This seems cool, mostly. But right away I also have a feeling that there’s something sinister about it. Because it’s Microsoft. Because it’s a digital license. So I assume that I’m not really...
This seems cool, mostly.
But right away I also have a feeling that there’s something sinister about it. Because it’s Microsoft. Because it’s a digital license. So I assume that I’m not really going to own it. And it’s going to spy on me. And there’s going to be a 40 page agreement to sign before I use it.
And sure enough, I went to look at the details for Blinx and I noticed this little blurb:
“Publishers of games you launch receive access to your Xbox profile information and associated data while you play.”
I don’t know man. I’m just not in the mood for this shit anymore. When these games came out, you had a disk or a cart and you put it in a game system and maybe it gave a warning about flashing lights or carpel tunnel. But probably there was no company looking over your shoulder and logging when and how often you played it. (Well, actually this was the Xbox which had network capability so maybe they did. But other games from that time and before didn’t).
Note for any deal hawks out there: Fuzion Frenzy is currently 75% off.
Today, we’re introducing XBOX Backward Compatibility on PC, making it easier to play classic XBOX games from the past across PC and handhelds, including the ROG XBOX Ally and XBOX Ally X.
Rolling out today, XBOX Backward Compatibility on PC launches in early release, starting with four classic original XBOX games, now playable on PC and handhelds for the first time ever. This marks the beginning of a broader effort to preserve XBOX games from the past and bring them to PC over time. And we are not just enabling you to play them on PC. We are also adding new features to make your gaming experience better than ever.
Players can jump into the following games on PC and supported handheld devices beginning today in supported regions:
It'll be a packaged emulator surely? I have no horse in this race, not having an XBox, any games for it, nor any way to play these, but these kind of things (e.g. from Nintendo) are usually a...
It'll be a packaged emulator surely? I have no horse in this race, not having an XBox, any games for it, nor any way to play these, but these kind of things (e.g. from Nintendo) are usually a custom emulator, then the emulation can do some enhancements,.
Language and audio updates would be if they weren't in the original release, sure. Graphical enhancement via an emulator typically don't require any modification to the game files, though. They...
Language and audio updates would be if they weren't in the original release, sure. Graphical enhancement via an emulator typically don't require any modification to the game files, though. They just apply changes to the computer's rendering behavior when it interprets the visual commands of the original software. (More extensive updates like custom texture packs certainly exist which require updates to the original game files, but that's not mentioned.)
Starting with the Xbox One, backwards compatibility profiles for older games have included higher rendering resolutions, added features like vsync and anisotropic filtering, and occasionally...
Starting with the Xbox One, backwards compatibility profiles for older games have included higher rendering resolutions, added features like vsync and anisotropic filtering, and occasionally higher framerates. This is all stuff accomplished by the compatibility layer itself.
In rare cases they've gone in and replaced low quality assets with higher quality ones, an example being Final Fantasy XIII which ditched the notoriously poor quality Xbox 360 FMVs with the high bitrate versions from the PS3 release.
I would hope all of this stuff makes it to the PC version of this program
Yeah, the announcement had me questioning my understanding of what technically constitutes "backwards compatibility." Nevertheless, I'm still happy to see old games getting official love.
Yeah, the announcement had me questioning my understanding of what technically constitutes "backwards compatibility."
Nevertheless, I'm still happy to see old games getting official love.
If only a piece of software would exists on PC which does not require the Xbox app nor a Microsoft Account, and no money given to either: xemu.app To be fair, seeing effort made in the industry to...
If only a piece of software would exists on PC which does not require the Xbox app nor a Microsoft Account, and no money given to either: xemu.app
To be fair, seeing effort made in the industry to keep alive old games is praiseworthy, but we already know all the asterisks attached to such small moves.
Nintendo is a recent example for these "good" initiatives in retro compatibility (only available via the nintendo store subscription).
It's always a game of picking and choosing which game to "restore" and re-sell while letting the less known or less newsworthy games fall into unplayable status.
So the best remains the enormous effort to keep emulation alive and well.
It isn't backwards compatibility if I can't stick my Xbox disc in and play it, I'd say they've really lost the script if I didn't think they'd been intentionally misleading consumers by warping...
It isn't backwards compatibility if I can't stick my Xbox disc in and play it, I'd say they've really lost the script if I didn't think they'd been intentionally misleading consumers by warping the phrase for ages.
These are subject to (re)licensing agreements, and we've seen how that limiting that can be with Nintendo's retro offerings. There's about zero chance of iconic titles like, say, Need For Speed Underground getting this treatment due to being an EA game, not to mention the cars and music.
Yeah, good point, so a real backwards compatibility push would necessitate releasing an external reader (but this is more intended to highlight how ridiculous calling it backwards compatibility is...
