At the time, consumers were generally expected to start their gaming collection from scratch whenever a new console came out and hold on to the necessary hardware if they ever wanted to replay older games.
There was also a common consensus in the industry that people probably didn’t want to play last-gen titles, something which Microsoft has since categorically disproved.
In an interview with TRG, we spoke with Xbox’s director of program management Jason Ronald about the team’s backward compatibility journey, the challenges they faced along the way, and the importance of game preservation in the future.
Power your dreams
Jason Ronald, director of program management at Xbox. (Image credit: Microsoft)
In 2015, Microsoft rocked E3 with a seismic announcement: backward compatibility was coming to Xbox One. Fans could look forward to playing Xbox 360 and original Xbox games again, and even use the original disk, play over Xbox Live, and access their old save files if they’d been uploaded to the cloud.
The raucous cheers that erupted throughout the Microsoft Theater on that day ultimately solidified one thing: people still wanted to play these older games that were cherished by the gaming community.
Jason Ronald, director of program management at Xbox, still remembers those cheers today, and how they helped invigorate the team behind Microsoft’s ambitious project.
“When we announced it – it’s probably the biggest reaction I’ve ever seen at one of our press conferences,” Ronald says with a smile.
“It just really gave confidence to the team. Like, we’re on the right path. We’re listening to the fans, we’re listening to the community, and they love what we’re doing. And that’s really been what’s powered the entire backward compatibility program since then.”
“We had no idea what kind of challenges we’d run into, whether they’re technical or legal or licensing.”
But how did Microsoft overcome the seemingly impossible technical challenges that prevented backward compatibility on Xbox One in the first place? Ronald stressed that, once again, it was the community that initially inspired the team at Xbox to focus on making backward compatibility work.
“We had seen the feedback from the community that backward compatibility was one of the top requested features to try to add to the Xbox One program. But to be completely honest, we actually didn’t know if it was going to be possible,” Ronald explains.
“If you look at the architecture of an Xbox 360 versus an Xbox One, they’re fundamentally different architectures. And we didn’t know if we were going to be able to emulate some of these games, or what kind of problems we would run into.”
Undeterred by the possibility that the team might hit a dead end, Ronald and a group of colleagues set off on tackling the monumental challenge set before them.
“We built a small team of some of our top engineers and we kind of squirreled them away,” Ronald recalls.
“We said, ‘Hey, give us a year. Let us see if we can actually make this work.’ And I remember the first time I saw an Xbox 360 game running – it was that moment where, all of a sudden, you believed it was possible.”
As Ronald reiterates, the team at Xbox really didn’t know if backward compatibility would even work, nor could they predict the other hurdles they’d face along the way.
“We had no idea what kind of challenges we’d run into, whether they’re technical or legal or licensing. So it was an entire journey. Over that year, we really had all these amazing milestones where we started instilling more and more belief in the team and our ability to go do it,” Ronald says, clearly brimming with pride.
Level up
The Xbox One X was powerful enough to run some Xbox 360 titles at a native 4K. (Image credit: Microsoft)
“We’re also kind of pushing these games further than they’ve ever been pushed before.”
The team’s belief led to a number of innovations that could modernize some backward compatible games, and it all started with Xbox One X enhancements. Using the additional graphical horsepower of the Xbox One X, Microsoft was able to bring 4K resolutions to 720p games like Red Dead Redemption and Final Fantasy XIII, along with many others.
On the newest Xbox Series X and S generation of consoles, things went even further. Microsoft introduced FPS Boost and Auto HDR, which could double and even quadruple the frame rate of older titles, as well as add high dynamic range to games that were released before HDR was even invented.
Not only did these technical improvements help transform original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games into feeling new again – something that was typically only reserved for full-priced remakes or remasters – but these updates were completely free.
So will we see any more FPS Boost titles in the future? Ronald refused to rule it out but did explain why it isn’t as easy as flicking a switch.
“To be honest, we don’t really know right now,” Ronald says candidly.
“One of the challenges that we have on some of the enhancements and the capabilities that we have is that we do all of this with no code changes to the actual original game. So, as we identify new techniques of enhancing and optimizing titles, oftentimes, we know it won’t work on all games. And I think FPS Boost is a great example of that, where we’re kind of tricking the game into running at a much higher frame rate.
“And some games it just works really well. But there have been other games that 99% of the game looks and plays amazing. But then we actually discover a game-breaking bug 80% of the way through or 90% of the way through,” says Ronald. “And a lot of times, we try to come up with solutions, and we see if we can work through those issues. But since we treat it as a black box, we don’t have the ability to change the game code directly.
“It’s one of those challenges. But we’re also kind of pushing these games further than they’ve ever been pushed before. And unfortunately, some of the techniques just don’t work across all games.”
Digging up the past
FPS Boost has revitalized countless older games. (Image credit: Microsoft)
“I will say every game is a unique challenge. And that’s one of the harder things to get across to the community.”
As is human nature, the success of the backward compatibility program has ultimately led to one familiar question arising: why isn’t every game backward compatible on Xbox Series X and S? Much like FPS Boost, it isn’t as straightforward as you might think.
