Unless they switch to another architecture at some point, there's no reason to assume this won't be done with the next Sony product tbh. Hell, even Nintendo.
Well, Scorpio itself will be different architecture.
The 360 is COMPLETELY different architecture and they've managed BC on that. I don't doubt that Microsoft from a
technical point of view will be able to achieve permanent backwards compatibility. If they can get 360 BC on Xbox One, they can pretty much do anything at this point.
Guys in the emulator scene who work day and night on this stuff have only just barely got a commercial 360 game going on beefy hardware. Microsoft's engineers have got 300 games not only running, but in most cases running better on piss weak hardware. What they're doing was deemed impossible prior to E3 2015.
This is just a silly semantic debate at this point. I stand by the idea that backward compatibility does not make a system "generationless." I also think it's a good idea to see if there is a follow up to the Scorpio before we start rewarding MS for their future work, especially because PlayStation (and probably Nintendo) will theoretically be doing the same.
Who is rewarding them? Given the sales position they're currently in? I don't think anyone is. The difference though with Sony and Nintendo, is that we're assuming they will. Neither has said anything publicly. I"m more inclined to believe Sony wants everyone on PlayStation Now and Nintendo, well....they're Nintendo. They're the company charging us thrice for our NES/SNES/N64 roms. At the very least MS has made their intentions known and taking them at their word, is the far more consumer friendly option.
This^
I am still amazed at how many people believing MS "No one left behind" pr they will support the XBO for one year at best then drop it. The only reason they are saying this is to not upset their fan base but once Scorpio in the market they will force you to upgrade with their sweet pr talk and software releases strategy
Xbox 360 backwards compatibility only exists because Microsoft knows they chose the wrong generation to fuck up in. This was the generation where ecosystems have really been established and the majority are now in Sony's ecosystem. That's going to be VERY hard to break now for Microsoft. Hence 360 BC was born and this attempt to remove traditional generations. By getting on the front foot and telling 360 owners their games will work going forward on any Xbox and their Xbox One games will work on any Xbox going forward, their trying to get people back in their ecosystem in the only way they really can at this point.
They're putting the ball squarely in Sony's court, or at least attempting to, because I'd wager that IF the PS5 doesn't play PS4 games, there's going to be a lot of pissed of PlayStation customers out there. As a PS4 owner myself, I"m far more hesitant to go digital on PS4 simply because I don't actually know whether my digital library will play on PS5. I'm now 100% digital on Xbox going forward because at least MS has publicly said "Yes, all your games will work on future Xboxes".
No doubt 360 BC and this generationless stuff was a desperate attempt to not only get people back, but try and change the narrative from "console sales" to "engagement and ecosystem spending".