One of the great challenges that the video game industry must address is the very preservation of its past. With the launch of new consoles, backward compatibility is getting more and more complicated And today it is easier to use the systems of yesteryear than the current platforms to play works from decades ago.
In the line of promoting a common front with all members of the industry, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, has spoken again. In an interview on Axios, Spencer explained that “my hope (and I think I have to present it that way from now on) is that, as an industry, we would work on a legal emulation that would allow modern hardware to run any older programs (within reason) that allows someone to play any game. “
Recently, Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S have received a new batch of backward compatible video games, although it will be the last that Microsoft can offer due to legal and technical problems. “I think in the end, if we said, ‘Hey, anyone should be able to buy any game, or own any game and keep playing‘That looks like a big North Star to us as an industry, “says Spencer.
The executive also spoke about the CMOS stack, so feared in PlayStation systems as it compromises the future operation of games. “The hardware team is hearing the message that our consoles should … enable the ongoing relationship between the player and the content they own. So, as, we hear the message, teams are analyzing the details“, has clarified Spencer.
The truth is that it is not the first time that Phil Spencer has given his opinion on this issue. This year it has already valued the possibility of the industry coming together in this sense and vindicated the role of Xbox Game Pass for preservation. Hideki Kamiya also believes that it is critical that companies support access to content from the past.