Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Is Microsoft's Best Exclusive

Gadgets 360: "When you look at the current gaming landscape, backwards compatibility fills a need that most game companies choose to ignore. With every major publisher looking to make an open-world game tied into live services, online dependencies, and micro-transactions, game design seems to have been homogenised with familiar elements popping up in every title. You have checkpoints, markers, factions, allies, hub worlds, side-quests, large swathes of open spaces to raise havoc in, online multiplayer, expansion passes and a general disregard for narrative in favour of emergent experiences — leaving you to fill in the gaps of story as we’ve seen in the likes of Sea of Thieves and Destiny, among others.

All of this makes the ability to kick back and blast rebel scum in a Star Wars shooter without pay-to-win micro-transactions a breath of fresh air. There’s just enough of a visual upgrade to keep things fresh and gameplay is timeless enough to hold up despite the obvious lack of a vast empty world as a playpen."

[Nyxus]

That's... kinda sad.

[BiggerBoss]

Who needs new games when you can replay your old games??😂

[Eonjay]

It kinda defeats the purpose of upgrading.

[Kingthrash360]

The best exclusives are games that are not exclusive? With most even outside of the xbox and available on psnow and ps3? I mean they just warped the meaning of exclusivity so much that it means nothing and everything

[Silly Mammo]

"The best current generation console to play all the best games from past generations." - new Xbox slogan

[TheSaint]

Your old games you've already played to death.

[sreevenkat]

I think you do not need an XONEX to play old games.

[hamzilla]

maybe some of those "old" games ARE NEW for some users who missed or passed on them before but now can enjoy them with even better graphics and framerate (if you have a X or 1440p or higher screen)

[WickedLester]

LOL I was just about to post this...word for word!

[getbacktogaming]

It totally is sad!! But it makes me hopeful PS5 will be backwards compatible! I usually wait to upgrade my consoles until 2-3 yrs of library building but this way I would upgrade much sooner :). Imagine a PS5 that upgrades your PS4 games PS4 pro style and brings a whole new generation of improvements to new releases at the same time?

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

It's pretty great if you don't already own a 360... If you own a 360 I guess you don't need an Xone.

[UCForce]

This is just sad really.

[AspiringProGenji]

Yeah... kinda I glad I left when I could then. Playing old games I played already would have gotten old if there wasn’t anything new compelling game

[DarkVoyager]

When playing old games are you’re best exclusive you know you’ve messed up.

[DigitalRaptor]

Reliving former glory is your best asset?

I wonder how this narrative will play out when PS5 has backward compatibility and improved play of older titles.

[WilliamSheridan]

Sony will suddenly be a genius for having BC!

[ocelot07]

If the PS5 supports BC with PS4 games (am pretty sure it will) then they can take a page out of Microsoft's book but improve on it. For example on XB1X I believe you can play Fallout 3 in native 4K 30FPS? Well then I want Sony to go a step further I want them to patch say Last Of Us or God Of War to play in 4K 60FPS on the PS5.

[Rude-ro]

They have had it 3 out of 4 consoles.. not sure of your point

[MetalProxy]

Yeah Sony never did BC before! You get’em with your wit Mr Sheridan! /s

[Imalwaysright]

Yeah that would be the narrative around here but I'm not convinced that the PS5 will have BC.

[JackBNimble]

It will be genius for Sony to do the only that MS has left, after that, unless MS starts making new IPs, they got nothing.

[WilliamSheridan]

@MetalProxy you seem to have missed the point entirely...

[DigitalRaptor]

They will be sensible for having BC.

I know what you were attempting with your comment, but it failed.

[RosweeSon]

Like they already did on ps2/3 out of the box day1

[fonger08]

Hmm, I would argue it’s 4k player is its best exclusive.

[Goldby]

The og Xbox doesn't include it so it can't be used if talking about all their consoles. Bc though is on all of them

[fonger08]

Good point.

[PhoenixUp]

Let’s not go that far. Nobody said PS2’s best exclusives was it’s baclwards compatibility

[jznrpg]

Because PS2 has great games

[TallonIV]

Xbox One's BC is the best BC I've ever seen but it's not enough to carry a console. Every console needs exclusives IMO.

[BlackTar187]

You never owned ps2 or og ps3 then.

[The 10th Rider]

The Xbox actually automatically improves performance of old games though, hich is pretty awesome. I hope both Microsoft and Sony allow for backwards compatibility and enhanced performance when next gen comes out. If the console was powerful enough you could just start up a PS4/Xbox One copy of Witcher 3 and play it in 60fps

[TallonIV]

PS2 or og PS3 BC didn't increase the visual quality of the game.

[BlackTar187]

Didn't upscale but it included every single game.

