much in so many things

  • compewtore

    Posted Mar 18, 2007 2:53 am PT

    That's not true. There are a ton of good games for xbox. Let's take a look:
    Street Fighter Anniversary collection
    Marvel vs. Capcom
    Snx vs Capcom svc chaos (not available in america on any other system, might i add)
    Capcom vs Snk
    Samurai Showdown V (another exclusive)
    Panzer dragoon orta
    Yes, mostly fighting games, but I LOVE FIGHTING GAMES! I can't believe these classics won't be backwards compatible. I hate the attitude that "Oh, the Halos will be fine, that's all anyone wants anyway." Well, at least we got stupid barbie pony master or whatever..

  • TheAssAssassin3

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 6:44 am PT

    That guy is out of his mind...unreal championship 2 is still not on the list...peter moore can delete all of my emails, but he cant escape the enebitable...(don't kno if I spelled "enebitable" right)

  • Havoc19

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 8:44 am PT

    JSRF still not BC?

    pffffffffffffffffffff

  • wolfclaw92

    Posted Nov 2, 2006 8:09 am PT

    yeah right, there are still tons of games i am waiting for to be on that damn list....im geting tired of waiting..

  • Devin79

    Posted Oct 12, 2006 10:13 pm PT

    This guy Moore is a typical industry "Empty Suit" who has no clue what gamers want. Sony and Nintendo seem to get that Backward Compatability is a big deal to those of us who shell out money for these systems...Microsoft has gone from a great company that cares about the people they saell to, to an arrogant "Enron" style conglomerate that is more interested in counting money then taking care of the consumer...just look at the number of defective XBOX 360's they pushed out the door...what losers, Sony and Nintendo will clean their clocks in the new console wars, and Moore will be out on his butt where he belongs.

  • tomp814

    Posted Aug 29, 2006 6:15 am PT

    Get used to it ppl, MSN does not care about their promises, and even less about the costumer! Just look at Windows XP to be sure...

  • placebo2001

    Posted Aug 28, 2006 11:27 pm PT

    As long as these folling games aren't BC, people will STILL "care", Mr. Moore:

    Conker: Live and Loaded, Chronicles of Riddick, Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller, GUNVALKYRIE, Jet Set Radio Future, NFL2K5, Oddworld, Otogi, Otogi 2, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Phantom Dust, Shemnue 2, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Silent Hill 2, Soul Calibur II, Unreal Championship 2 Long way to go.

  • dragonstrider

    Posted Aug 28, 2006 10:24 pm PT

    Sorry Peter, you haven't held up your end of the bargain yet. The Xbox staff said right after the 360's launch that it planned for every Xbox game to be compatible with the 360 eventually.

    When you can get Metal Gear Solid 2, Dark Summit, X-Men Legends (1 and 2), Hitman 2, and Silent Hill 2, then we'll start talking about how close you are to making the Xbox 360 backwards compatible. The feature was a major reason I bought the 360, and I won't plan on buying any more XBox systems if the games I've already purchased won't work on them.

    Think about that the next time you want to break your promises, Peter Moore...

  • TNTales

    Posted Aug 28, 2006 10:20 pm PT

    I'll make this brief - NO BC, NO 360 for me. Period.

    I want to see much more of the BOX back catalogue before I commit 400$.

    Bad Show Mr. Moore. Keep this up and I'll think less of you than I do Kaz

  • Havoc19

    Posted Jul 26, 2006 5:41 am PT

    if JSRF, panzer dragoon were BC i woulda bought a 360 ages ago, ms screwed up on their promises

  • nextplaytx

    Posted Jul 17, 2006 12:32 am PT

    To answer Petes question Gamers are still concerned with Xbox 360s back ward compatibility because what does he expect For every one to just leave all their Xbox games on the shelf to just make homes for dust bunnies and me as a Xbox owner loves to play all my old Xbox games and would like to use them my new Xbox 360 but cant because of the short list of BC games for the 360 so please fix the problem and if you expect to win the console war I suggest that you step up your game come on if the PS2 can do it why can you one up Sony and you call your self a next gen console if Sony can do i know you can so plzz Microsoft pimp my 360 or I guess I might just be forced to go to the dark side PPPPPSSSS333333

  • trolley98

    Posted Jun 20, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    THATS TOTALLY BS. Peter moore is a jackass. I still play my xbox games on my 360. it'll save me money so i dont have to have a ziillion 360 games. but have a zillion old games lol

  • aygol

    Posted Jun 20, 2006 2:02 am PT

    Xbox 360's backward compatibility is very very important . The Xbox 360 MUST compatible with all Xbox games . i don't know why the Xbox 360 is not compatible with some of Xbox games .

    but it's good to play Halo and Halo 2 with the Xbox 360 . it's good to play Ninja Gaiden Black and many others . so Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility is not so bad .

