backward-compatible
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Don Mattrick: 'If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards'
The Xbox One won't play Xbox 360 discs or XBLA games, and that doesn't really bother Microsoft Head of Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick. "If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards," he told the Wall Street Journal. Mattrick said only 5 percent of customers play games from previous generations on new consoles, so spending time to make that possible isn't worth it. Sony's PlayStation 4 isn't backward compatible from a hardware standpoint, but with cloud service Gaikai, it should offer a way to play games from the PS3 and older consoles. It's been eight years since the previous generation transition, meaning players have had longer than ever to build up their libraries. That's a lot to lose – and even more so with the onset of downloadable games in the middle of this generation.
Bloomberg: Next Xbox has X86 AMD chip
Microsoft will match Sony's example and use an X86 series processor from AMD in its next console, according to Bloomberg's anonymous sources. The still-unannounced console is said to use a "Jaguar" CPU with integrated GPU, abandoning the IBM PowerPC tech used in the Xbox 360.That means, like the PS4, the new Xbox will have difficulty emulating its predecessor, since it will be built on different architecture. The good news, however, is that with both of those consoles (allegedly) using similar architecture, and PCs also similarly laid out, multiplatform game development will be much easier.Except for the Wii U, of course.The Verge reports that Microsoft is holding some kind of event on May 21, believed to be an Xbox event.
Sunday Morning Funnies: It is no longer taco time
This week's comic list is a good one, so settle in and start clicking. To answer a comment on last week's post, comics can be submitted through the WoW.com tip form, or left as a comment on the most recent Sunday Morning Funnies post. Check out the latest from Cru the Dwarf. Dark Legacy Comics: Toe Stub. This comic from GU Comics is related more to Activision-Blizzard than to WoW specifically, although there is a WoW reference. Check out the latest from Experience Points. The latest Flintlocke vs. the Horde got me laughing, although you should check out the Taco Time comic first, if you haven't. This isn't the most recent comic from LFG, but I thought it might stand alone better. NoObz: To Pull Or Not To Pull. NPC: Just Like Me and Squirrel Flavor. Check out the latest from Teh Gladiators. Backward Compatible has a WoW-related comic out. The Adventures of Disgraph T. Dwarf: Druids with Candy. Check out the latest from Kuo.
Comic Watch: Backward Compatible ganks the SciFi Channel's MMO
We've featured Backward Compatible here on Comic Watch before, and the hits just keep on comin'. This episode is particularly timely, concerning itself with the recent speculation over the SciFi/Trion project.We have to admit, an episode of any television show spoken entirely in l33t would be difficult to watch all the way through, but would be worth getting through just once. Notice the nice touches in this comic -- the SciFi logo in the lower-right corner, and the references to the two great pulpy science fiction adventure series of all time.
Comic Watch: Backward Compatible dolls up for CoH
On the previous Comic Watch, we gave some love to the incredible output of Aaron Williams. One of these, Backward Compatible, has stepped up with another MMO-based comic. This time, the light is shone on City of Heroes (and peripherally, World of Warcraft). It seems there's more of a link to your favorite MMO and playing with dolls than may have been suspected. See if you look at your character the same way after reading this strip! I see I'm going to have to keep an eye on this Williams guy; with no less than 4 comics going on at once, chances are he'll hit the massively multiplayer topic again.[Thanks, Jonathan!]
Comic Watch: Full Frontal Nerdity rings in the LotRO references
Aaron Williams is a pedigreed gamer geek with no less than four comics to his name: Nodwick, a fantasy jaunt that pokes fun at RPG conventions; Backward Compatible, a comic about life at a gaming magazine; PS238, positing a high school filled with superpowered kids; and Full Frontal Nerdity, which takes a look at the other side of the gaming table.FFN gets some Massively love here for its LotRO reference, and how important loot balance is to an MMO.
DS Daily: Your GBA picks
You've got to love backwards compatibility -- after all, the fact that the DS can play GBA titles just means that our available library of games is just that much bigger. But that also makes choices just that much more agonizing. With so many games at our fingertips, how can we possibly choose the one or two we'll use to fill our spare hours in any given month? Of course, there are reviews and resources, but the best method for finding games to play is to share choices with like-minded individuals. Let's get our share on, then -- what are your favorite GBA games?
Breaking down the Euro PS3's backward compatiblity
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Euro_PS3_BC_full_details_breaking_down_the_numbers'; Amid concerns that the European version of the PlayStation 3 will be less than fully backward compatible, Sony has unveiled a new web site listing old games that will work under the version 1.6 firmware, due to be released concurrently with the European launch on Thursday. Unfortunately, the site is organized in a rather user-unfriendly paged format that requires a lot of clicking around to get to the data you want. We did some extra legwork and copied the data into a couple of convenient Google Docs spreadsheets (PS1, PS2). We also crunched the numbers to see just how extensive the European PS3's backward compatibility will be at launch.The results are a little underwhelming. While over 2,800 combined PS2 and PS1 games are listed as working on the PAL PS3, they represent only about 56 percent of the approximately 5,000 discs available for both systems in PAL format. Unlisted games like Metal Gear Solid 2, Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 2 and all the Ratchet and Clank games will not work at all come launch day -- as it says in the fine print of the site, "if your game is not listed here, emulation is not yet supported on PLAYSTATION®3." [update: added fine print quote -- thanks Ian] (Note: Discs are listed by serial number, one game may be listed under multiple serial numbers).What's more, of the roughly 2,800 listed games, only about 1,800 of them (approx. 63 percent) work with "no known issues." A good 550 or so have "noticeable issues," according to Sony, among them big names like Metal Gear Solid and Tomb Raider II on the PS1 and Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, SingStar, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2. [Update: Moved Kingdom Hearts from PS1 to PS2. Whoops!]Of course, these numbers will only go up as Sony continues to update the firmware, but as a starting point, we're a little disappointed that roughly two-thirds of the PlayStation/PS2 library won't work perfectly on Europe's launch day PS3s.Continue reading for a quick breakdown of the numbers and more chartly goodness.
360 BC update "in the next few weeks"
Thanks to the folks at the Gamerscore Blog, we've learned that the next Xbox back compat update "should be out in the next few weeks." In his earlier blast against BC, Peter Moore proclaimed that nobody is concerned about it anymore, but thankfully the gentler Gamerscore peeps have set the record straight, stating: "We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the 'Emulation Ninjas' who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you." We suppose quarterly updates to the BC list aren't TOO bad (hey, they sure beat semiannual dashboard updates), but getting more than a dozen titles to work each time would definitely help a lot more for those with original Xbox favorites they'd prefer to play on their new machines. Personally, this blogger would like to see the following titles added to the list: Dead or Alive Ultimate, Doom 3, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, LEGO Star Wars, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Soul Calibur II, and Capcom Classics Collection. It may not be realistic to expect Street Fighter support when Hyper Fighting is set to hit Live Arcade sometime in the near future, but one can (vainly) hope. [Via Major Nelson's blog] See also: Xbox BC not a priority, says Moore No Black on 360 till MS makes it so... or a sequel comes out US 360 backward-compatibility list shrinks A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update SFII on Xbox Live: what's taking so long?
