[Wccftech via Jez Corden] Next-Gen Xbox Rumored to Support Backward Compatibility at Hardware Level

They are almost certainly making their own console as one sku and one would think if it supports BC at the hardware level they would not want to leave all the disc users in the dark even if they adopt the Sony model and make it an addon type of option
 
They are almost certainly making their own console as one sku and one would think if it supports BC at the hardware level they would not want to leave all the disc users in the dark even if they adopt the Sony model and make it an addon type of option
Yep I honestly think they should be pushing for as much BC as possible. Especially if they plan to pitch this to the Xbox hardcore people at a big premium.

I think the add on is the best way to go at this point. The people who want them can get them.
Scalpers will have a field day with those imo. The console itself is probably not even targeting more than 10-15m people WW, and it's an even smaller % that will go for disc drives.

Better to just add it to the BOM and have them all pay for it. You get better pricing on parts and less complexity in your manufacturing process that way too.
 
I'm just waiting for an explanation and then I'll judge it. Even if they have their own hardware solution for BC, it would have to be merged with a machine that can fully run windows and the other stores. If they aren't making that, then it's going to be extremely pointless. Without their own exclusives, there's going to be less and less 3rd party ports and they're going to miss out on a lot of games. The only thing that makes sense is having a PC at this point and merging the stores. All future games coming are going to be easy ports for 3rd parties because they already put everything on PC. Fewer and fewer are going to code anything for an Xbox with unique silicon.

If they find a way to very cheaply have a "PC" that also has enough of the unique silicon to also run BC stuff, then great. Hopefully they use that time to work on an emulator because that would buy them another 7 years. Anything they put out has to be windows open store at this point.

Essentially you could get about the same thing by getting a PC and a Series S for BC, so I'm expecting some kind of cheap merger of the two.
 
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MS say a lot of things, it doesn't mean they would actually succeed. Obviously MS WANT the library maintained in order to keep the Gamepass customers, the question is how to do so without losing money. And if they couldn't find a way, they wouldn't do it.

Basically trying to maintain Xbox hardware will massively increase costs, as that required hardware that is NOT off the shelf. Funny enough Sony actually did that back in the old days; they squeezed a PS1 into the PS2 guts. And for the first gen of PS3 they squeeze a PS2 inside it. But that just become unworkable after a certain point.

Xbox custom hardware will have to retire at some point. MS is better off doing this now. But if they want to waste money making a final last Xbox that people can't afford, that is up to them. Also, funny that this is EXACTLY the opposite of the "everything is an Xbox" marketing. Microsoft being confusing as usual.
 
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Is this true ? Where and when K KeplerL2 said this recently? It was here?


Yes one sku will be a regular console from Xbox but this doesn't rule out companies like Asus cooking something with Xbox

And yes he did say it would be a regular console

Nah it's just a normal console.

In reply to

It's not going to be a traditional console tho, that's for sure. Makes zero business sense anymore for Microsoft.

It'll be a "console", as in a PC with a SFF/NUC console-style form factor, running a custom version of Windows with a more streamlined version of what's coming in the ROG Xbox Ally, and probably using some mix of emulation/translation layer/recompile for extensive Xbox BC support.

And it's probably gonna cost $150 - $200 more than a PS6 for PS6-equivalent performance. But at least it'll be upgradable, unlike a PS6.
 
What a perfect time for Xbox HW. When demand for the HW side is at an all time low and they're porting their games to PS. Definitely sounds like an Xbox decision to me.
 
If they mean full BC back to OG Xbox, I'm rather curious: OG Xbox and the 360 used Nvidia hardware. If they're sticking with AMD SoC, and they really aren't bringing platform emulation to Windows, there's gotta be a translation layer in there somewhere.
 
I think MS will just lead these shills on cause they won't announce no new consoles til after ps6 is officially announced. They don't want to handicap their own sales prematurely.
 
At this point xbox is nothing but a permanent circus, someone higher in management needs to take the right decision.

