XBOX 360 Backwards Compatibility Update

[keiblerfan69]

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm

New Back Comp Update

A new backward compatibility update is now available for the Xbox 360.

Here is the list of new and updated titles:

New:
BLACK™
Star Wars Battlefront™ II
World Soccer Winning Eleven 9

Updated:
Darkwatch™
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas™
Half-Life® 2
Fable®
Fable®: The Lost Chapters™
Forza Motorsport™
Ninja Gaiden®
Ninja Gaiden® Black
SSX 3
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Chaos Theory™
kill.switch
World Series Baseball® 2K3
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From MajorNelson.com

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Still no JSRF, Panzer Dragoon or Mechassault. :roll:

[Joker T]

Good to see Black on there, I know alot of people wanted that on there.

[Gamereviewgod]

Doesn't seem to be a way to order a disc.

[njiska]

Hmm i though Criterion was bitching about not getting the help they needed to make Black backwards compatible?

Oh well, at least it's there.

[-hellvin-]

Sweet! More games I don't care about!

What's with the Ninja Gaiden "updates?"

Do they mean update as in, playable if you want to swing ryu's video lag sword?

[Neo Rasa]

Pretty disappointing update given the time lapse from the last one, and why isn't SF2 on the Live Arcade yet?

[njiska]

Pretty disappointing update given the time lapse from the last one, and why isn't SF2 on the Live Arcade yet?

The latest word from insiders is that Capcom is having trouble reducing lag.

[Neo Rasa]

They probably "lost the source code" twice over like they did with Mega Man Mania.

[unwinddesign]

Good stuff, I'm gonna go pick up Black now that it's compatible. Also, Ninja Gaiden Black is hopefully playable now (previous reports were less than stellar...).

[Ze_ro]

This is probably a stupid question... but is this list definitive? That is, if I were to try a game that isn't on it, is there any chance whatsoever that it might work, or would it just refuse to run outright? I ask because I'm considering buying a 360 and backwards compatibility is something I'd very much like to make use of, since I never bothered buying an original Xbox...

--Zero

[Lothars]

Well it's nice to know it's coming along but I wish they had more games for the backwards compatibility

[Tan]

This is probably a stupid question... but is this list definitive? That is, if I were to try a game that isn't on it, is there any chance whatsoever that it might work, or would it just refuse to run outright? I ask because I'm considering buying a 360 and backwards compatibility is something I'd very much like to make use of, since I never bothered buying an original Xbox...

--Zero

as it says on the list, each game requires an emulator to play, and each emu has to be made one at a time specifically for each game, then the consumer has to download each emu for each game on the list they wish to play and install it on the HDD.

i wouldn't mind if they had a list of titles that they are working on, just to re-assure people of future titles, or even a voting system where they can rate the games they'd like to see the most so they can get them out first, i can't speak for the masses but i doubt barbie's horse adventures was a priority title, time and resources better spent on games like mechassault.

[Ze_ro]

as it says on the list, each game requires an emulator to play, and each emu has to be made one at a time specifically for each game, then the consumer has to download each emu for each game on the list they wish to play and install it on the HDD.
Ah damn, I was afraid of that. I was secretly hoping it would be something a bit easier, like "All the Tom Clancy games use the same emulator, which happens to also run X, Y, and Z". How much hard drive space does all this take up? Are all these emulators on there all the time, or does it download them on-demand or something?


i wouldn't mind if they had a list of titles that they are working on, just to re-assure people of future titles
Agreed. There are a whole bunch of Xbox releases that I'd love to get, but some of them are a little obscure and likely didn't sell too well, so there's a good chance they might NEVER be emulated... Ideally, I'd like to come out of this with just an Xbox 360 rather than having to also get a regular Xbox for the 5 or 6 games that never quite make it.

--Zero

[Dobie]

Ah damn, I was afraid of that. I was secretly hoping it would be something a bit easier, like "All the Tom Clancy games use the same emulator, which happens to also run X, Y, and Z". How much hard drive space does all this take up? Are all these emulators on there all the time, or does it download them on-demand or something?


