Top Story
Thousands of classics are backwards-compatible with Xbox Series X
Backwards-compatibility is a bit of a holy grail for console owners, since it would allow them to keep playing their old games on next-generation consoles – and Microsoft claims Xbox Series X will finally be fully backwards-compatible.
In a new Xbox blog update, Microsoft’s Jason Ronald says that they have completed “100,000 hours of play testing already,” and that “thousands of games” are “already playable on Xbox Series X today, from the biggest blockbusters to cult classics and fan favorites.” He added that “switching between generations is seamless.”
All native: “Backwards compatible games run natively on the Xbox Series X hardware, running with the full power of the CPU, GPU and the SSD. No boost mode, no downclocking, the full power of the Xbox Series X for each and every backward compatible game.” Older games can also be enhanced with “significant reductions in in-game load times from the massive leap in performance”.
No extra work: He secifically mentions all Xbox One games “and earlier” working on Xbox Series X. The new Quick Resume feature should also support legacy games, and all this and more can happen with “no additional work from title developers.” Read the whole update to learn more.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
Which vital mechanic was removed from the US version of Resident Evil?
- Auto-AimTargeting
- Herb Mixing
- Ink Ribbons
- Item Boxes
The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today’s issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.
Daily Fact
Pokémon Sun & Moon celebrated the series’ 20th anniversary with changes
Pokémon Sun & Moon for Nintendo 3DS marked the Pokémon franchise’s 20th anniversary. It was game director Shigeru Ohmori’s debut on a new generation of titles, and he introduced Trials & Totem Pokémon to replace Pokémon gyms and help tie the game to the tropical Aloha region.
The character Sophocles had another nod to the series’ 20th anniversary: a T-shirt with a picture of a Game Boy with a link cable attached. The early Game Boy games like Pokémon Blue & Red required a physical cable for trading, later replaced by wireless connections that made trading much easier and more accessible.
Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today’s fact.
SEGA Announcement
Japanese magazine Famitsu will publish big Sega news next week
Something is clearly brewing, since Famitsu journalist Zenji Nishikawa claims to have a scoop as big as Wired’s PlayStation 5 exclusive.
Whatever the big story might be, it’ll be published in the June 4th issue of Weekly Famitsu, and Nishikawa mentioned Sega during a live stream. When asked for clarification, he said, “Did I say Sega? Then it’s Sega.” He said that the scoop is not related to the Dreamcast, so don’t expect any Dreamcast Mini.
Exclusive scoop: “My column in next week’s issue of Famitsu is crazy. I got a huge scoop… It’s a world premiere article. And an exclusive. It may not be Nikkei or Weekly Bunshun, but if you want to know if it’s a scoop that big…it totally is! It’s a scoop from a game company that everyone loves. An insane scoop,” Nishikawa boasted.
60 years of Sega: “…it’s OK for me to tease it (laughs). I was told that it’s OK to do so at various meetings. It’s being talked about in other places. Just not by the media. It’ll rile up the games industry.” It’s probably not a coincidence that Sega’s 60th anniversary – which the company has been celebrating all year – is on June 3rd.