Microsoft voert goede gesprekken met alle uitgevers over backwards compatibility

Tijdens de Gamescom-persconferentie van Microsoft onthulde het bedrijf naast veel toffe trailers ook nieuws rondom de aankomende Xbox One-feature backwards compatibility. Zo maakte men bekend dat alle toekomstige Xbox Live Gold-games ook op de Xbox One gaan werken. Daarnaast onthulde men een lijst met uitgevers die al hebben toegezegd backwards compatibility te gaan ondersteunen. Opvallende afwezigen waren onder andere Call of Duty-uitgever Activision, Metal Gear Solid-eigenaren Konami en Grand Theft Auto 5-uitgever Take-Two.

Volgens Xbox-baas Phil Spencer hoeven we ons geen zorgen te maken. Hij laat weten dat er goede gesprekken worden gevoerd met alle uitgevers:

We’re having great conversations with all the publishers about backward compatibility. It’s really been a good time for something like backwards compatibility to come around, because so many of the publishers have built more service-based games where they’re able to find a business opportunity in the longevity of games.

[Longevity] can be through paid DLC or smaller transactions in some cases on PC and tablet. But engagement in franchises has become a critical measure for any publisher. So when you think about it, there’s this opportunity to take franchise and get people re-engaged in it. One of the things that’s really exciting for me, and we announced this with Gears of War, Just Cause, and Rainbow Six, is that when franchises are releasing an Xbox One version, [publishers] have an opportunity to give them the Xbox 360 version at the same time.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t really have that in mind when we started thinking about backwards compatibility, but the studios have got the games, they realise they’re not really selling them anymore, and can use them to introduce people who maybe didn’t play the earlier entries in the franchises while growing engagement in the property itself. That’s very valuable for a publisher.

Backwards compatibility verschijnt in november voor alle Xbox One-gamers en vanaf dat moment zijn meer dan 100 games beschikbaar. Later zal Microsoft nog “honderden games” toevoegen.