Former Microsoft employee and current Xbox Insider Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has suggested that Microsoft won’t be able to support cross-chat between Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles.
“I’ve asked – based on what I know of the voice system, I would be surprised if this was possible,” Major Nelson said.
According to Major Nelson, the lack of support is due to Xbox One‘s use of a new wide bandwidth CODEC which would be too great between the two consoles to make them compatible however it would result in better audio quality.
Following Xbox‘s E3 press conference and reversal of some crucial policies (and cancellations of technologies), the gaming community has debated whether or not Microsoft‘s next console is a step forward in gaming or a step back. Even the always-on Kinect, a device which has not been discussed as a gaming feature, has left gamers questioning the value of Xbox One has been reversed. The Kinect is no longer a required feature.
Although the lack of cross-chat support is assumed to be because of a technology difference, it’s interesting to compare the launch of Xbox One with the launch of Xbox 360. When the 360 was released in Fall 2005, Microsoft continued releasing Xbox (2001) games for another year. This fall, Microsoft will continue to support Xbox 360 with Watch Dogs, Batman Arkham Origins, and Splinter Cell Blacklist. However, Xbox 360 exclusives are almost a no-show. There is Deadfall that has a fall 2013 release date for the Xbox 360. Of course Microsoft has been cranking out Xbox Live Arcade titles as well, but Charlie Murder is the only exclusive lined up for the fall
Beyond that, not much is scheduled exclusively for Xbox on the current generation (Titanfall) but this game won’t be available until several months after Xbox One and Playstation 4‘s launch.
