NES owned the home game market.. and then lost it when its upgrade wasn't backwardly compatible... this is a lesson learned over and over in gaming.. but MS seems to ignore it.
They will get some leverage because they are first mover in next gen.. but it won't unseat Sony... who's new system will be backward compatible with most games, and guaranteed 10 year life of their consoles. PS1 only this year hit its 10 year mark... PS2 still has another 5 years left...
I see the whole 360 thing as lots of hype, little real substance to realistically change the playing field long term.
The next-gen Nintendo is 100% backwards compatible with all of its games since the companies inception. They might be the upset kid next-gen.
Why are your saying this? XBOX 360 is backwards compatible. The PS2 didn't play 100% of all PS1 games, does that mean it wasn't backwards compatible?