[RosweeSon]

Exactly and that worked from day1 as it was planned as a feature not because they didn’t have any games still 3-4 years down the line. Even Nintendo’s BC is better than Microsoft’s after thought.

[BlackTar187]

Didn't upscale but it included every single game

[notachance]

nah, PC BC is the best BC

[badz149]

Pirate Bay is best BC

[narsaku]

Mechanical features aren't exclusives. PC's had this stuff for 30+ years.

Microsoft's best exclusive is probably Halo 5. You'd be hell and back hard pressed to find a better multiplayer game.

Thank god M$ lost this generation, or we'd likely see another console gen go by where you see idiots rebuying half their library again and praising/worshipping their fanatical favorite for the privilage of giving them scam money.

[mwjw696]

Stealth downvotes. O N4G your pathetic.

[drpepperdude]

Fanboy wars make you pathetic.

[thehitman1398]

The sad thing is, even though you was trying to be slick with your comment........

Sad thing is, it's there.
It's there on the internet forever.
It's there reminding you of how stupid you are. It's there for all to see.

Its there, it's there...

[drpepperdude]

I only game on Xbox One and even I wouldn't say Halo 5 is their best exclusive or even close to the best multiplayer game on the console. I'm not into Halo, Gears of War, or Forza at all personally.

[capjacksparrow]

Do you have it to play with your friends? Those are the main reasons I can see someone pick one console over another. Friends that share a platform or exclusives that a console has. I guess some people can argue the controller, but that point is moot, as people will conform to whichever controller they adopt after a short period of time (as evidenced by many people I know going from 360 to PS4 and vice versa).

I honestly don't understand the point of the XBO this generation. Maybe if they stuck with their initial vision; the "always on" policy, they may have been successful. As of now, they just have a super powerful console with the XBOne X that plays games I can play almost as well somewhere else, but in addition I have on offer some of the best games that have released the generation, ones that have released to critical acclaim (God of War, Uncharted 4, BloodBorne, Horizon, etc.).

I also don't want this taken as a slight, I am just sincerely curious. Is it a brand loyalty thing, because I could never understand that. I remember when I was younger going between whichever console provided the most entertainment for me, regardless of brand.

[Z501]

Who rebought half their gaming library?
Who's buying the same game twice, with multiple games?

*I think you made that up, imo.

[Elda]

Nothing wrong with playing old games but using that feature as a best option for a console first & foremost over playing brand new interesting compelling exclusives folks with common sense would have to ask themselves...what's the point??Smh.

[PETE1985]

I agree with this. BC is nice and tbh I am actually enjoins going through the Gears Of War series from the start and they have held up well at the higher res (gears 1 is the remaster of course). I have always had Xbox since the og and must admit some of why I will continue to have one is emotion (my best gaming memories are from 360).
That being said I will be getting a pro also for the Sony exclusives ones the price drops a bit.
Microsoft really need some single player AAA experiences.
They won’t catch up this gen but they could go into the next gen in a stronger position if they put some focus on exclusives now.

[drpepperdude]

My best memories are from the PS2 and no I don't have a PS4.

[Godmars290]

So...should have stuck with the 360...?

[yellowgerbil]

Well they did say if you don't want always online they have a system for you...

[rainslacker]

Mattrick told you you should. See...he wasn't all that bad after all.

[Godmars290]

Only they've - technically - made two consoles since the 360. The XB1 and XB1X. Three counting XB1S.

[2pacalypsenow]

Lol.

New metric of succes “Xbox one has the best Xbox 360 exclusives out of any console”

[rainslacker]

MS best exclusives were during the 360 years.

[S2Killinit]

Thats kind of sad isnt it?

[SpaceRanger]

Honestly, that's pathetic and ridiculous to suggest. If you bought a $500 console to play old games, then you should have stuck to the Xbox 360 and saved yourself money.

[TKCMuzzer]

Or bought a PS4. Sony exclusives and Xbox 360 exclusives is a pretty good combination.

I remember when Xbox 360 had the blades for a dashboard, i loved the blades......

[Ulf]

If I hadn't played most of the great games of the last gen, and I had to choose between them, and Sony's PS4 exclusives... yeah last gen would win, no contest. Sony has some good games this gen, but compared to the entire last gen catalog? No way.

PS Now should be FREE with PS+.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Easy, buy a 360 for <50 bucks for old games and a ps4 for new exclusives and multis. No need to throw out 200 for x1 or 500 for x1x for bc games.

But when somebody is a loyal hardcore fan he will justify his purchase with the most made up reasons.

[PETE1985]

I have a One x for multiplats at the moment as they are pretty much all better on the system. I will be getting a PS4 for the exclusives.
I find it strange that people completely forget about non exclusive games when making these remarks?
BC is not the reason a play my one x nearly every day!

