From the time the first details of the Xbox Series X began to emerge, it was clear that cross-compatibility was at the heart of Microsoft's strategy: Smart Delivery would allow games to be played between the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, and early on, X-only They even warned us not to expect too many exclusive titles.

This is a laudable goal and one that will help make gaming affordable. But there is an elephant in the room. Doesn't having to code for inferior hardware cramp the style of the Xbox Series X?

Not according to Xbox chief executive Phil Spencer. He told GamesIndustry.biz that the idea that the Xbox Series X is being held back by the Xbox One is "a meme created by people who are too caught up in the device race," which is perhaps not surprising for a company that has delivered 35 years worth of Windows software, Microsoft sees the current console market as a PC gaming world.

"I just look at Windows. If a developer is making a Windows version of a game, the most powerful and highest fidelity version is almost certainly the PC version.

"Even our competitors are moving some of their first-party console games to PC, and the richest versions are the PC versions. But when it comes to hardware, the PC ecosystem is the most diverse, given the presence of CPUs and GPUs that are several years old."

Spencer makes this point more succinctly later in the interview: the "diversity of hardware choices on the PC has not deterred the highest fidelity PC games on the market." This is a valid point, but on the flip side, it could be argued that consoles are holding back PC gaming.

In any case, there is an interesting contrast between Sony's PS5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X. The PS5 is the most popular console in the market, while the Xbox Series X is the most popular console in the market. While Spencer discusses the need to maintain compatibility between generations, Sony draws the line. [Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said earlier this year, "We've always said we believe in the idea of generations. We believe that if you're going to go to the trouble of creating a next-generation console, it should include features and benefits not found in the previous generation. And in our view, people should make games that take full advantage of those features."

It will be interesting to see if this difference in philosophy will actually manifest itself in the way games are played when both consoles are released later this year.