Yeah, good point, so a real backwards compatibility push would necessitate releasing an external reader (but this is more intended to highlight how ridiculous calling it backwards compatibility is rather than a legitimate proposition).
I remember it as if it were five minutes ago! :^) Really though, even though I'm privileged to have it in the first place I'd still love an official port to get it out of the technical gutter it's...
Really though, even though I'm privileged to have it in the first place I'd still love an official port to get it out of the technical gutter it's in. It's fun as hell, but today either you emulate and have to figure out the hardware angle (the Xbox 360 keypad natively works, funny enough) or you pay hundreds for the controller and you get a dinky little screen. But it's so fun! The online multiplayer is somehow still going! (And I'm too chicken to play it because I know people will shred me! lmao) Such a cool game and it deserves a little more attention than a Kinect spinoff.
I love that they have a dedicated room for it at PAX (East at least, not sure if it goes to West too). For a long time I only admired it from afar but I've become a fan after finally jumping in...
I love that they have a dedicated room for it at PAX (East at least, not sure if it goes to West too). For a long time I only admired it from afar but I've become a fan after finally jumping in and giving it a try last year and try to get in a match or two a day during the con.
What are some XBOX games that people hope to see re-released? Its game library is a bit of a blind spot for me, as I never owned one (also I'm hoping they expand it to include 360 titles as well)....
What are some XBOX games that people hope to see re-released? Its game library is a bit of a blind spot for me, as I never owned one (also I'm hoping they expand it to include 360 titles as well).
I'm personally tempering my expectations, but Jet Set Radio Future would be sublime.
JSRF is also at the top of my list, but unfortunately I don't expect it to ever happen because of music licensing issues. Mercenaries is a great game that already exists in the backwards...
JSRF is also at the top of my list, but unfortunately I don't expect it to ever happen because of music licensing issues.
Mercenaries is a great game that already exists in the backwards compatibility program, and it never got a PC release back in the day. I'm hopeful we see that at some point.
As a racing game kiddo, it'd be cool to see the original Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing 2 again. Both have soundtracks that I still listen to even now and I feel they still hold up...
As a racing game kiddo, it'd be cool to see the original Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing 2 again. Both have soundtracks that I still listen to even now and I feel they still hold up decently well.
Some exclusives that are worth it imo: Panzer Dragoon Orta Brute Force Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball (it was actually a good (the only?) volleyball game) Ninja Gaiden Black Loved all of...
Some exclusives that are worth it imo:
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Brute Force
Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball (it was actually a good (the only?) volleyball game)
Ninja Gaiden Black
Loved all of these as a teenager. That whole era of gaming had some absolute bangers. The Xbox also directly led to my favourite hobby of electronics tinkering as I did just about every mod imaginable to it, except for the RAM upgrade.
Orta is literally the only reason why I bought an Xbox 360 - emulation still wasn’t a thing at the time and I didn’t want a huge console that only output low quality analog video. That and the...
Orta is literally the only reason why I bought an Xbox 360 - emulation still wasn’t a thing at the time and I didn’t want a huge console that only output low quality analog video. That and the only version of Deadly Premonition that isn’t completely terrible. There are probably a lot of hidden gems for the console but that was the only one that really mattered to me.
(As a side note it is shocking to me that the consoles with the “best graphics” for 2 generations had such shockingly terrible analog video output. Using the pack in composite cables negated the need for antialiasing because it output a smeared off-color mess.)
it's rare that i'd complement microsoft/xbox of all things, or console companies in general, but this is a rare good idea that i can appreciate. i won't be making any use of it (i'm sure it...
it's rare that i'd complement microsoft/xbox of all things, or console companies in general, but this is a rare good idea that i can appreciate. i won't be making any use of it (i'm sure it requires Windows and i don't have a fondness for any xbox titles anyway) but i can appreciate when older games are given new life and on a new platform
This seems cool, mostly.
But right away I also have a feeling that there’s something sinister about it. Because it’s Microsoft. Because it’s a digital license. So I assume that I’m not really going to own it. And it’s going to spy on me. And there’s going to be a 40 page agreement to sign before I use it.
And sure enough, I went to look at the details for Blinx and I noticed this little blurb:
“Publishers of games you launch receive access to your Xbox profile information and associated data while you play.”
I don’t know man. I’m just not in the mood for this shit anymore. When these games came out, you had a disk or a cart and you put it in a game system and maybe it gave a warning about flashing lights or carpel tunnel. But probably there was no company looking over your shoulder and logging when and how often you played it. (Well, actually this was the Xbox which had network capability so maybe they did. But other games from that time and before didn’t).
Note for any deal hawks out there: Fuzion Frenzy is currently 75% off.
So not blanket backwards compatability, just ports.
It'll be a packaged emulator surely? I have no horse in this race, not having an XBox, any games for it, nor any way to play these, but these kind of things (e.g. from Nintendo) are usually a custom emulator, then the emulation can do some enhancements,.
