Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been answering fan questions on his Twitter account, and in the process, he has spoken about backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One, 4K upgrades for the former, and the Xbox Scorpio’s lineup.
When asked if some old games, like old games that came out for the Xbox 360, were in like for something like a 4K upgrade, Spencer said that that would be tough to do, since 360 games do not usually have 4K assets, as opposed to more recent games for current gen console that have 4K assets from their PC versions.
Whilst talking about backwards compatibility, he said that several titles, such as sports games or music games and the like, are not included in the library of backwards compatible titles since licensing for them can often be an issue for publishers. Later, when asked Microsoft doesn’t make all Xbox 360 games playable on the Xbox One, like with the 3DS and the DS, Spencer said that there are often some technical issues, like Kinect support, while also saying that they have to get publisher approval as well.
Finally, when asked if the strength of the Xbox Scorpio’s lineup would be more in old games for the Xbox One or completely new releases, Spencer said that both of them “have to show why someone would choose Scorpio.”
We recently posted an opinion piece on the state of Microsoft’s current first party lineup and why we feel it is several steps behind its direct competitors Sony and Nintendo. You can read all about it here.
360 games are tough as most don't have 4K assets. Nice thing about our recent games is we have 4K assets from PC versions.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 19, 2017
Licensing for games (like sports games, music games, some racing) can be an issue for a publisher.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 19, 2017
Some issues are technical (like Kinect support) and we have to get publisher approval.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 19, 2017
Our games, old and new, have to show why someone would choose Scorpio. I feel really good about our progress on that.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 19, 2017