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I'm very very pessimistic about these new Xboxes, Microsoft has lost their Je ne sais quoi with xbox series s x
 
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That is one masterstroke Microsoft will always have over Playstation.

Their aim is first and foremost building the digital library so atleast the people who are with them will be stuck in their ecosystem. EPIC doing the same by literally giving free copies.
They don't care about the ultra-enthusiast, they are priming themselves to be 'king of the masses' by being the most affordable approachable "service" ever.
 
Yes one sku will be a regular console from Xbox but this doesn't rule out companies like Asus cooking something with Xbox

And yes he did say it would be a regular console



In reply to
So you're saying this "console" will not run other stores through Windows or it will? It seems like it will have to.
 
So you're saying this "console" will not run other stores through Windows or it will? It seems like it will have to.
I don't think one contradicts the other.

The OS of that new Xbox could very well be based on Windows and allow for other Stores.

In other words, in the end, it all depends on the OS.
 
Only way I buy another piece of Xbox hardware is if they make all of their games exclusive again to Xbox/pc.

If their games being on PS5 was just a profit driver for this gen and they stop doing that when the new hardware releases then I'm on board. I just can't justify buying a new Xbox console if I can just get a PS6. Let's see what Microsoft does.
 
Apparently MS is already in the pre-marketing stage, maybe the ''xbox pc'' is on the way.

They're gonna start talking about this thing officially next year, at this point.

Is this true ? Where and when K KeplerL2 said this recently? It was here?



Good luck to MS with another traditional Xbox.

But maybe I'm interpreting "traditional" in the sense of it having no alternative storefronts or Windows functionality (besides what Dev Mode already brings). Maybe their idea of a "traditional" Xbox is a bit different.

Tho it still wouldn't line up with the mentions of them shifting development from Xbox OS to Win32.

MS say a lot of things, it doesn't mean they would actually succeed. Obviously MS WANT the library maintained in order to keep the Gamepass customers, the question is how to do so without losing money. And if they couldn't find a way, they wouldn't do it.

Basically trying to maintain Xbox hardware will massively increase costs, as that required hardware that is NOT off the shelf. Funny enough Sony actually did that back in the old days; they squeezed a PS1 into the PS2 guts. And for the first gen of PS3 they squeeze a PS2 inside it. But that just become unworkable after a certain point.

Xbox custom hardware will have to retire at some point. MS is better off doing this now. But if they want to waste money making a final last Xbox that people can't afford, that is up to them. Also, funny that this is EXACTLY the opposite of the "everything is an Xbox" marketing. Microsoft being confusing as usual.

Well the other thing too is, systems like Series S & X are basically PC-like boxes architecture-wise with a few customizations here and there. PS5 is similar, in that it uses the same base CPU & GPU architecture, but it's more heavily customized.

Adding console Xbox BC to a future PC hybrid isn't an hardware issue; it's a kernel and OS issue, as well as licensing one. Actually, the licensing could be worked around if they simply treated Xbox OS and Windows as a dual-boot config, but they'd have to make it feel seamless & smooth, not require a system shutdown/reboot, and not cause stability issues.

Luckily for them they already have examples to leverage in pre-ME Windows like '95 and '98, since they did something similar when switching between DOS applications and Windows ones. But something with Xbox OS <-> Windows would need to be a lot more intuitive, modern and "console-like" in ease-of-use.

Yes one sku will be a regular console from Xbox but this doesn't rule out companies like Asus cooking something with Xbox

And yes he did say it would be a regular console



In reply to

Do you know or have any insight on if the system will be "traditional" as in completely locked down to Xbox OS and the Xbox Store, or "traditional" as in providing that while also providing access to alternative storefronts and some extended support for Windows apps?

Because it could go either way, but only one of them actually gives them a viable product IMO. If it's the latter, well that can be pictured certain ways in how it'd work. Some of us have hypothesized about that.

