Next-gen consoles Xbox 720 and Sony PS4 will “most likely not be backwards compatible”, according to EA CFO Blake Jorgensen.
During a Q&A session at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet conference, Jorgensen commented on the relationship between console generations, saying the upcoming Xbox 720 and PS4 would not be compatible with games from current Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 consoles.
“An important thing to remember is that next-gen consoles will most likely not be backwards compatible,” said Jorgensen. “If you [play] multiplayer on a game, you’ll most likely not be able to play with someone on a different generation.”
Due to this, Jorgensen believes current consoles will remain strong throughout fiscal year 2014 because players, and EA Sports customers in particular, won’t want to upgrade their gaming platform if they can’t carry over the game data they’ve invested time and money in to the new consoles.
“The reality is, is that fiscal year 2014 will still be a fairly large gen-three if there’s a console business that comes in at the tail end of the year, mainly because a lot of our titles are built around sports calendars,” explained Jorgensen.
“So if you’re a FIFA player, 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,” he added.
Sony could announce its new PS4 console, code named Orbis, at a Playstation event set for February 20 by a cryptic video posted by Sony. An Xbox 720 release date is altogether more elusive, with the next-gen Microsoft console tipped to launch at E3 2013.
Would a lack of backwards capability put you off the next-gen consoles? What are your favourite rumoured features of the Xbox 720 and PS4 so far? Give us your thoughts via the Trusted Reviews Facebook and Twitter feeds or the comment boxes below.
Via: Eurogamer
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
