您可能已经在有关当前和下一代游戏机的对话中听到过“向后兼容性”一词。尤其是微软为Xbox One增加的向后兼容性在游戏界引起了不小的轰动。
你可能想知道有什么大不了的。什么是 Xbox 向后兼容性？
向后兼容的含义(The Meaning Of Backwards Compatibility)
向后兼容的概念非常简单。当一家公司推出新版本的媒体设备时，它仍然可以播放为其前身创建的媒体。在某些情况下，它也可以与一些为旧机器设计的配件一起使用。
向后兼容性在过去实际上很常见。例如，世嘉创世纪(Sega Genesis)（又名MegaDrive）实际上与世嘉主系统(Sega Master System)兼容。您只需要一个墨盒(All)适配器(cartridge adapter)。同样，PlayStation 2完全向后兼容PlayStation 1游戏。
这意味着玩家没有理由阻止升级到新主机。他们知道他们现有的游戏库(game library)可以在新机器上运行。
然而，当一代控制台(console generation)与下一代控制台之间的硬件存在根本性和根本性差异时，提供向后兼容性可能既困难又昂贵。感谢主机制造商在Xbox 360和Playstation 3时代的一些实验，Xbox向后兼容性已被搁置。
然而，随着下一代游戏机希望坚持当前的架构(current-generation architecture)，它可能会再次成为标准功能。
Xbox 主机世代回顾(A Recap of Xbox Console Generations)
现有三代Xbox 控制台(Xbox console)，在撰写本文时，第四代正在火热：
- Xbox（现在称为“原始 Xbox”）
- Xbox 360
- Xbox One（包括加强版的Xbox One X）
- Xbox Series X（即将到来的下一代）
它们中的每一个都有自己的向后兼容性怪癖。那么让我们看看哪些游戏可以在哪些游戏机上运行。
控制台的 Xbox 向后兼容性(Xbox Backwards Compatibility By Console)
最初的Xbox根本没有向后兼容性。这(Which)很有意义，因为它是第一代 Xbox(Xbox generation)。它的发布是为了与PlayStation 2竞争，因此它的游戏外观和感觉就像那个游戏时代的大多数游戏。
Xbox 360向后兼容原始 Xbox 游戏。但是，它并不与所有这些都兼容。有一些经过认证可在Xbox 360上运行的原始Xbox游戏的(Xbox)列表(list)相当短。您还需要一台带硬盘的Xbox 360 ，因为这些游戏的兼容性是通过系统更新添加的。(Xbox 360)
鉴于 Xbox One 硬件与 Xbox 360 硬件有多么不同，Xbox One 的推出(Xbox One)并(Xbox One hardware)没有向后(Xbox 360)兼容，也没有人预料到它。然后微软(Microsoft)的天才们在他们的Xbox 360模拟器上取得了突破，现在有一长串经过测试和认证的Xbox 360和原始Xbox游戏可以在Xbox One上运行。
至于将跟随Xbox One的游戏机，几乎可以肯定它会向后兼容Xbox One游戏，但根据系统设计师(according to the system designers)的说法，目标是让这款新游戏机向后兼容每一代Xbox。时间(Time)会证明他们是否成功。
如何玩向后兼容的 Xbox 游戏(How To Play Backwards-Compatible Xbox Games)
如果您是Xbox 360 的拥有者，那么要玩原始Xbox游戏，您只需弹出光盘即可。确保您运行的是最新版本的系统软件(system software)，即。您还可以在Xbox Live 商店(Xbox Live store)中找到作为数字下载的原始Xbox游戏，但当然您必须购买它们。
过程大致相同。当您将Xbox 360光盘插入Xbox One时，控制台将下载该游戏的数字副本，该副本已经过优化，可与Xbox One上的(Xbox One)Xbox 360模拟器一起使用。光盘本身仅用于验证您是否拥有游戏副本。
如果您以数字方式购买了向后兼容列表中的(compatibility list)Xbox 360游戏，您只需将它们下载到您的Xbox One。这些不需要原始光盘在驱动器中。如果您将Xbox 360游戏放入不在向后兼容性列表中的(compatibility list)Xbox One中，您将收到一条错误消息，告诉您该游戏还无法运行。
请务必更新您的系统软件(system software)，以防同时添加了该标题。尽管在撰写本文时，微软(Microsoft)已经暂停了认证项目(certification project)。
限制和要记住的事情(Limitations & Things To Keep In Mind)
Xbox One(Xbox One isn)在硬件层面(hardware level)上不向后兼容上一代游戏机。这意味着它使用仿真(emulation)来播放较旧的标题。从本质上讲，这是一种创建旧控制台虚拟版本的软件技术(software technique)，诱使软件认为它在原始硬件上运行。
虚拟化整个控制台需要相当多的处理能力，因此在基本型号(base model)Xbox的限制下， (Xbox)Xbox 团队(Xbox team)能够使其工作得如此出色，这令人印象深刻。
如果您有幸拥有一台增强型Xbox One X 游戏机，那么某些Xbox 360游戏会提供“ Xbox One X 增强(Xbox One X enhanced)”模式。这些游戏具有更高的分辨率、更快和更一致的帧速率，并且通常比在原始游戏机上运行得更好。
但是，由于对仿真的依赖，不太可能将所有上一代游戏(previous-generation game)都添加到列表中。至少在Xbox One上不是这样。随着更强大的 Xbox 一代的出现，我们很可能会看到兼容游戏的列表急剧扩大。
Xbox Backwards Compatibility Explained
Υou mіght have heard the term “backwards compatibility” thrown around in conversations aboυt current and next-generation сonsoles. In partіcular, Microsoft’s addition of backwаrds compatibility to the Xbox One made quite а sрlash in gaming circles.