[Ulf]

360 exclusives are solid 60 FPS with BC, bud. Why would I own a subpar PS4 when I can have better games on a XB1X? I'll wait for a PS5, if it even has BC, and then I'll pick up the couple Sony exclusives I care about. In the meantime, I'll be playing loads of great games, at the best framerate, and highest rez.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

This gen really is better than last gen, I'd rather have the ps4 and a 360, which I actually do. I can't see any reason to upgrade to a Xone.

[doggo84]

"If I hadn't played most of the great games of the last gen, and I had to choose between them, and Sony's PS4 exclusives... yeah last gen would win, no contest"

Excuses, excuses

[TKCMuzzer]

So, what your saying is, keep your Xbox 360.

[SkippyPaccino]

The best part about the Xbox one is that if you don't buy one you're not missing out... 😎

[doggo84]

^exactly

I get that this is a positive, but by saying it's the best thing on xbox one pretty much implies what you said..

[bluefox755]

Yeah, that's kind of the problem...

[Aura7541]

And what will happen when the PS5 is backwards compatible with PS4 games?

[yellowgerbil]

The same thing that happened when the ps2 and ps3 had it. A big heap of who gives a crap.

[S2Killinit]

Right? You gotta give it to MS for marketing BC like its sliced bread.

[PETE1985]

I don’t think this can be compared as Microsoft are doing BC better than it has been previously on any console.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@peter1985,

Really?wby do people forget the ps2/ps3 existed, that was the best implementation of BC.

[PETE1985]

@finalfantasyfanantic
They did have great BC but improving older games to the extent that Microsoft has with BC is something that other consoles have not done to this level before. Microsoft has done a LOT wrong but credit where it is due, the BC programme is a success.
I’m not talking about exclusives etc which it is obvious they have failed on.

[rainslacker]

I wish I could say that it will go back to not mattering, but lets face reality here. You know the fan boys are going to spend countless hours discussing why one does it better than the other. Plus, suddenly, MS will have been well ahead of their time because they did it this gen.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

... Total devastion? I really hope the ps5 has BC, there's no reason they can't.

[TeamIcoFan]

The fanboy defense of the lack of legit, great new exclusive games on XB1 is just sad now.

[Bobafret]

No, it's actually you obnoxious PS fans that make us defend it. You are all so unlikeable. At least your internet personas.

[TeamIcoFan]

Oh I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings by calling out the bullshit of fanboys defending a corporation that doesn't give two fucks about you snowflake?

Newsflash, features should never be the main focus for any console.
We buy them for new, exclusive games, period.

[Doabarrelroll]

Boo hoo the evil PS fans are mean to my piece of plastic and its corporation.

Someone get out the words smallest violin please

[PowerOfTheCloud]

Sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you guys defend literally everything these morons at ms say or do and include it in your daily mantra like a cult following.
It is sad that instead of turning against phil and the gang to do better for xbox, you retreated back as far as praising x1 bc as THE big thing xbox offers as if nobody ever had done it before(it never was a big thing back then), acting all cocky about it.

[Silly Mammo]

It's not like there isn't an article on N4G every week heralding some new BC game like it's a new huge exclusive release. So it really is hard to ignore if you visit this site on a regular basis.

[Bathyj]

Ha. It was the Xbox fans who brought this whole jerk bickering culture into gaming before the PS3 released. I never even heard of FUD before then.

There were rivalries before but gaming was never so toxic as Xbox fans jealousy and envy made it. Now Xbox is a shadow of its former self and and its fans don't like the (deserved) flack it cops?

I say you reap what you sow.

[OffRoadKing]

"You are all so unlikeable."

Pure definition of irony right there.

[UCForce]

And tell me this, do you think BC is system seller ? The system seller is always exclusive game. Seriously ? Have you forget about it ?

[Bobafret]

@prettygoodgamer

I remember the Ps1 and Ps2 days very differently. The Dreamcast and Sega fans were absolutely crapped on by Ps fans online at that time. After the DC died the Xbox was the new favorite whipping boy. Some people have a problem with facts disagreeing with thier narrative though.

[Einhander1971]

Yes and no, kudos to Microsoft for at least keeping older games alive and enhancing them. Just because most of you don’t give a monkeys about the great games that came before. Doesn’t mean everyone feels the same way, it may be a throw away medium to some but not to others.

[UCForce]

It’s nice features, but BC is never system sellers. PS2 did have BC but it wasn’t the system seller that make it popular. It was exclusive that made PS2 popular. PS4 sold more because of its exclusive.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

It's probably true, and that says a lot, one way or another.

