Xbox One Executive Addresses Report Concerning Low Backward Compatibility Use
Xbox One’s backward compatibility is one of the features praised across the gaming industry as bringing old-school titles to the present and making them relevant again. It was also one of the most requested features to come to the current generation of Micrsoft console. However, according to a recent data report, it looks as though backward compatibility is not as commonly used as one might think. Even a Sony executive had some words to say in regards to it.
Arstechnica‘s report states that Xbox One users “largely ignore” 360 games that are backwards compatible. In a sample of 930 thousand active Xbox Live users through the course of five months (September 2016 to February 2017), they found that 1.5 percent of that time was ever used to play older games. That means that even within a pool of over 300 titles to choose from, the older generation games were rarely played.
Their data resulted in an average of 24 minutes of gameplay per user. So, while it has been a most requested feature, the information collected from arstechnica seems to contradict the actual amount of time it is utilized. That is within the realm of reasoning that this data is accurate and variables have been controlled and accounted for. Check out the charts they created in the gallery below:
In response to Arstechnica’s report, Xbox One executive Mike Nichols tweeted some recent information regarding the usage of the console’s backward compatibility feature. Essentially, personal Microsoft data shows that approximately 50% of Xbox One owners have played 360 games since purchase, resulting in over 508 million hours of game time. While that doesn’t address whether or not users still currently player BC games, Phil Spencer chips in to answer any gaps.
“Usually one or two BC games in our daily top played games,” Spencer responded to a user via Twitter. “Usage remains high. Quality games last and are worth playing.”
So, could one say that Arstechnica’s report was faulty? Not necessarily. It’s possible that the data could have been true for that time, but regardless of the measure of hours played – it is still hours of 360 games being played. It is a feature for the consumer, which means that it can be used as they well please. People continue to enjoy it and that’s what matters.
What do you think of the data shown versus what Xbox One executives are saying? Do you think any of this matters? Feel free to leave any thoughts or comments in the section below or begin a conversation on Don’t Feed the Gamers official Facebook and Twitter! For more awesome gaming news, check out the articles below:
Hoi Duong2131 Posts
Hoi is an elusive figure at DFTG, whose favorite past-times include chillin' in the Fade, reading manga, watching anime, collecting novelty items, and gaming.