Ronald admits that part of the challenge was that Microsoft, and the video games industry as a whole, hadn’t really designed games with future generations in mind, which posed a number of unexpected problems.
“A lot of the games in the original Xbox generation or the Xbox 360 generation, at that time, the idea of forward compatibility – and thinking about how these games will live on – was not part of the DNA of the industry,” says Ronald.
“There would be titles that we would be working on, and we would get them technically working. But then all of a sudden, we’d realize all the different approvals that we would need: whether it’s a publisher or developer or a license holder.
“And that actually created a lot of work and a lot of challenges,” Ronald goes on to explain. “In some cases, when you think about the consolidation of companies, or IP being purchased, sometimes it’s even difficult to figure out who you need approval from!
“But I will say every game is a unique challenge. And that’s one of the harder things to get across to the community. Because people are like, ‘Oh, well, you did this game, you should do that game’. Every game is a unique set of challenges and that’s where a lot of the work goes behind actually bringing a game forward.”
Barriers to entry
Sonic Generations now runs at 4K/60fps on Xbox Series X. (Image credit: Sega)
“It’s a labor of love and it takes, in some cases, years to be able to bring these games forward.”
Issues with licenses, publishers, and technical quirks would mean Ronald’s team could often start with a list of hundreds of games they wanted to add to the Xbox backward compatibility program, but with the understanding that they had no idea how many would make the cut or how long it might take. Some titles, as Ronald shares, have taken years to be added to the program due to the aforementioned issues.
“When we started this last patch [over 70 back-compat titles were added on November 20, 2021], we actually started with a list of hundreds of games that we were going to go try,” says Ronald. “And we didn’t know if we were going to get five [titles], if we were going to get 10 [titles], or if we’re going to get 20 [titles].
“And to be honest, there are some games in the program that I just never thought we would be able to bring forward. It’s a labor of love and it takes, in some cases, years to be able to bring these games forward, but the team has always been really committed to doing everything we can for the fans.”
Remembering the OGs
Xbox Game Pass now includes Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. (Image credit: Bethesda)
“He’s now getting to experience the games that I loved when I was younger.”
Fundamentally, it’s Xbox fans, young and old, who have benefited most from the backward compatibility program. But has it been worth it for Microsoft as a whole? Ronald refers to his own personal experience for an answer.
“Obviously, we’re really happy with the response to the program. And we’ve seen a lot of new players come into franchises they’ve never played before,” says Ronald. “My son, he’s 13. His first Fallout was actually Fallout 4, and he’s really started to love the world and the universe that they made.
“For him to be able to go back and play Fallout 3, or to play Fallout: New Vegas. He’s now getting to experience the games that I loved when I was younger, so it’s just a great experience. I think it absolutely brings people back into the ecosystem. It rekindles people’s memories and love for some of these franchises. And it also introduces new players to the games that we all love.”
Game preservation could shape future consoles
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S were designed with back-compat in mind. (Image credit: Microsoft)
“When designing the Xbox Series X and S, backward compatibility was a tenant of the program from day one.”
Game preservation has become a more prominent issue in recent years, specifically how video game manufacturers need to do more to ensure that the great games of the past can be enjoyed by generations to come.
Ronald says the team at Xbox is committed to game preservation, and that the backward compatibility program helped the team get a better grasp of how to handle it in the future.
“Game preservation is definitely in our DNA,” says Ronald proudly. “I think over the course of this program, we’ve learned a lot about game preservation, whether it’s technical decisions, the way that games are actually ingested into the catalog, the way that we sign contracts and deal with licensing, and whatnot. I think it’s actually informing not only us but the entire industry of what we can do to preserve these games moving forward.”
Interestingly, Ronald also shares that Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility helped shape the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and will likely influence the next Xbox consoles.
“When designing the Xbox Series X and S, backward compatibility was a tenant of the program from day one and actually influenced the design of the silicon, the design of the hardware. It was like, ‘Okay, how do we make sure that these games not only work but play better than ever before.’ So absolutely, as we think about future devices, as we think about future platforms, we’re always thinking about what unique things can we do to enhance or optimize these games?”
Ronald rightly points out that it’s not just about making older games look at play better, though, but also about accessibility.
“I think about something like Project X cloud [Xbox Cloud Gaming], and the fact that I can play a game that was written on the Xbox 360 on a phone. Trust me, when you were writing a game on the 360, nobody was thinking about a future where the game is gonna be running on the cloud. It can be streamed to my phone while I’m on the go, but my progression moves forward with me. So not only is it about optimizing enhancing games, but it’s about how we can provide new ways for people to play these games.”
Jump in
Microsoft’s final batch of backward compatible titles arrived during November 2021. (Image credit: Microsoft)
The Xbox team has been on quite the journey with backward compatibility, then. There have been numerous challenges from day one, but thanks to the support of the community and some dogged determination from Microsoft’s engineers, we’re now able to enjoy and rediscover these games once again.
“A great game is a great game,” says Ronald. “It doesn’t matter if it was written today, or if it was 15 years ago. We want to preserve that art form, and we want to just be able to reach more players across the world.”
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
