XBOX ONE BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY THROUGH CLOUD (PROBLEMATIC)

Microsoft has admitted that attempts to use cloud streaming to allow Xbox 360 games to be played on Xbox One are proving "problematic".

Senior director of Xbox project management and planning Albert Penello was asked by Polygon about the possibility of the Cloud being used to power backwards compatibility, after Halo 4 was shown running on both a Windows PC and a Windows Phone during a company meeting.

"In the world of things I wish they had not shown at the Company Meeting because I knew I’d be asked about it later, put that at the top of my list," Penello said. "That is a good example, in certain circumstances [the cloud streaming] worked really awesome.

This is one of the things where the network just has to get better before we can do it. When that happens, you’re going to have a really interesting conversation.

"It’s really cool and really problematic, all at the same time, insofar as it’s really super cool if you happen to have the world’s most awesome internet connection. It works way better than you’d expect it to," Penello said.

"So managing quality of service, the tolerance people will have for it being crappy. Can you imagine, in this day and age, with the bad information around, and we can’t control the quality of that experience and make sure it’s good, or have to tell people they can’t do it?

"I know we did a lot of work behind it, and we said this is one of the things where the network just has to get better before we can do it. When that happens, you’re going to have a really interesting conversation around that, can I actually run Xbox One games that way as well.

"I’ll be really interested to see how our friends in the Bay Area [at PlayStation] deal with this problem. But I can tell you, it’s totally possible. We like it, we’re fans of the cloud. We’re not shy about that."

Though Sony has previously suggested that it plans to use Gaikai's streaming technology to make legacy content available on the PS4 at some stage, in essence this suggests Microsoft may be falling foul of the same problem Sony has admitted to experiencing with Gaikai in Europe: dodgy internet connections causing serious issues.

When the Xbox One was first announced it was revealed the console wouldn't allow you to play Xbox 360 games, though a reprieve was hinted at last month when Penello explained that Microsoft was looking at using the Cloud for such functionality.

For now though, it seems such plans are still in their infancy. So if you're wanting to play any of the 100 new games Microsoft has said will come to the console, it's probably best not to sell your 360 as soon as November 22 rolls around.