Topic: The everything Xbox thread

Can someone help me clarify the XSeX backwards compatibility?

Phil Spencer's letter (https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/consoles/xbox-series-x?xr=shellnav) states:

I interpret this to mean that only the existing OG Xbox and 360 games that are currently playable on the Xbox One will be playable on the XSeX, so it won't be the entire library, just those that have been added to the BC list by Microsoft.

Is this right? Is there any official clearer definitive position, because some people seem to be taking it as ALL Xbox games of any generation will be playable?

@gcunit "including backward-compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games..."

This is clear to me that it will be only the backward compatible games. Those games are the one in their official BC list. The other 360 and Original Xbox games are NOT BC.

@Zuljaras Yeh, my take too. Bummer. All I want is to be able to play Project Gotham Racing 1-4 (but preferably enhanced) on a single console. I don't have an OG Xbox or 360 and don't want to get them just for the PGR series.

@gcunit Bummer indeed that is why I have one perfect 360 to play the non-BC games. The quality is still good and unlike the PS3 I can install them on the HDD and play without hearing the constant CD spinning.

@Zuljaras I forget - can the 360 run all OG Xbox games?

@gcunit Here is the official info. And it is again a list. And only playable from official 360 HDD.

https://beta.support.xbox.com/help/xbox-360/games/backward-co...

I assume only supported games, but they'll proabably go back to adding more after launch. The games still have to be ported for the architecture change from the PPC and the older platform tools.

I'm still worried about the proprietary storage. I'm hoping they're not super expensive or small and expensive, but of course they will be.. I have an 8TB external drive on my 1 and it's full. And that's before we get to super huge games incoming. Buying a ton of little proprietary memory cards sounds like the Gilette razor & blades model. And swapping them around sounds sucky. I was hoping for some kind of "smart" system for moving bulk storage to and from high speed storage. It makes me wish they focused on physical distribution with games on high speed cards. The cards remind me of the PS1 all over again. PS5 could actually win me with a simpler system.

Assuming I actually buy new consoles instead of buying TP and rice for $500 from scalpers. A console launch in 2020 still sounds like advertising the live action remake of Song of the South.

@Dezzy I thought the internal thinking was 18+ months, widespread shortages, 40-70% infection rate (meaning basically we all are going to get it, all they're doing is spacing out when we get it to not overload hospitals all at once), with possibly a summer calm period (high heat and/or high temp hindering it but not known for sure yet) but another round starting in September....and presumably the holidays as well. Riiiiiiight when they're talking about launching consoles. I think this is mighty optimistic (as is IOC for Tokyo 2020 which is insane.) From those numbers I wouldn't expect any semblance of our real lives occurring until summer 2021 at the earliest, if then, making Holiday 2021 a lot better a time for a console launch that doesn't hear the sound of crickets over it's ultra quiet fans.

@NEStalgia Sony's the factor focusing both for holiday 2020. Microsoft can handle a delay given the 1+ year of crossgen games meanwhile PS4 looks kind of dead after June (GoT), Cyberpunk and Avengers are the 2 main massive games that come to mind afterwards and those were games originally planned before June so there's a real sense of Sony wants next gen to start ASAP.

@gcunit @Zuljaras Far as I understood, from various media, and from the info gathered on PureXbox, the Xbox Series X actually IS going to be able to play ALL OG Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games, so it's NOT just going to be the list of backward compatible titles that we have so far, they're actually going to expand upon that and offer full, true backwards compatibility with all generations of Xbox.

That has always been Spencer's goal, and that is what he has been talking about quite frequently of late.

@ThanosReXXX If this is true then the Series X will be one of the best Box of them all!

@ThanosReXXX
"the Xbox Series X actually IS going to be able to play ALL OG Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games, so it's NOT just going to be the list of backward compatible titles that we have so far, they're actually going to expand upon that and offer full, true backwards compatibility with all generations of Xbox."

(Suddenly wake up) 😳 !!
So that means i have a chance to play Dance Dance Revolution and Kinect XBOX 360 games by disc on Xbox series X ?? 😃

@ThanosReXXX Links if possible. As far as I can tell the official stance at the moment is:

• OG Xbox backwards compatible games on XB1
• 360 backwards compatible games on XB1
• All XB1 games

@Zuljaras It's sure starting to sound as if it is.

