14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts has hinted that the upcoming next-generation consoles, aka the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720, might not feature backwards compatibility, which means that those who buy the new devices won't be able to play PS3 or Xbox 360 titles on them.
Next-generation consoles are eagerly awaited by millions of gamers from around the world who already got tired of their PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 devices.
In the last few months, more and more rumors have appeared but now Electronic Arts strongly hints that the new consoles won't have backwards compatibility with current devices.
"We have internally, but no one externally has really seen what the look and feel will be like on the new consoles. So I'll reserve judgment other than to say that I think people are going to be pretty excited," said EA's Chief Financial Officer, Blake Jorgensen, via Gamasutra, about next-gen consoles.
According to Jorgensen, the new consoles will "likely" eliminate backwards compatibility, so players will have to make some tough decisions in regard to both buying the consoles and buying games for them.
"An important thing to remember is that next-gen consoles will most likely not be backwards compatible," he said. "And if you [play] multiplayer on a game, you'll most likely not be able to play with someone on a different generation."
Jorgensen has exemplified this problem with the company's annual FIFA installments, saying that this fall, fans will get the game for current consoles, but once the new consoles appear around Christmas, they'll need to buy those devices and another copy of FIFA that only works on the PS4 or Xbox 720.
"If you're a FIFA player and, and the soccer season's starting in August, and all your friends are playing FIFA, you're going to want to be on the same box that they're on. So if they all go out and buy a gen-four box if it comes out at Christmas, then you'll most likely do it. If they all hold on and continue to play on third-generation, you'll probably not see that box purchase until after the soccer season's over."
While it's far from a confirmation, it's quite likely that EA's insider knowledge is legit and that both the PS4 and Xbox 720 won't feature backwards compatibility and that both might appear until the end of the year.