That is one masterstroke Microsoft will always have over Playstation.

Their aim is first and foremost building the digital library so atleast the people who are with them will be stuck in their ecosystem. EPIC doing the same by literally giving free copies.
They don't care about the ultra-enthusiast, they are priming themselves to be 'king of the masses' by being the most affordable approachable "service" ever.

Isn't there a rumor they're about to raise Game Pass prices again?
 
Yep I honestly think they should be pushing for as much BC as possible. Especially if they plan to pitch this to the Xbox hardcore people at a big premium.


Scalpers will have a field day with those imo. The console itself is probably not even targeting more than 10-15m people WW, and it's an even smaller % that will go for disc drives.

Better to just add it to the BOM and have them all pay for it. You get better pricing on parts and less complexity in your manufacturing process that way too.
10m to 15m are you serious? I imagine you're trying to low ball it but that's a comical prediction whatever way you look at it.
 
Is this true ? Where and when K KeplerL2 said this recently? It was here?


If it's a traditional console it can't run steam. At least not the PC version of steam with every PC game. No?

I mean I've been thinking that they would make a PC and software emulate Xbox.

This seems to indicate they will make an Xbox and if full steam is actually on it they would need to emulate PC gaming on the Xbox.

Perhaps they are unifying the two platforms and calling it a "Traditional Console" in name only. Otherwise if it is a traditional console and not a PC how can I play my steam Playstation games on it? I'm not gonna be able to play my Steam Playstation games on it am I?

Truth is Xbox needs to disrupt. If they just put out a new iterative console with nothing else it will flop. They need something huge like every game on PC if they even want to sell the 15m copies. I see someone shocked over 15m unit suggestion above but what do you think the XSX sold if you don't count series S? I don't think they make 15m sales if they launch today at >700 dollars with a traditional console, no steam, no exclusives, and no XSS this time. The product is going to have a tough time on the market even with steam guys. It is going to have to really hit it out of the park with the product and marketing. Even the XSX being more powerful didn't help them that much last time, so they need a major competitive advantage to launch this thing. I don't think you understand how apathetic the audience is after Xbox series. Xbox series was red hot at the beginning of the gen compared to now. They need a paradigm shift and if it doesn't happen with this new hardware I don't think they will launch any more, instead going full 3rd party.
 
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wow, interesting timing after the meltdowns over the Non-Xbox Xbox Handheld.
Jez always to the rescue. 🤡

I have seen so much concern and posting from people who don't own Xbox's it's fucking unreal.

The only meltdowns have been from concern trolls.

Does it make you feel better as PS fans to shit on Xbox? Did Phil fuck your mom?

I guess this is what sad people do. Maybe I don't belong here as I'm getting too old for all the war bullshit.

And people can't really say it's both sides as there are around 5 Xbox die hards left here compared to 100's of Playstation ones.

So strange to watch an Xbox thread get piled on by PC or PS users, like why do you want to see Xbox die? The war was lost a long time ago now.

Oh well I'll go back to my gazing on in the background 😂
 
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If an Xbox PC doesn't make that much sense, releasing new console hardware when your existing hardware is nearly dead and your games are ported to Playstation makes even lense sense. You also risk pissing off your existing console fanbase that bought your current hardware when support is dropped like a stone way too soon. But, what do I know.
 
I have seen so much concern and posting from people who don't own Xbox's it's fucking unreal.

The only meltdowns have been from concern trolls.

Does it make you feel better as PS fans to shit on Xbox? Did Phil fuck your mom?

I guess this is what sad people do. Maybe I don't belong here as I'm getting too old for all the war bullshit.

And people can't really say it's both sides as there are around 5 Xbox die hards left here compared to 100's of Playstation ones.

So strange to watch an Xbox thread get piled on by PC or PS users, like why do you want to see Xbox die? The war was lost a long time ago now.

