Topic: The everything Xbox thread

@NEStalgia
Honestly, i wish the next Xbox (Scarlett) have ALL BC with every single Xbox games regardless of their region so i can play DDR Ultramix 1 - 4, DDR Universe 1 - 3, The Sims 3, FF XII, Kinect games, some Xbox One games , etc with just only one machine. Considering used OG XBOX at my local video game repair shop just only for playing DDR Ultramix 1 - 4 is not a good decision even i can buy it with just Rp 1,000,000 or US$ 71.00

Hoping they expand the games vlist for xcloud today. Works amazingly well, played thru the entire Halo 5 campaign on my phone which is nuts!

Also seems like Witcher 3 is coming to GP for those who haven't played it

EDIT: NASCAR Heat 4 and the new Contra game are both FTP this weekend. Heat 4 is a pretty good dim, they've steadily improved the part few years

I want the 360 game Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (the first game) and, most of all, I really need the Project Zero (Fatal Frame) games released for Xbox: 1 and 2 with the additional content and features. 2 was remade for Wii and that was the first one I played but I still need the Xbox version and the definitive edition of the first game.

@NEStalgia I was considering buying a Surface device but I could not make my mind. Surface Laptop 3 is new but it received mixed reviews, the 15" inches ones because of the AMD chip and ports, while Surface Book 2 is really amazing but quite expensive in the best configurations. Perhaps you can tell more more about Surface Pro and why you like them so much? The new Surface Pro X also got mixed reviews because of the chip (ARM) and OS (32 bit).

@DarthNocturnal I think Anti meant region-free OG XBox games in BC. Unfortunately, @Anti-Matter I don't think the licensing agreements for games from that era would allow them to be made region free today even if they did support it in BC. The licensing is based on the original terms from the early 2000's not today's terms. Plus, as Darth said, they aren't supporting peripheral-required games for BC because the peripherals aren't supported. (And DDR was never very popular in the west, either at home or as an arcade machine.)

@BlueOcean I'm not sure Koei would port Fatal Frame to XBox any more than Konami would do BC support for DDR

For Surface, it depends what you need. They call them all surface but they're really 3 different products for 3 different purposes. Surface Laptop is really just a traditional laptop. More like a MacBook Air competitor. Surface Book is an interesting device but can get pricey if you really want the bells and whistles (like the external GPU etc.) It's more laptop than tablet at heart but can function as both, and can kind of sort of be a full desktop PC with the addon dock and GPU unit. Cool unit. Expensive, and still not tremendously great as an "ultra thin and light" - it's better as a traditional laptop but still gives you options.

If you're looking for a productivity device more more serious work, Surface Book is probably the way to go....but between Surface Laptop and Surface Pro it depends on what you want. Yeah, I'd avoid the ARM based everything - Microsoft has never understood ARM isn't their strength...they really need to stop mucking with that. The Intel based Surfaces are the "only" Surfaces in my mind.

Ultimately as an "ultra thin and light" it succeeds where all the others (Asus etc) fail. It's very thin, very light, very portable. The battery life isn't amazing but it's not terrible, either. It's a sacrifice for the form factor. It's very usable as a tablet, if slightly heavy, yet the "type cover" works surprisingly well - it's razor thin, but not floppy - it's built on a magnesium plate like the rest of the machine. I have the Surface Go as well....that one is kinda slow in the default configuration. I bought it as a media player and it bogs down. Decent at the task, but slow.

It's not my productivity laptop. I have a huge, heavy, ungainly Thinkpad for that. But for my quick grab laptop to quick type something, a document, print something, log in and manage something, web browse, watch E3, etc, etc, I haven't found a device that meets all the criteria of: Full PC (not weird workarounds via ARM - it can run everything), ultra thin and light, always-on (like Switch/3DS rather than waiting to come out of sleep like a full laptop), converts to tablet/laptop instantly (magnetic keyboard), but with a solid keyboard (slight flex but not floppy, and the kickstand works surprisingly well on a lap though not all agree), doesn't get hot on my lap like nearly every other laptop. And the (sold separately) dock just connects via the magnetic charging port. Basically for (nearly) all of my intents, it "just works." It may not be perfect, but it balances all the roles I want out of it uniquely well. Just wish it had a replaceable battery, but.....it's 2019, NES.....

