Next-gen consoles not likely backwards compatible: EA

Gamers everywhere will be hoping EA is wrong, as the company has mentioned that the PS4 and Xbox 720 will most likely not be backwards compatible.

The news came from EA chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen, who described the expected consumer habits during the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco.

He said that, for EA customers particularly, current gen consoles will still be extending their lifespans into 2014, mostly due to sports fans refusing to jump ship until the season is concluded.

“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.”

Jorgensen went on to rationalise his view by saying that EA sports gamers will follow the sporting calendars, as opposed to a console release cycle.

“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… And if a next-gen console doesn’t come out until next Christmas, most people won’t wait, explained Jorgensen.

“They’ll want to be involved in getting those titles early, because their friends are all playing those titles,” the CFO added. “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.”