  • rat18200

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 5:58 pm PT

    i have an xbox 360 and the only 360 games i play are NFS and madden 06
    besides that all i play are xbox original games. when microsoft starts to put out good games then mabye it`ll draw my attention towards 360 games but as for now i just play mostly xbox games.

  • FiveFist

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 11:06 am PT

    this really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really sucks....i gave my xbox away, so i officially have nothing to play xbox games becuz i thought i would be able to on the 360. but i see thats all been shot ta blazes : / ah well.

  • hockeytime12

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 9:27 am PT

    "if u want to play xbox games just hook ur xbox in u lazy people"

    Even though thats what I'm having to do right now, maybe it would be more convenient if the 360 was fully BC so that i could sell my original xbox for some extra cash. It's not about being lazy, it's more about convenience and options. Besides, every xbox game that i have tried to play on the 360 hasn't worked besides the Halos. I'm not over exaggerating on that either. If Microsoft considers that "over delivering" then I'm sorry to say it, but Microsoft could be headed for some hard times in the near future if they keep up that work ethic on some of the 360 material. Even though I love my xbox and 360, I think it's time to rub this new developement in my Microsoft fanboy friends' faces. Ha ha but that's another story...

  • xploded

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 5:47 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • Iffy350

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 7:50 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • Keksi

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 4:11 am PT

    And you all should check what he said on Major Nelson's blog interview

  • DarkStorm2332

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 1:06 pm PT

    *sigh* Peter Moore should check a poll sometime...The one here on GS, it very clearly shows people want BC, but MS is cheap so we've got 'limited' BC. That just seriously annoys me...
    ...seriously...

  • Junomaster2006

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 4:11 am PT

    Both Microsoft and Sony are being very stupid now. There is always people that care about backwards compatibility. My friend is was sad to sell his Marc echo graffiti game cuase he can't play that on his 360 since he traded his xbox for a 360 since there was no reason to keep both. And since Microsoft specialitty is computers, they should easily have made every game backwards compatibility before the system came out. Sony sucks becuase for 1 reason, everyone has to have 6 dead pixels or more to get the psp fixed. And, a lot of people really don't care about the blue-rays feature. I don't even know much about it and I can tottally sacrifice the movie dvd function and music cd function to make the ps3 cheaper. And, the reason why nintendo kept thier wii a secret for soo long is becusae they afraid of other company like Sony stealing thier ideas. I mean in my opinion, I think that they lied and said we thought about the motion detectors for the controller way before Nintendo did. Well, they did steal the anolog stick from nintendo

  • nirvana_2

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:09 pm PT

    mr. moore has earned an award for sincerity, and a kick in the ass at the same because at this point we should know what to expect from microsh*t: pissing off the same fans that made their xbox suceed.

    I already had my revenge on that company which is run by arrogant ppl: bought and xbox and modded it. I have never paid for any game. take that M$. you screw us, I screw u.

  • shadowing

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 6:07 pm PT

    Bc is very nice, there are some games that are classics and their graphics dont matter because they are so fun to play. i still play bushido blade on my ps2 and i will most likely still play it when i get a ps3.

  • Sheepofevilz

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 1:16 pm PT

    Fine, then I'll just get an EMULATOR so I can play all the old games, then. That is, if these companies think that BC doesn't matter, then I guess they won't care if I download some games.

  • vader501st

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:03 am PT

    forget the past, learn the future,XB is dead if you want to plat the big hits, play them,but if you buy a 360 don't complain.

    NEXT GEN.THE OLD ONE IS PAST WAKR UP GUYS!!!

    If I were Moore I wouldn't even emulete the XB because of that sort of thing.

  • sluffmochildeater

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 8:56 am PT

    People who say we should just switch out consoles obviously don't take into consideration that they were the lucky ones that didn't go through multiple xboxes. My 3rd Xbox broke about a month before the 360 came out. I didn't buy another xbox because the 360 was supposed to be BC. Why would I just throw money away? I have about 50 games for the xbox and while most of my favorites play fine some of my top ten (mostly fighting games that I do play with my friends regularly) are not supported. Hopefully he was misquoted and it won't be an issue.

    In conclusion. Don't be an @$$.

  • XManTMG

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 5:27 pm PT

    You know what, if they want us to forget about our old games, BRING OUT SOME FREAKIN' NEW STUFF ALREADY!!!! GRAW isn't enough!!!

  • XManTMG

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 5:20 pm PT

    CHEAP BASTARDS!!!!! Microsoft made the decision to emulate the old games, instead of just buying the chip. I bought Conker cuz' I saw the stuff at that E3, the same E3 they brought out the 360..they brought up the point that at first "all the top-sellin' games will be compatible", and that they haven't forgotten about the system that put them on the console-map. Am I the only one who finds it ironic the game doesn't work. A lotta people sold their xbox to get the 360, under the idea that MS is aiming at putting the whole xbox library on the list. They've made it clear that's their objective, whenever anybody brought up the issue of software emulation. Moore is a DO*CHE!!!