Also if you have any interest in XCloud or the remote streaming from your 1X, it seems like the ideal device for that. Not quite a 10" Switch, but as close as we'll get.

If you're looking for a more heavy duty productivity machine and don't care about fast accessibility and ease of tablet conversion you're probably better off with the more traditional laptops though. In the long run, it's cheaper, and should have more performance available without the compromises to fit a tiny light machine.

@NEStalgia Decent, yes. But definitely not great. I have the latest model (2018) of the Samsung Galaxy A6, and it really is washed out in full daylight on a sunny day. Maybe the screen of the Switch is even shinier, I don't know, because I don't play it outside, but most phone screens are FAR from clearly visible in overly sunny days.

Do you have a screen protector on the Switch, by the way? I was instantly wondering if there would be any significant difference between that and the screen of the Switch itself.

@BlueOcean @NEStalgia I also swear by my Surface Pro. I've bought each new iteration since the 3. Really is the best of both tablet and laptop imo. Great for work and also good for just browsing while on the couch. Definitely spring for a 8GB model if you get one. I'm not usually a spec nut but Windows 10 on 4gb of ram is like watching a snail race lol.

@NEStalgia
If i remembered, DDR plastic Mat for Xbox machines using USB output so can be plugged into machine without converter.

DDR is still popular on America.
DDR has celebrated its 20th Anniversary on October 2018 ago.
The latest DDR, DDR A20 made a cut at one of USA Game Arcade Round 1 California.

@ThanosReXXX Even the A6 is usable that way though. Switch is shiny, but also dimmer. In strong, and I don't mean direct, I just mean strong, sunlight it's almost invisible. Same with 3DS, except 3DS would just be dull to invisible, while shiny Switch (and phones) you see a mirror of yourself and anything behind you

DIRECT sunlight as a different matter, even Note doesn't love that.

No, I'm not using a screen protector. There are AG coated or matte protectors out there I assume so that's always an option. I tend not to use screen protectors. I used to, but found they never really worked for me. The only time my glass screens ever get scratches, is usually because of the protective case, and/or is minor, and insignificant to use, where the protector always has THAT ONE BUBBLE/HAIR in there the drives me crazy for years. And I keep my devices until the batteries bulge so there's no resale value I'm worried about. Switch is VERY scratchable of course.....but also well protected - the dock itself scratches the bezel, I keep it in a case when moving it around, and the one time a headphone cable's velcro cord wrap stuck to my shirt and sent the switch flying off a chair onto a wood floor, it landed joycon-down at the screen was never in danger. Well designed machine! The joycon broke it's locking clip but still worked otherwise. I was replacing it anyway since it had drift....

@redd214 @BlueOcean Actually my current one is the 2017 i5 4GB model and it's quite the performer. The i7 at least at the time had a fan while the i5 was finally fanless (a big deal to me for energy use temp, and keeping it running longer despite outdoor use), and I was cheap

The m3 models: Avoid at all costs. They're really slow. But the i5 & i7s are both good. Depending on what you're running I find Surface is nicely optimized, even the 4GB model (and I agree, normally less than 8 is torment) works very smoothly unless you're trying Photoshop or some other resource intensive business/creative software.

@Anti-Matter It's USB, yes, but the machine may not have driver support for the hardware itself - that would be additional software to maintain across different OSes....it's understandable they won't support that (same for Guitar Hero, Skylanders, etc.)

DDR was never popular here. Round One is a Japanese arcade, so they actually send their old machines from Japan here, many of them are still all in Japanese language only. INCREDIBLY awesome place , but it's not to be confused with popularity. It's a very Japanese place, using surplus from their stores in Japan, including the photo booth machines (that are not at all popular here), they have karaoke parlors, and serve sake at the snack bar. Definitely not a mainstream American audience place

@Anti-Matter It's not nearly as popular as you think. It's very niche, and like others have already said, the licenses/rights to the songs of the DDR games you mentioned have long since expired, so there's absolutely no possibility whatsoever that these games will ever come to the Xbox One or Xbox Scarlett through backwards compatibility.