Oh well I'll go back to my gazing on in the background 😂
the meltdowns were coming form Xbox people. they were concerned about not being able to play their game library.

non Xbox people were saying that this Non-Xbox Xbox Handheld is indeed just a PC handheld.
 
"hw compatible"
Any x86 increment should be sufficiently similar to allow easy compatibility anyway. Any new console is basically either a low powered x86-PC like PS5 or Series SX are, or duct taped phones with ARM. PowerPC is dead. There isn't choice/alternatives to screw things up.

Also, isn't that the whole or one of the points for their virtualisation? The Host OS runs on the specific new HW while the VM-machines run code for old HW and translate it to whatever that new Host OS can process?
 
the meltdowns were coming form Xbox people. they were concerned about not being able to play their game library.

non Xbox people were saying that this Non-Xbox Xbox Handheld is indeed just a PC handheld.
Receipts?

For example (and I'm not saying the discussions aren't valid or are trolling
But in the Xbox Ally plays PS Games thread here's a few amounts of posts people made.

ghg 46
adamsapple 20
punished miku 16
deepenigma 33

Always more Anti Xbox posts from PS/PC users than there are from actual Xbox owners. This rhetoric of Xbox concern is bullshit and happens in every Xbox thread around here.

There were NO meltdowns.
 
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If they mean full BC back to OG Xbox, I'm rather curious: OG Xbox and the 360 used Nvidia hardware. If they're sticking with AMD SoC, and they really aren't bringing platform emulation to Windows, there's gotta be a translation layer in there somewhere.
The 360 did not use nvidia hardware. It used the Ati/Xenos GPU. The PS3 and original Xbox did use nvidia.
 
Do you know or have any insight on if the system will be "traditional" as in completely locked down to Xbox OS and the Xbox Store, or "traditional" as in providing that while also providing access to alternative storefronts and some extended support for Windows apps?

Because it could go either way, but only one of them actually gives them a viable product IMO. If it's the latter, well that can be pictured certain ways in how it'd work. Some of us have hypothesized about that.
I still haven't changed on my stance for it running Steam

The question I don't know is can you buy Steam games or just launch your Steam library?

I know what they wanted at one point but it doesn't make sense for them to let you buy Steam games from their platform which makes it most likely something Xbox would try to do as they seem like a very rudderless ship as of late
 
They're gonna start talking about this thing officially next year, at this point.



Good luck to MS with another traditional Xbox.

But maybe I'm interpreting "traditional" in the sense of it having no alternative storefronts or Windows functionality (besides what Dev Mode already brings). Maybe their idea of a "traditional" Xbox is a bit different.

Tho it still wouldn't line up with the mentions of them shifting development from Xbox OS to Win32.



Well the other thing too is, systems like Series S & X are basically PC-like boxes architecture-wise with a few customizations here and there. PS5 is similar, in that it uses the same base CPU & GPU architecture, but it's more heavily customized.
I also think a 100% traditional Xbox console on a multiplataform strategie is a very bad option. You need to offer more and something different.

Well, in my opinion, MS's best option is a well-designed hardware/box, with customizations, while Microsoft will offer DevKit and support to developers and studios, as with traditional Xbox consoles. They will offer the most optimized version on the Xbox Store, while the "PC version" will be available on other stores, which will be accommodated in the OS.

Xbox console tradicional users will likely opt for the Xbox Store version, as it will be the best place to play on that console. Meanaly, they have acces to multiple games not on console or Xbox console as a PC user have.

Of course, I don't think in a Windows-console situation, like a current handheld where you can install Linux or SteamOS at your convenience. There is no business or benefit for the ecosystem in that option. 😅
 
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10m to 15m are you serious? I imagine you're trying to low ball it but that's a comical prediction whatever way you look at it.
Remember this is a machine being pitched with no exclusives and with potentially years of drastically cut supply and marketing of Series consoles.

This device is gonna be for the hardcore of the hardcore, the types that won't ever go with anything but Xbox no matter what.
 
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