It's not that big. It's not even true BC, they will never get all of the games to work.

I was thinking exactly about those two. The Wii U is tanking with BC, and the PS3 started to sell better after BC was removed as a cost-cutting measure. I guess MS might have thought this was a good way to stop their US userbase from defecting to the PS4 and assure brand loyalty, but its benefits are still to be seen.

100 games backwards compatible is 100 more games to play on X1. Most of which likely weren't going to be ported. But lets not just talk numbers, this will allow people to play many notable 360 games without needing a 360. That's not a bad thing.

OG Xbox emulation support wasn't perfect, but it still allowed us to play notable Xbox games on the 360. No reason to neglect what it did well simply because it wasn't perfect.

Based on the Xbox official website, Gears of War is going to BC with the X1. Along with Halo and other notable MS published games.

The real game changer is how MS is doing it. Allowing us to use our physical and digital content is amazing, I never thought that would happen.

Well MS is doing BC in a smart way. It doesn't increase the cost of the hardware while improving the X1 library.

Sony is actually trying to do the same thing now with PS Now. It was marketed as a service to bolster the software playable on their hardware.

Gaikai PS3 titles should have been free of charge to those who already own the disks. (AFAIK they aren't, right?)

Sony might think about it now. Or maybe a PS2/PS1 emulator...

Either way, I don't think much will change. Maybe a little in the US before Sony drops the good stuff next year.

I think this is part of the reason they are doing it.  But, just like the examples I gave, that didn't help them in the US, either.  The fact is, people are jumping to next gen for next gen games, or even partly for remasters with near next gen improvements.  Not to play the exact games, with no graphical improvements, they have been playing for years already. It may push a slight few who are the fence to decide to get a XBO, but it won't change the overall picture.

B/C is like a nice icing on a cake.  People aren't going to eat a cake they don't really like the taste of, just because you put a sweet icing on the top of it.

B/C is a big deal for enthusiasts, but for the mainstream gamer it doesn't mean anything. I absolutely love that they tackled this issue and made B/C available though.

Well its a little more complicated then you think. MS needs permission to even allow a game to backwards compatible on X1.

Sony can't let people access their already owned games on PS Now unless the publishers allow it. Furthermore, PS Now is a video streaming service and bandwidth is expensive. Hence, it would be very expensive for Sony to give people free access to games they already own via PS Now.

I don't think Sony is interested in backwards compatibility unless they can sell the games again. Which I would presume has been very profitable for them.

Frankly, I'm confused why people are looking for a negative spin. Its not going to launch the X1 into mega success, but its certainly something all gamers should appreicate given its a great feature at no extra cost.

Didnt the Ps4 dones the BC thing too, but in a different way? Im not sure if Xone had that same idea, it would turn out better. But IMO if the company has the time and effort they put into the BC rhing, then why not? Especially how you can sell your old console to buy other things too.

I'm in the middle, as I do think it's going to have an impact, but how big or small said impact is depends on a couple of factors.

First, console trade-in deals. Haven't really been keeping track myself, but there certainly seemed to be some decent ones floating about, wherein you handed in your 7th gen console, and got a fairly nice discount when purchasing an 8th gen console. (Seem to remember seeing one that gave you 150$ credit, which would turn the X1's current price to pretty darn cheap.) Of course, normally the trade-off to this is that you no longer have your 7th gen console, and can't play any of the games from that generation anymore, barring remasters. A library of 7th gen titles that function on the Xbox One does have the potential to make future trade-in deals more appealing, with a sense of 'I Can Have My Cake, And Eat It Too.'

HOWEVER, the extent to which the above happens depends on the second point; how quickly they can get the library of available games up to its peak, and what that peak is going to be. If they wait too long, there might well be such a backlog of 8th gen games for new purchasers, accessing 7th gen titles just might not be that vital a selling point. Whatever the case, the 'must keeps' are going to be different for each person, but the wider a net Microsoft can cast in terms of 360 games compatible with their hardware, the more likely someone is to put their 360 (and whatever titles they don't need) in trade towards the purchase of the one console they can still play their preferred 7th gen titles on.

So, yeah. I think it has the potential to make a solid impact, in conjunction with trade-in deals and peak-sales-periods temporary price cuts, but HOW MUCH of an impact will largely depend on implementation.