To me this implies that they are also modifying the games in some way.
Language and audio updates would be if they weren't in the original release, sure. Graphical enhancement via an emulator typically don't require any modification to the game files, though. They just apply changes to the computer's rendering behavior when it interprets the visual commands of the original software. (More extensive updates like custom texture packs certainly exist which require updates to the original game files, but that's not mentioned.)
Starting with the Xbox One, backwards compatibility profiles for older games have included higher rendering resolutions, added features like vsync and anisotropic filtering, and occasionally higher framerates. This is all stuff accomplished by the compatibility layer itself.
In rare cases they've gone in and replaced low quality assets with higher quality ones, an example being Final Fantasy XIII which ditched the notoriously poor quality Xbox 360 FMVs with the high bitrate versions from the PS3 release.
I would hope all of this stuff makes it to the PC version of this program
Yeah, the announcement had me questioning my understanding of what technically constitutes "backwards compatibility."
Nevertheless, I'm still happy to see old games getting official love.
If only a piece of software would exists on PC which does not require the Xbox app nor a Microsoft Account, and no money given to either: xemu.app
To be fair, seeing effort made in the industry to keep alive old games is praiseworthy, but we already know all the asterisks attached to such small moves.
Nintendo is a recent example for these "good" initiatives in retro compatibility (only available via the nintendo store subscription).
It's always a game of picking and choosing which game to "restore" and re-sell while letting the less known or less newsworthy games fall into unplayable status.
So the best remains the enormous effort to keep emulation alive and well.
It isn't backwards compatibility if I can't stick my Xbox disc in and play it, I'd say they've really lost the script if I didn't think they'd been intentionally misleading consumers by warping the phrase for ages.
These are subject to (re)licensing agreements, and we've seen how that limiting that can be with Nintendo's retro offerings. There's about zero chance of iconic titles like, say, Need For Speed Underground getting this treatment due to being an EA game, not to mention the cars and music.
Assuming your PC even has a DVD drive in 2026, it can't read Xbox or 360 discs.
Yeah, good point, so a real backwards compatibility push would necessitate releasing an external reader (but this is more intended to highlight how ridiculous calling it backwards compatibility is rather than a legitimate proposition).
Do Steel Battalion, cowards!
Did you play it with the big novelty controller back in the day?
I remember it as if it were five minutes ago! :^)
Really though, even though I'm privileged to have it in the first place I'd still love an official port to get it out of the technical gutter it's in. It's fun as hell, but today either you emulate and have to figure out the hardware angle (the Xbox 360 keypad natively works, funny enough) or you pay hundreds for the controller and you get a dinky little screen. But it's so fun! The online multiplayer is somehow still going! (And I'm too chicken to play it because I know people will shred me! lmao) Such a cool game and it deserves a little more attention than a Kinect spinoff.
I love that they have a dedicated room for it at PAX (East at least, not sure if it goes to West too). For a long time I only admired it from afar but I've become a fan after finally jumping in and giving it a try last year and try to get in a match or two a day during the con.
What are some XBOX games that people hope to see re-released? Its game library is a bit of a blind spot for me, as I never owned one (also I'm hoping they expand it to include 360 titles as well).
I'm personally tempering my expectations, but Jet Set Radio Future would be sublime.
JSRF is also at the top of my list, but unfortunately I don't expect it to ever happen because of music licensing issues.
Mercenaries is a great game that already exists in the backwards compatibility program, and it never got a PC release back in the day. I'm hopeful we see that at some point.
As a racing game kiddo, it'd be cool to see the original Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing 2 again. Both have soundtracks that I still listen to even now and I feel they still hold up decently well.
Some exclusives that are worth it imo:
Loved all of these as a teenager. That whole era of gaming had some absolute bangers. The Xbox also directly led to my favourite hobby of electronics tinkering as I did just about every mod imaginable to it, except for the RAM upgrade.
Orta is literally the only reason why I bought an Xbox 360 - emulation still wasn’t a thing at the time and I didn’t want a huge console that only output low quality analog video. That and the only version of Deadly Premonition that isn’t completely terrible. There are probably a lot of hidden gems for the console but that was the only one that really mattered to me.
(As a side note it is shocking to me that the consoles with the “best graphics” for 2 generations had such shockingly terrible analog video output. Using the pack in composite cables negated the need for antialiasing because it output a smeared off-color mess.)
it's rare that i'd complement microsoft/xbox of all things, or console companies in general, but this is a rare good idea that i can appreciate. i won't be making any use of it (i'm sure it requires Windows and i don't have a fondness for any xbox titles anyway) but i can appreciate when older games are given new life and on a new platform
I'd be interested if they brought out some X360 classics like Fable 2, Lost Odyssey, or the Skate series.
I think you may have replied in the wrong thread?
Yes lol