Actually, that's how it works. MS builds emus for specific games, (like Halo, Tom Clancy, etc.) but then fleshes out the BC list with games that also work with those emus (perhaps with some minor tweaks)... hence why games like Barbie Horse Adventures are on the BC list. If the Barbie game uses the same engine as say, Fable (don't know if it does, just using it as an example), then they can probably get it working easily, and "throw it on the pile" of compatible games.

My suspicion is that MS ONLY writes backwards compatability for games that a developer WANTS to have BC for. Perhaps even charging those companies a fee to do so. It isn't in EA's best interest to have Xbox Madden 2006 BC if they're trying to push us to buy the 360 version. But that's pure speculation on my part.

[FullCircle]

Umm....Fable already ran on my 360 at launch. It did, however, allow me to pass into walls at some verticies.
IMAGE (http://www.fullcirc.net/images/fable.jpg)

[ClubNinja]

Yay! I don't own a single title on this list. Looks like I still have to keep my XBox.

[Leo_A]

The developers have nothing to do with what is made backwards compatible, it's out of their hands. It's whatever Microsoft wants to do, developers aren't involved. At least that's what several have stated publically such as Sumo Digital and Bizarre Creations to name two.

[Neo Rasa]

Umm....Fable already ran on my 360 at launch. It did, however, allow me to pass into walls at some verticies.
IMAGE (http://www.fullcirc.net/images/fable.jpg)

That's because it was among the initially backwards compatible games at launch. As you can see from the list in the first post though, the emulation was updated. :)

[Dobie]

The developers have nothing to do with what is made backwards compatible, it's out of their hands. It's whatever Microsoft wants to do, developers aren't involved. At least that's what several have stated publically such as Sumo Digital and Bizarre Creations to name two.

Its up to MS to get it working on the 360, yes. But game companies also must submit the source code for their game to MS in order for it to be emulated, because MS builds the emulators in-house. Thus, the company must WANT it to be BC. Its not like developers are sitting on their thumbs and have no input. Perhaps MS came to the developers of some big-name titles, and specifically asked for their franchises, and ignored some smaller developers?

But since MS should, theoretically, be catering to their developers needs, it wouldn't make sense for MS to say "no soup for you" to small game houses. They COULD of course, take their time with small titles though, and instead focus on bigger titles. Which is what they're doing.

[Trebuken]

SMall update, but conveniently for me, I just picked up Black and SW Battlefront II at EB's Buy 2 Get 1 sale. Still need to play Half-Life 2 and Fable even...

Thanks for the news.

Later,
Trebuken

[Leo_A]

Dobie, that's not how it's working. Well most of what you state is correct, but the decision isn't up to the developers. And the developers aren't submitting the source code unless requested by Microsoft (What Bizarre Creations has stated for example to inquiries about when/if PGR1 and 2 will be backwards compatible in the future, they haven't been contacted yet though they'd like for them to be made compatible).

The hands of the developers are tied. The decision isn't for them to make. This has been what several developers have stated over the previous few months, so I highly doubt its incorrect.

[Tan]

The developers have nothing to do with what is made backwards compatible, it's out of their hands. It's whatever Microsoft wants to do, developers aren't involved. At least that's what several have stated publically such as Sumo Digital and Bizarre Creations to name two.

Its up to MS to get it working on the 360, yes. But game companies also must submit the source code for their game to MS in order for it to be emulated, because MS builds the emulators in-house. Thus, the company must WANT it to be BC. Its not like developers are sitting on their thumbs and have no input. Perhaps MS came to the developers of some big-name titles, and specifically asked for their franchises, and ignored some smaller developers?

But since MS should, theoretically, be catering to their developers needs, it wouldn't make sense for MS to say "no soup for you" to small game houses. They COULD of course, take their time with small titles though, and instead focus on bigger titles. Which is what they're doing.

it has to be something more than that, there are dozens of titles that should be on this list, Microsoft published ones included that aren't here yet, and other huge titles like Wolfenstein which was (and maybe still is?) one of the most played xbox live titles, same with Mechassault.

and i don't think it has anything to do with one game being easier than another either, there are plenty of games like baldur's gate II or jedi academy which has a sister game that's identical and more popular/better selling in some cases