The end of 2020 will signal the beginning of the next generation of console. Sony has confirmed the release of the PlayStation 5, and Microsoft will release the Xbox Series X. Despite the uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak, both developers remain confident that each console will hit the market on time. And so will begin the next chapter of the great console war. Which console takes an early lead in that war could well depend on how each one implements backward compatibility.
There had been rumors for months that the PS5 would not only have backward compatibility, but also come with the ability to play all PS games as far back as the PS1. That likely isn't true, or if it is, it hasn't yet been announced. Sony confirmed that most PS4 games will be compatible with the PS5. Meanwhile, Microsoft confirmed that the Series X will be compatible with all Xbox One games as well as thousands of games from released on its first two consoles.
Don't Force Gamers To Buy Expensive Games
Although pushing backward compatibility as far back as possible is cool, making games from the current generation of console should be considered essential. Chances are both consoles will be pretty expensive when first released, as will the limited number of titles released alongside them. Many who can afford the console might not be able to afford more than one or two games to go along with it. If the games they already own for their PS4 or Xbox One will work on the new console, that isn't as much of an issue in the short term.
The ultimate aim for both companies should be making the transition between consoles as easy as possible for players. When we move from one generation to the next, there are often titles that have a foot in each world. Backward compatibility can eliminate the need for that. Any developers with titles coming out on PS4 and Xbox One won't need to worry about no one buying their games due to new consoles arriving imminently. Players will still be able to play their games whether they buy a new console or not, thus leaving the sales of newly released games on previous consoles relatively unaffected.
Nostalgia = Dollars
Above all else, nostalgia equals money right now, seemingly in all forms of entertainment. Subsequently, waves of successful older games are currently being remade and remastered. This last point lends itself more to Xbox, which reaches further back into its past in terms of backward compatibility. If PlayStation is sticking with going back only one generation and no further, which seems likely, Xbox may have the edge over its rival this time around.
Gamers like to have choice, and what better way to do that than to provide them with as many past games as possible? Also, with more titles released than ever before, there's a very real chance some people won't have finished working their way through all of the titles released during this generation. Allowing that overlap will ensure the smoothest possible transition; Therefore, the console that does backward compatibility the best may very well be the one that wins this chapter in the great console war.