New "AAA" Xbox titles to work on 360s w/o hard drives?

by Dan Choi { Aug 29th 2005 at 8:30AM }

We've heard the requirements, and J's given his reasons, so it's only natural that we've come to this conclusion: that only owners of the hard drive-toting Xbox 360 Console system will be able to play this current generation's Xbox games (leaving hard drive-less Core system owners proverbially out to dry). Various news reports in recent days, however, seem to lend credence to the theory that current and future "AAA" (er, premium) Xbox titles currently in development will come with the proper 360 emulation profile right on the discs themselves. Who knows to what extent current Xbox 1 titles nearing completion have this extra-special code hidden away (Hot Coffee-style?), but games already released, like Halo 2, may have been developed too far in advance of the final 360 beta kits to meet this on-disc demand. (Although you can bet that a Halo 2 emulation profile will be sitting pretty on that bundled hard drive at launch for those who pay $400 for their systems; see some leaked pics for alleged visual proof.)

The other interesting wrinkle in this story is the scope of Core compatibility planned for these titles. The level of on-disc inclusion was limited to only the most promising gen-one titles because there apparently weren�t enough �resources� to work with and support every Xbox 1 dev team out there. That�s really unfortunate, especially considering Microsoft�s push for industry dominance, but the reasons for originally stating support (when they didn�t outright deny it) for only the top Xbox titles become clearer by the day. Let�s hope that the Xbox team can get the most bang for their buck this way, and throw Core owners a few Xbox 1 bones in the process.

[via GameTab]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

homer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

backwards compatibility is key for this generation of consoles. forcing people to have the hdd is pretty lame. i expected as much from the evil empire, which is why i never bought the weak-ass computer that is the first xbox.

Lesbian Ham @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

The pics of that kid playin halo2 on his 360...
It's always bugged me that he hasnt got an in-game shot. maybe the 360 he's got (/had) hasn't yet god the full code on it to be able to play halo2. Maybe it crashes when he goes past the first screen?

ROG27 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

"That�s really unfortunate, especially considering Microsoft�s push for industry dominance, but the reasons for originally stating support (when they didn�t outright deny it) for only the top Xbox titles become clearer by the day."

Why in the hell would anyone want Microsoft to become dominate in the videogame arena? They will ruin it just like they have ruined every industry they have gotten into prior by making low quality products full of bugs with little to no innovation. They will also leech you dry with microtransactions, constant peripheral upgrades, and a new system that's a substandard leap in technology coming out every 4 years. Windows anyone?

heist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

And just how many more 'AAA' Xbox titles do expect to actually come out after the 360 is released? This is highly, highly unlikely to ever happen.

Brian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

I think there are a fair number of "AAA" Xbox titles left in the pipeline that have yet to be released that I would be interested in playing post-360 release:

Battlefield 2 (EA)
Blazing Angels (Ubisoft)
From Russia with Love (Ubisoft)
Rainbox 6: Lockdown (Ubisoft)
Far Cry Instincts (Ubisoft)
Battlefront II (Lucasarts)
Prince of Persia 3 (Ubisoft)

There is another major reason why I�m interested in �backwards compatibility�� I already have maxed out the number of High-Def connections in my home theater (Cable/DVD/Xbox). Without backwards compatibility on 360 I will need to connect/disconnect a console every time I switch between game generations.