14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's Xbox boss, Phil Spencer, can't promise backwards compatibility for the Xbox One platform but he confirms that he's listening to feedback on that aspect and that he hopes that DirectX 12 will bring at least some improvement to the performance of the home console.
The Xbox One came out last year, and surprising no one due to the negative image it had ahead of launch, failed to reach great sales or acclaim, as opposed to Sony's PS4, which captured the hearts and wallets of gamers.
However, after Phil Spencer started overseeing the Xbox division, things have been getting better, as through a price cut and quite a lot of deals, not to mention exclusives, the console is recovering from the shaky start.
Now, the head honcho has talked with The Inner Circle podcast and confirms, via DualShockers, quite a lot of interesting things about the Xbox One.
Spencer hears the demands for backwards compatibility
One greatly debated aspect of the Xbox One – backwards compatibility – is tackled head-on by Spencer, who says that, while no promises can be made just yet, he hears fans and knows about the situation of former Xbox 360 owners.
"[Backwards compatibility] is always a hot topic at the turn of a generation, and I get why, especially on 360 so many people bought so much digital content and it means that a lot of us are holding on to our 360s. I get the question. I totally respect the question. There’s nothing I can say now, but I’ll just say 'I hear you.' I definitely hear you and I’ll continue to try to work to build something that can help people out."
Recent reports have mentioned that through a cloud streaming service Microsoft might bring backwards compatibility to the Xbox One, similar to how Sony is doing with PlayStation Now.
DirectX 12 isn't going to double the performance of the Xbox One
Spencer has also moved on to another topic concerning DirectX 12 and how much the new technology will improve the Xbox One's performance. According to the executive, fans shouldn't expect the rumored doubling of performance, as there's only so much the API can do once it appears for the console.
"On the DX12 question, I was asked early on by people if DX12 is going to dramatically change the graphics capabilities of Xbox One and I said it wouldn’t. I’m not trying to rain on anybody’s parade, but the CPU, GPU and memory that are on Xbox One don’t change when you go to DX12," he says.
"DX12 makes it easier to do some of the things that Xbox One’s good at, which will be nice and you’ll see improvement in games that use DX12, but people ask me if it’s going to be dramatic and I think I answered no at the time and I’ll say the same thing."
As such, while backwards compatibility might arrive for the Xbox One eventually, don't expect the appearance of the DirectX 12 tech to bring that many changes.