@NEStalgia I also don't use screen protectors on my phones, but I do on all my handhelds, and I also have one on my Wii U GamePad and the Switch. Not all of them glass protectors, by the way. I believe all my DS screen protectors are some kind of plastic, unless I'm mistaken.

Agreed on the bubble or hair underneath screen protectors being really annoying, though...

@DarthNocturnal
"I kinda forgot that DDR uses licensed music, even though dancing to said music is kinda the whole point. And said licenses have no doubt expired."

I was questioning about licensing issue of DDR licensed songs.
If i compared with PS2 & PS3 with their BC PS1 games, both of them can play DDR PS1 games (must be same region with the machine) without using BC update like Microsoft did. The BC was pure directly disc based. Just put inside the DDR PS1 games on PS2 / PS3 and we can play them. DDR also available on PS3 (Just only one and the worst one).

Same case as Wii U BC with Wii games that we can play DDR Wii games directly by put the disc on Wii U, without BC update like Microsoft did.

I have no idea if BC system for Xbox games are different with Sony or Nintendo games. If Xbox games BC using licensing update, not by disc based, that means i cannot even play old Xbox games on newer Xbox machine before Microsoft add the BC list by updates.

@Anti-Matter PS2 & 3 actually had PS1 hardware inside so they were directly playing PS1 discs. But OG XBox used very different hardware that's not compatible with the current machines which is why they need the BC patch. They actually need to rebuild the game to work on them. It would be like trying to run Mac software on a Windows PC.

Same with WiiU - the hardware actually WAS the same hardware as a Wii, just more powerful versions of it, and you had to boot into the Wii OS to do it.

For XBox BC (and PS4/5), both companies switched from their old console architecture to PC architecture, so it's not at all similar to what those old games run on. MS does the BC patch that rebuilds the game for the new architecture (at cost to the developers/Microsoft.) Sony has that streaming service for PS3 BC, but it's actually similar. However licensing is an issue for things like DDR, sports, racing, movie tie-in games. They paid at the time for x amount of years to use the names. That time expired, so they really can't modify it or bring it out in a new way again without renewing the licenses. But simple disc-based BC can't work on the current hardware. It's too different.

@DarthNocturnal @NEStalgia
Aw man....
That means i have to find old OG Xbox to play DDR Ultramix 1 - 4 & Xbox 360 Slim to play DDR Universe 1 - 3 + Kinect games.
Kinda bummer because I have to pay more for two machines with very few games on each machine.

@Anti-Matter Yep. I think most of us here have succumbed to the pile of slightly yellowing plastic consoles all stacked up for our favorite games of the past

Halo Reach is part of X019.

@NEStalgia

Laptop 3 is not great for gaming and lacks ports as a laptop and Book 2 is amazing as a gaming laptop (even more with Play Anywhere and Game Pass Ultimate) and tablet but it's too expensive for my budget. I was considering both but now I just ordered a new TV for Xbox One X. Like you said, Surface Pro is cheaper and lighter than the others and if I give up gaming on a portable device besides 3DS and Switch then Pro doesn't look a bad idea anymore, especially considering that I can stream from my X and it's compatible with Xbox One controllers (even the original Elite one without Bluetooth). That and all the Windows/Xbox optimisation is appealing. I was worried about the keyboard of the Pro because I type a lot and I prefer typing than touching. Is it good enough? Does it have backlight (probably not because it's very thin)?

Also I agree about Switch. In the train there's no direct light, just strong light and I can barely see what's going on because of the reflection. To really appreciate the screen I need the place to be quite dark like a bedroom with closed blinds.

I probably missed a lot of that, @BlueOcean .... What, exactly do you want? A proper desktop might be better, if you don't need portability & want a good keyboard?

@Grumblevolcano
Lets hope that we get Reach release date.

@BruceCM I want something that I can take with me and take to work.