Microsoft compatibility issues upsets Xbox 360 gamers

Stan Beer
Friday, 02 June 2006 07:43

Your IT - Home IT

The Xbox 360 games bulletin boards are buzzing with angry gamers complaining about Xbox 360 compatibility issues since Microsoft entertainment boss Peter Moore told games website Kikizo (www.kikizo.com) that the company has stopped working on making more Xbox games backwardly compatible.

A visit to gamers sites such as 1UP (www.1up.com), 8bitjoystick (www.8bitjoystick.com) and others will reveal stories and bulletin board posts complaining that Microsoft has left Xbox users in the lurch by only making some games compatible with Xbox 360. They have to keep their old Xbox machines if they want to keep playing many of their old games. Otherwise, they have to consider ditching many of their old games if they want to upgrade to Xbox 360.

According to a report on 1UP, gamers are upset because official Microsoft statements in 2005 had led Xbox gamers to believe that all Xbox games would be compatible witn Xbox 360. Now, after 10 million Xbox 360 consoles have already been sold, Microsoft's tune has changed.

While some Microsoft gamers don't seem to mind having to keep two consoles plugged in, others who have already sold their old Xbox systems only to find that they can no longer play many of their favourite games on Xbox 360 feel cheated. One poster pointed out that many video stores don't carry Xbox 360 games yet.

Comparisons with Sony and Nintendo, both of which make backward compatibility a central feature of their platforms, are starting to surface. Microsoft may well find that it cannot afford to ignore a seething cauldron of angry gamers and get back to work on making more Xbox games transferrable to Xbox 360. After all, this is not the PC desktop market and there are two very powerful competitors who are set to release new platforms before the end of the year, both which will provide a high level of backward compatibility.