You may be wondering what the big deal is. What is Xbox backwards compatibility?
The Meaning Of Backwards Compatibility
The concept of backwards compatibility is pretty simple. When a company brings out a new version of media device, it can still play media created for its predecessor. In some cases it may also work with some of the accessories designed for the older machine.
Backwards compatibility was actually pretty common in the past. For example, the Sega Genesis (aka MegaDrive) was actually compatible with the Sega Master System. All you needed was a cartridge adapter. Similarly, the PlayStation 2 was fully backwards-compatible with PlayStation 1 games.
This meant players had no reason to hold back from upgrading to the new console. They knew that their existing game library would work on the new machine.
However, backwards compatibility can be both difficult and expensive to offer when there are radical and fundamental differences in the hardware between one console generation and the next. Thanks to some experimentation by console makers during the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 era, Xbox backwards compatibility has been put on the backburner.
With the next generation of consoles looking to stick with current-generation architecture however, it may again become a standard feature from this point onwards.
A Recap of Xbox Console Generations
There are three existing generations of Xbox console, with a fourth generation coming in hot at the time of writing:
- Xbox (now referred to as the “Original Xbox”)
- Xbox 360
- Xbox One (Which includes the beefed up Xbox One X)
- Xbox Series X (the upcoming next generation)
Each of these have their own backwards compatibility eccentricities. So let’s look at which games will work on which consoles.
Xbox Backwards Compatibility By Console
The original Xbox has no backwards compatibility at all. Which makes perfect sense, since it’s the first Xbox generation. It was released to compete with the PlayStation 2 and so it’s games look and feel like most titles from that era of gaming.
The Xbox 360 is backwards compatible with original Xbox titles. However, it’s not compatible with all of them. There’s a rather short list of original Xbox games that are certified to work on the Xbox 360. You also need an Xbox 360 with a hard drive, since compatibility for these games are added through system updates.
The Xbox One did not launch with backwards compatibility and no one expected it, given how different Xbox One hardware is from Xbox 360 hardware. Then the geniuses at Microsoft had a breakthrough with their Xbox 360 emulator and now there’s a long list of tested and certified Xbox 360 and original Xbox games that will work on the Xbox One.
As for the console that will follow the Xbox One, it’s almost certain that it will be backwards compatible with Xbox One games, but according to the system designers, the aim is to make this new console backwards compatible with every previous generation of Xbox. Time will tell whether they succeed.
How To Play Backwards-Compatible Xbox Games
If you are an Xbox 360 owner, then all you have to do in order to play original Xbox games is pop the disc in. After making sure that you are running the latest version of the system software, that is. You can also find original Xbox games as digital downloads on the Xbox Live store, but of course you’ll have to buy them.
The process is largely the same. When you insert your Xbox 360 disc into your Xbox One, the console will download a digital copy of the game that has been optimized to work with the Xbox 360 emulator on the Xbox One. The disc itself is only used to verify that you own a copy of the game.
If you’ve bought Xbox 360 games digitally that are on the backwards compatibility list, you can simply download them to your Xbox One. These don’t require the original disc to be in the drive. Should you put an Xbox 360 game into the Xbox One that isn’t on the backwards compatibility list, you’ll get an error messaging telling you the game won’t work yet.
Be sure to update your system software, in case that title has been added in the meantime. Although, at the time of writing, Microsoft has paused the certification project.
Limitations & Things To Keep In Mind
The Xbox One isn’t backwards compatible with previous-generation consoles on a hardware level. Which means it uses emulation to play older titles. Essentially, this is a software technique that creates a virtual version of the older console, tricking the software into thinking that it’s running on original hardware.
Virtualizing an entire console takes quite a lot of processing power, so it’s quite impressive that the Xbox team were able to make it work so well given the limits of the base model Xbox.
If you’re lucky enough to own one of the beefed-up Xbox One X consoles, then certain Xbox 360 titles offer an “Xbox One X enhanced” mode. These games feature higher resolutions, faster and more consistent frame rates and generally run much better than they ever did on the original consoles.
However, thanks to the reliance on emulation, it’s unlikely that every previous-generation game will be added to the list. At least not when it comes to the Xbox One. With the more powerful Xbox generation on the horizon, we may very well see the list of compatible titles expand dramatically.
