backwards-compatibility
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Xbox cloud gaming adds 'Morrowind' and other backwards compatible titles
Microsoft is adding original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles to its Xbox cloud gaming service.
Kojima’s infamous ‘P.T.’ demo isn’t playable on the PS5
There was some hope P.T. would live on, but that's not to be the case.
Ubisoft pulls post about PS4 games not working on PS5, cites 'inaccuracies' (updated)
Ubisoft pulled a blog post that listed several PS4-era games that it said may not run properly on the PS5.
Microsoft clarifies which games work on Xbox Series S and X on day one
Every game that runs on Xbox One makes the cut, except for ones that need Kinect.
The list of PS4 games that don’t work on PS5 just got shorter
A few days ago, Sony revealed that 99 percent of PS4 games will be compatible with the PS5 and that there are very few titles you can’t play on the upcoming console. NACON and KT Racing told Push Square that they’re developing a patch that would make TT Isle of Man - Ride on the Edge 2 PS5-compatible. A NACON rep told the publication that the developers are working to make the motorbike racing game 100 percent functional on the new console, though it’s unclear if they’ll be able to roll out the update by the time the PS5 comes out on November 12th.
Sony finally reveals which PS4 games won't work on PS5
Only 10 games, including 'Hitman Go: Definitive Edition,' won't make the cut.
Xbox Series S won't apply Xbox One X enhancements to older games
You won't be able to play Xbox and Xbox 360 games in 4K on the Xbox Series S.
The PS4 version of 'Cyberpunk 2077' will work on PS5 at launch
You'll also get a proper, free next-gen update (eventually).
Xbox Series X can improve older titles with HDR and 120FPS support
Microsoft is bringing a new automatic HDR technique to older games on the Xbox Series X, and some will even be ale to run at 120FPS.
Sony says the 'overwhelming majority' of PS4 titles will work on PS5
When Sony offered a deep dive into the PlayStation 5's specs this week, it wasn't crystal clear about backwards compatibility for PS4 games. In an updated blog post about the upcoming console's architecture, it clarified that most PS4 games should work on it. "With all of the amazing games in PS4's catalog, we've devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5," it wrote. "We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5."
Microsoft's next-gen Xbox will prioritize high frame rates and fast loading
Microsoft has slowly been dropping more hints about its plans for its next-gen Xbox, codenamed Project Scarlett. Now, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has revealed even more about what's in store for the console, which Microsoft says will be four times as powerful as the Xbox One X.
Wii games coming to Wii U eShop
Wii games will begin surfacing on the Wii U eShop, Nintendo announced during its Nintendo Direct livestream this morning. Starting today, players will be able to download Super Mario Galaxy 2, followed by Punch Out on January 22, then the Metroid Prime Trilogy on January 29. The games will be half price ($10) for their respective first weeks on the digital service. Nintendo also revealed that Wii games that traditionally used the Wii's Classic Controller will be able to use the Wii U's Game Pad to control the game, and the games will be playable right from the Wii U's home menu. The Wii U previously required players to enter "Wii mode" in order to play the previous generation system's games. [Image: Nintendo]
Joystiq Weekly: PAX East, The Last Of Us: Remastered, Super Smash Bros. and more
This week's reveal of Charizard in Super Smash Bros.' roster is a bit of a blow to our argument that Squirtle is the best starter from Pokemon Red/Blue. Yes, both pocket monsters were in the Pokemon Trainer's arsenal in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Charizard flying solo is a whole different level of awesome, one that's left us Squirtle enthusiasts drowning in envy. Playground rivalries aside, there's a lot more going on this week beyond Pokefeuds. Sony admitted that The Last Of Us is coming to the PS4, Borderlands fans are finally going to be able to play as Claptrap in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and we've got a faint glimmer of hope for the Xbox One to eventually be backwards compatible. This is also the weekend of PAX East, which you can treat as a source of news or, if you're attending, a giant game of "Where's Waldo?" Track down Joystiq's away team and say hi! Provided you can catch them between appointments, panels and the lone meal of their day, that is.
