Digital Foundry vs Xbox One backwards compatibility

[NathObeaN]

BMaker11 said:

NathObeaN said:

The difference is that this is free? MS aren't charing you for the 'privilage' of playing a game you may already own.

On the flip side to that, a remaster isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as sufficent effort has gone into making it. A simple 1080p ugprade is a poor excuse to charge customers for the same game again.

Most people don't have an issue with playing older games as long as it is either:

A. Free.

B. A significant upgrade to a game they have played before.

Of course this should always be accompanied by new games. If all you have to offer is remasters then that sucks too.

I really wish people would stop throwing around "free". You have 360 games that you own right now (assuming you have a 360 and games you still play, which would actually make XBOne BC a nonfactor for you, since you know not all games will play on it, and the ones that do will have a performance dip). You can play those games for "free". Every other game in the 1000+ library that you don't own? You have to go out and buy them (i.e. not free). And if you don't have a 360 and games because you sold them to get an XBOne, or you just didn't have a 360 last gen, then I reiterate, it's not "free", since you have to buy the games again (so the "hurr durr paying to play what you already own" can stop).

And the remastered games come with better performance and GOTY content. So, it's not even identical on-disc content we're talking about. It makes perfect sense to "charge customers for the same game" or should GOTY releases be free?.  

How are GOTY releases anything like remasters? If I purchase a game and all the DLC and then a GOTY edition comes out, what's the point in buying it? Whereas with a decent remaster, I might wait 5-10 years to reply a classic game that has been rebuilt with new visuals etc and has additonal content. 2 completely different things. For example, I played Halo 1 as a kid but never played it with anyone because the coop and MP was local only and I never got the chance when I was younger. When the anniversary edition came out it enabled me to play it online cooperatively and play the MP maps with people. Those kind of benifits are nothing like a 'GOTY' edition.

I have a PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, so no, BC is not a big deal for me personally. However, I know quite a few people that have an Xbox 360 and want to upgrade to this gen but don't want to trade in their old console and buy a new one knowing they can never touch their game library again (many people can't afford to buy a new console outright). This feature allows them to do just that.

As for the whole 'but it's limited' and 'but the performance dip'... It's only JUST been announced. It is still under the preview program and isn't coming out for another 6 months. At launch it will have over 100 games and even then, more games will be added over time.

My main point about it being 'free' is that people are criticising it and trying to poke holes it in, when it's free. What is there to complain about? Even if the performance was 50% and you could only play 50 games, it's free, there isn't anything to moan about? No one is being asked to pay a dime for this feature yet people still rant on the internet about it, bonkers if you ask me.

EDIT: I will also add, as an existing Xbox 360 owner, it just adds convenience. Occasionally I do want to play a 360 game, this feature means I don't have to turn on my old console, I just pop the disc in. It also means I can use the new controller, stay in touch with friends on XBL, take screenshots/videos if I want and hopefully in the future enjoy better performance (DF already noted 100% VSync).