Backwards compatibility

[super bear]

Can someone please explain to me why my PC can run Crysis and games like Half Life 1 from 1998, yet consoles like the 360 and PS3 need to use emulation? Am I missing something here? Does console technology really differ so much from generation to generation that it needs to be this way or what?

 

[I.S.T.]

Can someone please explain to me why my PC can run Crysis and games like Half Life 1 from 1998, yet consoles like the 360 and PS3 need to use emulation? Am I missing something here? Does console technology really differ so much from generation to generation that it needs to be this way or what?

Yes.

Also, remember PC games are generally coded for standard APIs. Console games are custom made(Well, to an extent anyway) for the machine they're on.

 

[Xenus]

Basically Pc games are built upon the same x86 architecture ad-infinum despite new processors coming out every other day. While the consoles keep changing the base architecture each generation needing an emulator to run that base architecture on the new systems.