why is “backwards incompatibility” a problem on consoles and not on pc when they’re basically just the same electronic parts (cpu, gpu, ram)
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Bacisay the same it not enough. For software to work it needs to be functionally the same in both hardware and software. It if is not you need to write software for that.
Backward compatibility is not something that game console manufacturers think it a high priority because the get money from selling new consoles and new games.
For PC most computers are not sold for games but to do other tasks. A large part of the market is companies. In a company setting you like to run the same software on older and newer computers. The software can often be something written especially for them so cost a lot of money to port. It can also be software by companies that are no longer in cuisines, so you can get a new version even if you like. For corporate use, backward compatibility is very important and the maker of the OS and hardware know this.
For PC the make of the OS and hardware do not get money for newly sold software that other companies make. Consoles, on the other hand, require licenses to publish games on them and the console makes get money for each sold game. So the incentive you have are quite different.
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