Here's another perk to having an Xbox One over the PlayStation 4: a free copy of Fallout 3.

That free copy of Fallout 3, however, is just part of the picture. The big picture here is backward compatibility coming to Xbox One, a feature still missing on the PlayStation 4.

Off to a rocky start when it was first announced, Microsoft's Xbox One has been trailing Sony's PlayStation 4 since this current generation of console gaming began just two years ago. Is backward compatibility enough to change the tides in Microsoft's favor?

We'll have to wait and find out when the holiday shopping season kicks in, but Microsoft is already getting ready for it. By November 12, the Xbox faithful will receive one of the most anticipated updates for the console so far: backward compatibility. When the update rolls to Xbox gamers, they'll have access to over 100-plus backward compatible Xbox 360 games.

Fallout 3 will be one of those games. For free, but not forever. According to the Xbox website, gamers can preorder Fallout 4 for their Xbox One's and receive Fallout 3 on Xbox 360 "for a limited time" only.

"The code for Fallout 3 will be delivered to your Xbox message center in 7-10 days. Redeem your code on Xbox.com or on your Xbox 360. Fallout 3 will be included in Xbox One backward compatibility access when made available," the fine print reveals on the offer's description from Xbox.

The deadline for the offer is Feb. 6, 2016, so Xbox One owners will have to buy Fallout 4 before then to become eligible for the free backward compatible version of Fallout 3. For die-hard fans of Fallout, Microsoft also worked with the game's developer Bethesda on a special edition 1 TB Xbox One Fallout 4 bundle (plus Fallout 3) for $399.

Backward compatibility may or may not be a deal-breaker, but for those still on the fence between owning a console from either Microsoft or Sony, the upcoming feature is still an attractive incentive and a unique selling point that could pull in more gamers for the Xbox.

Photo: Marco Verch | Flickr