PSA: Xbox One is not backwards compatible in dev mode
Enabling developer mode on your Xbox One can lead to bad news bears, so doing so is generally ill-advised. Dev mode also doesn't suddenly make your Xbox One backwards compatible, no matter what some picture you saw on the Internet tells you. An image that has been circulating around the Interwebz - which we've posted below the break - claims that by following six simple steps, your Xbox One will allow you to play Xbox 360 games. In reality, following these six simple steps is more likely to result in allowing your Xbox One to play the part of "paperweight" in your new one-man/woman play, "O! Technology." Should you follow the steps listed below, the Xbox One will get caught in an infinite boot cycle, thus rendering it inoperable.
Streaming Xbox 360 games on Xbox One 'problematic' right now
Back in September, at a Microsoft company meeting, cloud-based games streaming was demonstrated using a copy of Halo 4, which was seen running on a PC and a Windows Phone with attached Xbox 360 controller. Albert Penello, lead planner on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Kinect, said the technology is simultaneously "really cool and really problematic" to pull off. "It's really cool and really problematic, all at the same time, insofar as it's really super cool if you happen to have the world's most awesome internet connection," Penello told Polygon. "It works way better than you'd expect it to. So managing quality of service, the tolerance people will have for it being crappy. Can you imagine, in this day and age, with the bad information around, and we can't control the quality of that experience and make sure it's good, or have to tell people they can't do it?" Penello went on to say this specific demonstration was "a grand experiment" but it's all a matter of improving the Xbox Live network before going forward with any kind of feature launch. Penello also didn't rule out the possibility of streaming Xbox One games. "I know we did a lot of work behind it, and we said this is one of the things where the network just has to get better before we can do it. When that happens, you're going to have a really interesting conversation around that, can I actually run Xbox One games that way as well." While backwards compatibility is clearly on Microsoft's mind now, that wasn't always the case. When the Xbox One was announced back in May, it was originally going to do away with backwards compatibility entirely. Don Mattrick, who was Xbox head honcho at the time, then famously said, "If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards." Mattrick wasn't at Microsoft much longer after that, taking over as CEO of Zynga just a few weeks later.
Xbox One backward compatibility a theoretical proposal, Microsoft says
Microsoft Senior Director Albert Penello told Gamespot this week that the Xbox One could potentially, one day, offer backward compatibility using its Azure cloud service. This doesn't mean that Microsoft is actively pursuing backward compatibility in the Xbox One, a Microsoft spokesperson tells Joystiq: "The power of the cloud brings many possibilities on Xbox One. Albert was speaking theoretically about backwards compatibility as an example of the features the cloud could enable in the future." In the interview, Penello responded to a question about potential backward compatibility on Xbox One by saying the console was "absolutely" open to that type of connected feature. "There are so many things that the servers can do," he said. "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." Backward compatibility might be a feature on Xbox One in the future, but for now that's a hypothetical scenario. The console itself might also one day be red, cost $50 or cook breakfast for you – theoretically, of course.
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.
Xbox One not backwards compatible with 360 discs/XBLA purchases; Gamerscore does transfer
Microsoft's minty-fresh Xbox One will be unable to play Xbox 360 discs, nor will your multitude of Xbox Live Arcade purchases transfer to the new machine, our friends at Engadget have learned. The incompatibility is due to the fact that the Xbox One runs on x86 processor architecture, whereas the Xbox 360 ran on PowerPC. This fundamental difference in hardware architecture prevents the Xbox One from natively running Xbox 360 games, regardless of how powerful the thing may be. "We care very much about the investment people have made in Xbox 360 and will continue to support it with a pipeline of new games and new apps well into the future," a Microsoft representative told Engadget. Part of that investment will transfer, however: Your Xbox Live Gamerscore. Earlier this year, Sony also announced that its PlayStation 4 will make the jump to a processor built on the x86 platform.
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.
PlayStation 4 will stream PS1, PS2, PS3 games
The PlayStation 4 will use the "PlayStation Cloud" service to stream PS1, PS2, and PS3 games, solving the backward compatibility problem with technology developed by Gaikai. This functionality was first reported last week by the Wall Street Journal, and confirmed today during the PlayStation unveiling event.In the presentation, Gaikai founder David Perry expressed PlayStation's desire to use this service to stream "everything ever," but no specific games were revealed. On one hand, that suggests the PS4 isn't natively able to play legacy discs; on the other hand, there's tech built in to play those games on the system via streaming.This is part of "PlayStation Cloud," the services of which will be rolled out gradually.