@Anti-Matter Yeah, it would seem like you would be able to play your favorite games after all, BUT there will be no Kinect compatibility out of the box. It's only backward compatibility with games, NOT with hardware, and ever since the Xbox One, there hasn't been a Kinect input on the console.

But even though the Xbox One also wasn't compatible with Kinect, they ended up making an adapter for it, so it works after all, which might mean that this will also work on Xbox Series X, but that isn't confirmed yet.

@Grumblevolcano Here you go:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2020/03/microsoft_reveals_how_x...

In that article, this specific bit is mentioned, which is crystal clear, far as I'm concerned:

"Backwards compatibility was always on the cards with Series X, but Microsoft has now revealed just how far it's taking this concept. The aim is to make all Xbox games compatible with the Series X, right back to OG titles released on the first console."

EDIT:
I have to correct myself again, as others below this comment have so correctly stated that there would still be musical licensing issues with the DDR titles, and seeing as you have to install all games and cannot play them straight from the disc, as has been the default mode ever since the Xbox One, you'll never be able to play OG Xbox DDR games on the Xbox Series X.

@ThanosReXXX
Btw, until which model of Xbox One that still have compatibility with Kinect ?
There are some Kinect games on Xbox One despite just fewer than Xbox 360.

@Anti-Matter All models of Xbox One. Just look up "Kinect adapter for Xbox One" and you'll see.

CORRECTION: most of these adapter do NOT work on the original Xbox One, only on Xbox One S and Xbox One X, but I have found several on Amazon that claim to be compatible with ALL models Xbox One.
Here you go:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBGYHG9/ref=dp_cerb_3

@ThanosReXXX That quote from the Purexbox article was exactly what first got me suspicious. It's an interpretation from the author of the article, rather than the words from Microsoft. The only words from Microsoft I've seen about it are in the Phil Spencer letter I quoted earlier.

@gcunit Well, I've seen Spencer in videos and read a lot of his interviews and quotes, and whenever backwards compatibility came up, he always, and I do mean ALWAYS alluded to Series X bringing ALL generations together, as a whole, so spanning all generations and all games, so I think that the interpretation of the author of that PureXbox article is dead on. You cannot interpret anything that Spencer has said about it in any other way.

But if you feel like it's not all that certain, why not bring it up in that very article, and why not ask the author himself how he came to that conclusion? Perhaps they have some more concrete sources at PureXbox to confirm all this.

EDIT:
So, trying to find more info about this, all that comes up is more recent articles, in which Spencer states the following:

"Our commitment to compatibility means existing Xbox One games, including backward-compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, look and play better than ever before," Spencer says. "Your favorite games, including titles in Xbox Game Pass, benefit from steadier frame rates, faster load times and improved resolution and visual fidelity – all with no developer work required. Your Xbox One gaming accessories also come forward with you."

But several articles also mention that the backwards compatible library WILL be expanded upon, so even though it does indeed look like ALL titles of all generations actually not being the case (my bad), they actually WILL add more titles.

On a side note: and realistically, ALL titles probably also isn't viable and/or possible, such as with those DDR titles which require renewed licensing, and a lot of other titles that may not have been all that successful, but if they manage to make around 60 to 80 percent of the total catalog available, then that will, for all intent and purposes, still be full backwards compatibility.

@ThanosReXXX Well, it still may be their aim. Just like it was their aim to make the Xbox One BC with all OG Xbox and 360 games, doesn't mean it's BC with everything at launch of course. Additionally, some games will never be BC due to the licensing issues. Unless they emulate the game straight from the disc. So, instead of downloading a digital version (which requires the licensing rights), playing it straight from the disc through a built-in emulator may solve that problem. That way everything is compatible from the start.

Except of course the odd game that requires a proprietary controller, like DDR.

@Octane True, and that may even be possible, seeing as Series X is twice as powerful as the One X, making it almost 12 times as powerful as the Xbox 360, so it should quite easily be able to emulate an Xbox 360, and definitely an OG Xbox.

I also came across this article, which seems to indicate that Ubisoft is in the know about all of this:
https://www.cnet.com/news/xbox-series-xs-backward-compatibili...

I interpreted their BC comments as meaning it was the same system as Xbone, so it only covers the officially BC-compatible games, rather than every game.