The question for today, my friends, is: “What is forward-compatibility?” If you haven’t heard the term yet, in reference to the next piece of hardware in the Xbox series, then let me give you a primer. A rumor is circulating today that the next Xbox (Xbox 720? Xbox 3?) will feature the ability to somehow make old games better. This isn’t just a quicker frame-rate or new mapping, either. The system, allegedly, will be able to make playing your old Xbox 360 games a whole new experience. According to the source of the rumor, Xbox Evolved,
Imagine playing Gears of War 3 on your Xbox 360 it looks and plays good right? Well imagine that the year after it comes out you go out to buy the next Xbox and it looks even better, it plays even better. Features in the new controller are utilized with the game, the graphics do not only look sharper, but the draw distance is better, the speed is better, framerate, and there are even new features, perhaps even levels via DLC for the game on the third-generation Xbox.
If this rumor is true, and well-received 360 games will earn a second life on the next Xbox, then it would be well worth it to keep buying them, even after a couple of years. Instead of waiting on the new system, which will inevitably bring a slew of new games, you can look forward to playing the same games that you’ve already been playing…but they’ll somehow be made magically new. Of course, we won’t know the truth for a couple of years, but it’s always fun to speculate.
