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Traditionally, consoles would have a life cycle for about seven years or so—more or less depending on the specific console and its success—and then the next generation of consoles would replace them. Sometimes these consoles had backward compatibility, allowing the previous console’s games to be played on them, but sometimes they wouldn’t. For recent consoles, backward compatibility has been rare.
Mike Ybarra, the Director of Program Management for Xbox, recently spoke with The Guardian about Project Scorpio. According to Ybarra, the rise of mobile phones has changed the market. New phone models come out frequently, so consumers “are more used to upgrading fast.”
While this opens the potential for shorter console cycles, the nature of phone upgrades means that these consumers are also used to compatibility. They can upgrade their phones without losing the ability to play their previous apps and games, and now the market wants the same from video game consoles.
This led to the new approach Microsoft is taking with Xbox: a family of Xbox One consoles that includes the current Xbox One, the slimmer Xbox One S, and the enhanced Scorpio.
The intention is that this will provide customers with a choice. Those who want to upgrade can, while others can stick with the older model. Compatibility—where all new Xbox One games will be playable on all versions of the console—is a key focus. Microsoft wants players to be able to choose their hardware without limiting their choice of games.
Backward compatibility has been a noteworthy point so far for the Xbox One, as Microsoft has already made a growing number of Xbox 360 games playable on it as well. Upgradable consoles could change the face of the console market forever, and if Microsoft succeeds in offering customers hardware choices without sacrificing compatibility, it could prove to be an excellent move in the long run.
