Xbox One is blazing a trail for multi-generational backward compatibility

Backward compatibility is not new. ColecoVision’s 1982 Expansion Module 1 and Sega’s 1989 Power Base Converter set the stage for new consoles to play older models’ games. But it’s not a mandatory feature, either. Nintendo famously infuriated parents by leaving NES support out of the SNES, and of all the consoles released since then, perhaps half have included backward compatibility. Some people have even downplayed its importance.

Microsoft has deeply embraced backward compatibility, and its recent implementation with the Xbox One and Xbox One X is the best I’ve ever seen. In prior generations, it has sufficed — and often been challenging — for a console to run its immediate predecessor’s games as well as they ran on the original hardware. Sony has twice included old PlayStation chips inside next-gen consoles just to support earlier games, only to pull the extra chips from lower-priced “slim” models. But now Microsoft has accomplished a multi-generational feat through software, taking 2001-vintage Xbox games and transforming them into 2018-ready 4K.