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360 Back-Compat Updated Again

Posted by Zonk on from the i-thought-they-weren't-doing-this dept.

Despite news many months ago that they weren't going to be doing much in the way of updating anymore, there's a new raft of old games that you'll be able to play on your Xbox 360. Some of the highlights include: "JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future, MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, Project Gotham Racing 2, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams"

36 comments

  1. Oh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    ^^ See Subject For Insightful Comment To Story

  2. Golf Clap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    So two years after Microsoft botched the whole Xbox BC thing they are putting out a token handful of games? Golf clap Microsoft. Here's some advice Microsoft, how about getting games you claim already 'work' to actually 'work'! After the dead consoles, Halo 3 looking mediocre, and a total yawn at E3, my enthusiasm is rapidly reaching zero for everything Xbox.

    1. Re:Golf Clap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry people, I didn't mean to troll. I'm just really upset that sony can't get their act together. It's no surprise the 360 has been outselling the PS3, come to think of it.

    2. Re:Golf Clap by toleraen · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      wait, responding to your own troll with another troll? Brilliant! Next time move a little faster so you can get the coveted "frosty piss!" too. That's at least 42 points alone!

    3. Re:Golf Clap by Icarus1919 · · Score: 1

      Please Don't Feed The Trolls.

    4. Re:Golf Clap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a NIGGER!

  3. DOAXV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    This update sucks: still no support for Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.

    This game may suck as a "real" volleyball game, but it's fun and easy to play and it's great to watch. The casino isn't half-bad either.

    In any case, it's an excellent 3D "slideshow" to impress people. And when I say people, I mean guys.

    Too bad DOAXV2 has so much "loading" crap. The damn console has a fuckin' hard drive, install the damn game on it!

  4. Fuckin' A by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

    Maximum teh wins times infinity. Thanks Microsoft.

    1. Re:Fuckin' A by grapeape · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yep and Game of the Year edition works too :)

    2. Re:Fuckin' A by jac_at_nac · · Score: 1

      I know...I've had this game for awhile now after jumping the gun and buying for my 360 almost a year ago. I was pissed as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest I went and bought the PC version. Now its all good.

      --
      I'm here to kick a$$ and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of bubble gum!
  5. It's been a while since we heard the following: by feedmetrolls · · Score: -1, Redundant

    Can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of these?

    [sigh] I feel better now.

    --
    You are reading a sig. Cancel or allow?
  6. Y'see, this is why... by UncleTogie · · Score: 1

    ...we get people in our shop asking for emulators...

    --
    Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
  7. Still some glitches by hibiki_r · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You might want to know that there's still some glitches in a few of those games. In JSRF, for example, the name of the areas in the map flickers a lot for me. There are also obvious framerate drops while doing quick turning, which didn't happen in an actual xbox.

    The game is still playable, but it's not quite the same thing as it is on the original hardware.

    1. Re:Still some glitches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      Isn't that what Xbox fans have come to expect from Microsoft?

      Crappy backwards compatibility.
      Crappy consoles.
      Crappy graphics.
      Crappy online play.

      This update sounds par for the 360 course for Microsoft.

    2. Re:Still some glitches by kisrael · · Score: 1

      I wonder if they made it so JSRF worked from the dual disk w/ Sega GT...
      so these are glitches after the new update? I got a JSRF standalone disk after the first one,
      the framerate problems (esp. in that stage w/ the big twisted dragon tower) were very serious.

      --
      SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
  8. SH2 by irby0 · · Score: 1

    All I can say is it's about time Silent Hill is BC. I can't wait to pick it up.

    1. Re:SH2 by bakura121 · · Score: 1

      I've been itching to play Silent Hill 2 again. I had actually tossed it in the 360 last weekend hoping to play, but was sad to see it was not supported. Now I can play!

  9. yes! by NevermindPhreak · · Score: 1

    Marvel Vs. Capcom 2! i might finally get an Xbox 360.

    1. Re:yes! by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      Heh, I have that for my Dreamcast...

  10. Nostalgia prevails? by DJ_Maiko · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Sure, it's cool to go back in time & play games you loved like Donkey Kong, Shinobi, Double Dragon, etc...for like 10 MINUTES!!! But c'mon, the whole point of paying $300 for a console is to play some of the great next-gen games w/all the shiny graphics. If I wanted to play older games, I'd just get an emulator. It's just a marketing ploy by Micro$oft so they can say "look at us & all the games you can play through xbox live." But hey, it's not my buck.