  • bauthier

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 4:07 pm PT

    well this is stupid when i buy a 360 it will be for the backward compatability whats the point of stoping it.

  • CaptainLunchbox

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 3:18 pm PT

    more like "over-promised, under-delivered." this coming from the guy that killed the dreamcast. god, i hate him. i hope he doesn't kill my 360, too.

  • Digital-Devil

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 10:47 am PT

    Honestly who wants to have to break out the Xbox, when they have a 360, just to play a game that isn't on that list?...STUPID move if they dont go all out
    It can't be as hard as he says, look at what Nintendo and Sony are doing

  • BatmanBegins24

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 10:43 am PT

    I love my 360 but this is a huge blow to microsoft.I still have tons of Xbox games that i still play.And even more that i want to play.

  • Digital-Devil

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 10:31 am PT

    No body cares my a$$, that's one reason the PS2 did so well!, also one reason alot of people are looking forward to the Wii
    And the BIGGEST problem with the 360

  • gww490

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 9:46 am PT

    if they'll just make conker BC i'll be happy

  • fearlex

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 8:38 am PT

    He is a total idiot, definitively

  • solsub

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 7:14 am PT

    Moore is an idiot. When will all of you people learn?

  • Spyrius15

    Posted Jun 14, 2006 5:17 am PT

    Saying that no one cares about bc seems bogus, unless he can use polls. However, it seems more like a cop-out so that they don't have to do anymore. It was a bad move not to get rights to the original hardware.

  • jon1233

    Posted Jun 13, 2006 10:37 pm PT

    /spit

  • jamesdisnow

    Posted Jun 13, 2006 8:22 pm PT

    Just listen to the podcast that Major Nelson did with Petere Moore recently. He explains everything. He said that this comment came from an interview he did at E3 and the video can be found on some website but he was paraphrased in different parts of it and it turned out compltely different to what he originally said in the article.

    He simply said that people arent worried about Microsofts ability to emulate any more becasue they've been doing it well. His words were misquoted as being "No one cares about Backwards compatibility."

    Just goes to show what can happen when someone is misquoted.....The irony of all this is that the comment made a lot of people worry about Microsofts ability to do backwards compatibility.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jun 13, 2006 7:50 pm PT

    i am concerned

  • alf222

    Posted Jun 13, 2006 7:06 pm PT

    My xbox broke (only system out of 6 to do so). My main reason for upgrading to the 360 was to be able to play my games on a (hopefully) more reliable system. I guess it's a shame that nobody cares about backwards compatibility.

  • 00Joseph00

    Posted Jun 13, 2006 7:02 pm PT

    Actually, I think most people are concerned about backwards compatibility. I would like to play my older games in better form, that's a plus to buying a better console. That's why there are tons of PC gamers out there. The old software doesn't go void once you replace your old PC.

    I think most people would like to toss out the old system instead of stacking up a ton of old consoles. I will sure feel more inclined to play Mario Bros. on the Wii than I would if I had to go dig up my old NES somewhere.

    Backwards compatibility is not necessary, but I think it's the better choice than not having backwards compatibility.

  • TIE_Elite_Pilot

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 4:22 pm PT

    BC is very important, especially now. The 360 is still young, and there are some last minute Xbox games that are being pushed out (Warpath anyone?). And then some of the original games are just classics, that I see myself popping in and playing years from now, like KotOR 1 and 2, Half-Life 2 and many many more. Not to mention many like myself didn't get every original xbox title we wanted, due to budget constraints at the time or forgetfullness. I'd like the ability to, if I see it for $20 at Target or Wal-Mart, to go, "Oh yeah, that looked good" buy it, and play it on my nice new system with higher resolution, than have to miss out on a good game or mess around with keeping the old original Xbox around.

  • Pastehunter

    Posted Jun 5, 2006 10:35 am PT

    And here is a nother ass from MS .

  • cm018b2391

    Posted Jun 5, 2006 4:18 am PT

    since there are still only a handful of decent 360 titles,i think they could have made a greater effort. some really top xbox titles still aren't playable on 360.. whilst others (ninja gaiden) are not really up to scratch with horrendous slow downs during play... now they're not even going to bother, so much for "we have upheld our bargain" - -oh yeah?

  • Jab7604

    Posted Jun 4, 2006 10:31 pm PT

    Backward compatability is a driving force of gameing. In response to axcess 03 people used their xbox as trade in value for the premium package 360, and now that MS is calling backward compatability a waste of time those people who sold their xbox just lucked out. as of now the 360 has a week libary and those people depended on playing their old xbox titles till something worthwile comes out. its a good thing nintendo and sony no what gamers want cause microsoft doesnt.

  • Dinghy_Dog

    Posted Jun 4, 2006 11:30 am PT

    /me confirms that Peter Moore is Satan.

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!