Holiday 2020 is going to be really interesting because we finally have our next-gen consoles arriving. Both PS5 and Xbox Series X are slated for release this holiday and Microsoft has been releasing more and more details about its upcoming Xbox Series X. Yesterday, Microsoft shared even more details about the console, and this time around, the focus was on the Backwards Compatibility of Xbox Series X.
Moving on to a new generation is always tough for players. A generation of console lasts for around 7 to 8 years and if you are someone like me who does not sell his collection of video games, a large video game collection is easily amassed throughout a console’s life. Leaving at this collection back and moving on to a brand new console is always a difficult choice because we seldom get all the time to play all the games of the current generation and sometimes we just want to re-visit some older classics just for the sake of it.
However, it seems like Microsoft’s next-gen console Xbox Series X is all about preserving our beloved video game libraries no matter which generation of Xbox they are from. In the latest blog post, Jason Ronald, Director of Program Management for Xbox Series X, detailed every bit of Backwards Compatibility feature of Xbox Series X that we want to know about and it seems like Xbox Series X is going to support every game ever made for any Xbox console in history. Not only that, but Xbox Series X is also going to ensure that you play any game from the past in its best form as well.
Xbox Series X supports Backwards Compatibility natively which means that this specific feature was kept in mind while developing the console. The development team partnered with the Xbox Advanced Technology Group to deliver a new and innovative HDR reconstruction technique which will enable the console to automatically add HDR support to all games. This will have zero impact on the performance of games as well which means that each game will run on maximum frames even with HDR. This includes all Xbox 360 and the original Xbox titles which were developed even before HDR was developed.
The brand new Quick Resume feature is also compatible with these classic Xbox 360 and the original Xbox titles. With this handy feature, you will be able to quickly switch between any Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Xbox 360 or the original Xbox game at the same time without the need of seeing the boring start screens again and again. The best bit of this feature is that all the work is done on the platform level so no additional work is required from the game developers. Since Xbox One already supports previous titles, Xbox Series X ensures that this support is in the best form possible.
For this very purpose, the compatibility team has invented brand new techniques that enable even more titles to run at higher resolutions and image quality while still maintaining the same art level and vision of the original game. Included in these features is the newest innovation technique which will allow Xbox Series X to double the frame rate of a select set of games from 30 fps to 60 fps or 60 fps to 120 fps. This is going to ensure that the games not only run on Xbox Series X but also they run in their best form.
Backwards Compatibility became a major plus point of Xbox One back in 2015 as it allowed players to revisit their Xbox 360 and the original Xbox titles on Xbox One with improved frames and visuals. This feature greatly attracted fans as well and most of the players were finally able to replay their classic games and finish up some of the previous generation titles that were pending. Some developers also including classic versions of their Xbox One games on Xbox One as well for example, during early orders of Gears 4, it came with digital downloads of all 4 Gears of War games which were released on Xbox 360. This is going to be even better on Xbox Series X now.
What do you think about the Backwards Compatibility feature of Xbox Series X? Let us know in the comments section below.