    --
    Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -Mahatma Ghandi
    1. Re:Nostalgia prevails? by nmb3000 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's just a marketing ploy by Micro$oft so they can say "look at us & all the games you can play through xbox live."

      When you're done talking out of your ass, you might take a second and re-read (or just plain read) TFS.

      These are backwards-compatibility updates. They allow you to play original Xbox games on the 360. So no, it's not a marketing ploy, it's called customer satisfaction. They make no money by providing these updates, they do it for gamers who own Xbox games and still want to play them.

      I can understand not RTFA, but for frak's sake - RTFS!

      --
      "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
      /)
    2. Re:Nostalgia prevails? by NeMon'ess · · Score: 1

      There are perfectly good games on the xbox that wouldn't output in 720p or 1080i. I'd like to play them on the 360 rendered at higher res for improved clarity.

  11. Morrowind! by Travoltus · · Score: 1

    Can I hear an "Oh h to the e to the double hockey sticks YEAH BOY!" from the RPGers out there?

    --
    --- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
    1. Re:Morrowind! by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 0

      Ah yes indeed. Too bad I can't copy over my saved games :-(

    2. Re:Morrowind! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well you can always finish the game in 8 minutes and save at the end :)

    3. Re:Morrowind! by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2, Insightful

      WooT! I never actually finished Morrowind, and I was severely disappointed by Oblivion's auto-scaling system. I think I'm going to go back and enjoy the game - now in glorious HD with full-screen anti-aliasing. This is one of several games I was really hoping they'd eventually get working. I'm glad to see my patience was rewarded.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    4. Re:Morrowind! by Cowardly+Anonymity · · Score: 1

      Hmmm...maybe it's just my luck, or maybe it's my compulsive must-get-everything-done-and-pwnzors-everything-in -RPG syndrome, but I've found Oblivion to be quite satisfactory in terms of monster auto-scale (weapon enchantments = good). I think it was kind of a daring move by Bethseda, departing from the usual standard of RPGs being area-based with the "newbie areas" to the "super-hard bosses areas." And, looking at their goals to be "realistic" you would expect to be fighting some things that are slightly difficult and some that are relatively easy in a fantasy-type world. It's not like at level 20 you stop finding rats and wolves out in the wild.

      But I agree. Porting Morrowind to the 360 is a great idea. Morrowind was *almost* Bethseda's claim to fame, and it's great to be able to play a classic on a newer system.

  12. Did they update by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the don't-die-every-2-months compat?

  13. Full List by Dubpal · · Score: 4, Informative

    A list of all Xbox games playable on the 360 can be found here.

    1. Re:Full List by donaldm · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I counted 383 out of approx 1000 games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_games that is approx 38% backwards compatibility and it only took approx two years to get there, well done Microsoft.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    2. Re:Full List by Lusa · · Score: 2, Informative

      This link has far more detailed information including glitches and which games will work in different regions and whether they support PAL 60Hz. The latter is a deciding factor if, like me, you live in a PAL region and use the VGA cable. Microsoft seems reluctant to provide that information themselves.

  14. Wait, what? by Guppy06 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Despite news many months ago that they weren't going to be doing much in the way of updating anymore,"

    Nice link there, Zonk.

    Seriously, I've been here for "many months" and I don't recall seeing anything saying "no moar back compat!" If anything, I've seen Microsoft insisting the opposite, and I also remember people being surprised that Microsoft was still working on it when their last update came out a few months ago.

    So I have to ask: where are you getting your information?

    1. Re:Wait, what? by dreamchaser · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Where Zonk gets most of his information: a waterbong. He sees things in the clouds of smoke that elude us mere mortals.

    2. Re:Wait, what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      umm. he's right. MS DID in fact say they'd be looking to stop worrying about bc altogether a few months back.

    3. Re:Wait, what? by Khaed · · Score: 1

      Which brings us to the entire point of the GP:

      "Link?"

    4. Re:Wait, what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same place all the editors on Slashdot get their information -- advertisers or trolls.

      Seriously, if it weren't for those two groups, this site would have died long ago, whether they'd like to admit it or not.