Backwards compatibility a backwards notion, Xbox head says

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5 percent of customers play old games on newer systems, Mattrick says

Investing in backwards compatibility for Xbox One is a "backwards" notion, according to Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.

Only 5 percent of customers play games for previous systems on newer systems, Mattrick said, so the time and money required to get Xbox 360 games working on Xbox One is better spent elsewhere.

The Wall Street Journal noted a different survey, which indicated 12 percent of potential customers would be displeased by a lack of backwards compatibility in the new system.

We already knew Xbox One isn't backwards compatible, but Mattrick's comments may seem dismissive to customers with generous 360 libraries. They can always keep both systems plugged in, of course, but that's one less way Xbox One is actually an all-in-one entertainment solution.

Is backwards compatibility a big deal to you? Do you use any current-gen systems to play older games?

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.