[kayoss]

You know what's sad, There's a chance that the next xbox may come out in 2020 and the Xbox One X may not even have a major exclusive.

Microsoft: Hey guys, you want to upgrade from your 360 to a more expensive Xbox One X to play 360 games?
Xbox Fans: Throws money and their 360 at the screen

[Knightofelemia]

BC is a nice feature to a console enjoying older games again but have that as a system seller looks bad in my eyes I know for me system selling exclusives is what I am looking for in a console. You can load as many features into a console as you want but with out exclusives your just dead last in the race.

[ocelot07]

But PC is has like 20+ years worth of BC so it's not exclusive :)

[PowerOfTheCloud]

But but nobody likes pc........but but we want to sit on our chouches and play on our tv's..........but but i love xbox live.....

[ocelot07]

Xbox Live is now on PC thanks to the Windows 10 store games and it's free!!!

I know you where just being sarcastic. But I always sit on my couch while playing my PC games.

[Destiny1080]

old 360 games Is Microsoft's Best Exclusive

probably right

[doggo84]

Highlights how incredibly sad it is if a site "gadgets 360" thinks that

[Sayai jin]

It's a feature and shouldn't be the best thing going.

[IAreBeMrLee]

The best games of this gen is the best games of last gen...
Lol...

[RDF]

(facepalm)

[shaenoide]

If right... that's disappointing

[Inzo]

I am at a point where Im actually feeling sorry for the Xbox community and I actually hope that they get some good news at E3 because this is just sad and getting somewhat embarrassing.

[ILostMyMind]

🤔 I have to agree.

[Artemidorus]

Terrible to rely on recycled games on a powerful machine.

[TheOttomatic91]

Pretty much yes, it's the only good thing they've done this gen

[King_Lothric]

A very sad story. Overall, that's Xbox one story this generation, very sad.

[nRicosS]

Huahahahahahhah

[shauzy]

tbh im glad i can play RDR with stable fps, other than that i dont know what else to play

[Ninjamonkey82]

posted in wrong place nintendo comment :(

[Xavi4K]

Well its amazing feature hate microsoft as much as you want...but thats something no other console did..what makes it better is the the enhancment thease games get I mean SSX3 looks crazy on the X

[OffRoadKing]

Only its not exclusive and even if it was that wouldn't be something anyone should claim is the "best".

[Bathyj]

What happens next gen when they have nothing left to BC because they didn't make enough games this gen?

[TheColbertinator]

How is that helpful to me since I still own the 360 and it actually plays every game from back then?

Still got my OG Xbox also. Microsoft needs new games,bottom line.

[Kosic]

There was 2 reasons I bought an Xbox one was split TV screen (watch TV/YouTube while you game) and backwards compatibility.

After the pop TV thing was so poor and lagged like hell, I lost hope in the original Xbox one.
Then I just continued to play my ps4. BC is a nice feature but it wasn't enough to save me from selling my Xbox one month's after buying it.

[gazgriff2k12]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Who approved this crap?

[hamzilla]

It is a nice feature to have especially if you owned the games in the past and can replay them again with enhanced graphics if you own a X and 1440p or 4K screen. I found out the other day that FINALLY EA has brought Burnout Revenge 360 edition to backwards play and that is the one game I almost bought a 360 again just to play but now I dont have to and can use it on my X along with other great classics like SSX3 Conkers, Morrowind, Oblivion along with Skyrim, Witcher 3, and the enhanced Gears of War 2 and RDR make it so worth playing them again for the crisper graphics. I hope next we get Quake 4, Duke Nukem Forever, Max Payne 3 to re-play with X enhancements. If there is one thing I hope Sony thinks about next gen it is this. When I get my PS5 I really hope I can still play my PS4 games off it to not have to change wires/system over and over to play stuff... Funny how Sony did it on PS2 and PS3 though. Speaking of X upgrades.... I really hope rock* updates GTA5 someday on X.... it could really benefit from it

[StormLegend]

When playing old 360 games is the best thing you're console have, that's when you know the company needs help. Phil Spencer has done nothing since taking over and things are looking worse by the min. The one X is a PC that can't even play every last gen game without it being patched in. I would rather just spend that $500 on a real PC.

[corroios]

Buy the most powerfull console to play old games. Its a good catch phrase.

[EpicFruityPie]

yeah I totally wanna spend a few hundred to play all the games I already own on a new console (let alone re buy them)
Backwards Compatibility is stupid I still own my old consoles if I want old games ill plug my older consoles in

[Markusb33]

What a sad title to an extremely sad damage control article. I wonder if damage control is even worth using now? Since Sony took this gen a few years back. Ms will be 3rd place soon

[LiamKreptic]

Ha! I love comedic articles on a Sunday!!!