This article was brought to our attention via a story on Slashshdot. It seems that Microsoft is citing statistics that state people probably won't care if the XBox 2 will play the earlier XBox games. Couple that with the new video hardware from ATI, that would require some touchy emulation tactics and it is not so far fetched to believe.
GamesIndustry.biz has now learned that Microsoft does not plan to provide any backwards compatibility in the next-generation Xenon platform - and indeed, that senior executives at the company don't believe backwards compatibility to be an important feature for consoles. According to a source close to the project, internal Microsoft figures suggest that only 10 per cent of PlayStation 2 purchasers were interested in the console's ability to play titles developed for the original PlayStation. |
Head on over to Games Industry for the whole story and some pessimistic reactions from some that disagree with Microsoft's take on the situation.
Source: Games Industry
