Third-gen Xbox to be "forward compatible"?

You've heard of "backward compatibility," right? Well, try bending your mind around this one: "forward compatiblity." Sounds pretty strange, but that's what one gaming blog is predicting for the next Xbox—essentially, the ability to unlock true next-generation features built into upcoming Xbox 360 games.

Xbox Evolved says it has a (previously reliable) source who claims that the new "forward compatibility" feature involves much more than just video upscaling and texture cleanup; instead, the source says, the third-generation Xbox will take upcoming 360 games (developers will have to bake "forward compatibility" into their new 360 titles for the feature to work) and boost their framerate, speed, and "draw distance" (thus cutting down on the graphic "pop-ups" that appear in wide-open spaces).

Even better (or so the rumor goes): With "forward compatibility," new 360 games would fully support the updated controllers on the next-gen Xboxes, and could also feature downloadable content exclusive to the new console.

Xbox Evolved's sources go on to say that Microsoft is "'testing the waters' before they nail down the final specs for the new machine," and that "introducing these options early on to developers means that the games they make for the Xbox 360 will have [new] life on the next platform."

Of course, this is all just a rumor for now; no comment from Microsoft, and I doubt we'll get one. And naturally, other gaming blogs are sounding a skeptical note—for example, Kotaku notes that "it's entirely possible this could work, but I'm not sure how cost effective this would be both on the hardware and software side."

Still, it's an interesting concept, and it could help solve one of the problems that dog all new gaming consoles—a dearth of next-generation titles at launch. If future Xbox 360 games had "sleeper" forward-compatibility features already built in, then the Xbox 720 (or whatever Microsoft ends up calling it) would arrive in stores with a slew of hits ready to go (such as, say, Halo 3: Recon or the next Call of Duty, post-World at War).

What's your take—does "forward compatibility" sound plausible, or think it's just a pipe dream?

Related:
RUMOR: Next Xbox to be “Forward-Compatible” [Xbox Evolved]