Itsme

360 to play 200+ Xbox games
Microsoft confirms its next-gen console will play many games for its current-gen console, including Halo, Ninja Gaiden, KOTOR, Fable, GTA, and more.
After playing coy for months about the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility, Microsoft has finally come clean. The software behemoth announced late Friday that over 200 games from its current-generation console will play on its next-generation console.

As one might expect, Microsoft has made sure all the top Xbox games are supported, including Halo and Halo 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I and II, Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black, and the three Grand Theft Autos: III, Vice City and San Andreas. A total of 212 Xbox games will be playable on the 360 at launch, though Microsoft says that number will increase.

Friday also brought good news to Xbox Live addicts. Any of the backwards-compatible games will be playable cross-platform between the Xbox 360 and Xbox over Xbox Live. That means would-be Master Chiefs with a 360 can still own their friends playing on current-generation consoles--although the former will see the carnage in higher resolution.

However, there is a catch. To play an Xbox game on the 360, players must first insert the current-gen game into a next-gen console hooked up to Xbox Live. The system will check if the console has the latest emulation software. If not, it will automatically download said software, install it on the 360, restart, and load the original Xbox game. Obviously, a 360 hard drive--which comes with the Halo and Halo 2 software preinstalled--is required to store the backwards-compatibility software.

For 360 owners who either can't or won't log onto Xbox Live, Microsoft offers two other solutions. First, they can go to Xbox.com, download the emulators, burn them onto a CD, and then insert said CD into the 360, which will auto-install the software. The other option is to order a free CD from Xbox.com which will be mailed to the requestor for a "nominal" fee. However, the CD will be mailed out for free to Japanese 360 owners.

A complete list of the Xbox games that will be playable on the 360 when it ships on November 22 is below:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6139702.html

Grubbie

Ya, I was shocked when I read that yesterday. The rumors were that it was going to be handful then BAM 200.

nimj2323ck

Why are none of the Xbox sports titles that were made by Microsoft being listed? I still wanna play Top Spin.

__________________
"No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions."
- Charles Steinmetz

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
- Douglas Adams

mcs328

Good move. That was a plus for the PS2.

__________________

gear02

unless it's harder to play the Xbox games than it's necessary. Remember, the PS2 actually had PSX chips inside of it so it wasn't emulated. These are, and emulation may be difficult.

hapoo

doesn't seem like it would be too difficult. since the xbox 360 has 3 cores, all faster than the original xbox, even if you setup two of them to just translate the old code, it could still use the third one to run it.