27 new titles back-compat on Xbox 360
by Ross Miller 
{ Jun 13th 2006 at 1:55PM }
Hot on the heels of Moore's comments, the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility was updated today to add 21 new titles (and six more Japan-only titles) for a total of 27 more Xbox One games playable on your Xbox 360. The list includes a few heavy-hitters (Doom 3, Spider-Man, LEGO Star Wars), a few critical failures (Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Minority Report), and a couple of critical darlings with less-than-phenomenal sales (Dreamfall: The Longest Journey).Continue reading for the full list of additions. You can find the entire list of backwards-compatible Xbox games here.
- 4x4 EVO 2
- Amped® 2
- Bad Boys 2
- Big Mutha Truckers
- DOOM 3
- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
- Fatal Frame
- FlatOut
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies
- Intellivision Lives
- LEGO® Star Wars
- Minority Report
- MLB SlugFest 20-04
- The Punisher
- RalliSport Challenge
- Silent Hill® 4: The Room
- Spawn® Armageddon
- Spider-Man
- Star Wars Battlefront
- State of Emergency
- Zapper
- Bistro Cupid 1
- Flight Academy
- Othello Seminar
- Igo Seminar
- Shogi Seminar
- Mahjong Seminar
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Wonderdog @ Jun 13th 2006 2:00PM
Apparently, over-delivering means a bunch of crappy games will get the BC treatment. Silent Hill 4 and Dreamfall are nice, but seriously, there's more crap in that list than is coming out out of Moore's mouth.
Cage @ Jun 13th 2006 2:01PM
Surprised they have as many games as they do. And then there will be those that complain and say its not enough...
Noah @ Jun 13th 2006 2:03PM
Where the hell is Psychonauts?
DAMN M$!
Paul @ Jun 13th 2006 2:03PM
I'm still waiting on my Psychonauts and Beyond Good and Evil. Sometime next year I'm hoping.
Mike @ Jun 13th 2006 2:03PM
Good news... But I still want my Streetfighter Anniversary collection!!
Jay @ Jun 13th 2006 2:04PM
I'm buying Dreamfall right after work! :D That's one of the ones I posted on the blog Joystiq listed to let the BC team know what we wanted! Now, if they add Buffy ... I'll be happy (Panzer Dragoon & Otogi would be nice, too)
Generic Insatiable Fanboy @ Jun 13th 2006 2:05PM
It's not enough!
mikejett @ Jun 13th 2006 2:06PM
prince of persia? please? (all three not just the first one ...)
qbix @ Jun 13th 2006 2:06PM
We want Psychonauts!!!
Scott @ Jun 13th 2006 2:10PM
I have a feeling they are starting with the easiest games (witness Barbie's Horse Adventures and Big Mutha Trucker) and working their way up. They'll throw in a few high quality games like Halo, Halo 2, Ninja Gaiden, and Lego: Star Wars...but the majority of the games made backwards compatible so far seem like nothing but filler.
Blink @ Jun 13th 2006 2:10PM
It's a good addition for sure, but that doesn't mean I want Panzer Dragoon Orta on the list any list now than I did before. Though there's always a positive side, and here, it's that Microsoft is making progress and fufilling their promises, so we can all be happy about that.
sputnik @ Jun 13th 2006 2:16PM
If you want your request to be heard...leave comments on http://majornelson.com/ .
ARGH @ Jun 13th 2006 2:22PM
Where is PANZER DRAGOON ORTA !
Come on already!
Will @ Jun 13th 2006 2:22PM
YES! RALLISPORT! I seriously loved that game - it was the best racing game for the X-Box. And I can tell you that I'm not really a fan of racing games!
J Ron @ Jun 13th 2006 2:24PM
Barbie Horse Adventures FTW!
sputnik @ Jun 13th 2006 2:24PM
MS has learned that in this industry you put up and shut up. I applaud them on listening to their customers and quickly making changes to meet customers needs.
Sony has allot to learn.
Who would have thought that the biggest differentiator in next gen console war would come down to good old fashioned customer service.
Clint @ Jun 13th 2006 2:25PM
The PS3 will play all the PS2 and PS1 games from day one. Why would anyone buy a console with so many patches that still doesn't even play Xbox games after this many months? You bought a defective incomplete product.
Casey @ Jun 13th 2006 2:30PM
@Clint
The PS3 will not be backward compatible with both PS2 and PS1 games, the PS1 backward compatibility still has not been confirmed, and the PS2 is not confirmed for all titles.
Plus, for the price of the premium PS3, one could buy a premium 360 and an original xbox and still have money to spare.
Will @ Jun 13th 2006 2:30PM
#16
You are incorrect. It seems the Sony is taking the same route.
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=16310
PS3 is garbage @ Jun 13th 2006 2:30PM
#16: how can you possibly expect that PS3 will play all PS2 games when the slim PS2 won't even play all PS2 games?
Not to mention that it won't play them in high res, or with other updated features.
We still don't even know what this mythical "day one" will be anyways. With blu-ray now delayed until september, do you really think PS3 will be out in November?
For $600, you could buy an Xbox 360, an Xbox, a roll of duct tape, and still have money left over.
Bloo @ Jun 13th 2006 2:32PM
It's funny all these people crying for Panzer Dragoon Orta and Psychonauts. I bought those games too (and could still play them on my Xbox if I wanted too). The bottom line is though, that those games sold very poorly and that fact combined with the difficulty of making games as good as those backwards compatible is why they aren't there yet.
Buckshot @ Jun 13th 2006 2:36PM
Shenmue 2, Shenmue 2, Shenmue 2
And does anyone know where I can find some sailors?
AndrewNeo @ Jun 13th 2006 2:36PM
Has it ocurred to any of you it's the developer's jobs to do make games backwards compatable and not MS's?
enon @ Jun 13th 2006 2:38PM
Psychonauts!!!
We so need Psychonauts!
DinnyHoon @ Jun 13th 2006 2:41PM
Good news! But I still want FarCry Instincts...
Garriq @ Jun 13th 2006 2:42PM
Give me Voodoo Vince and the Metal Slug games, goddamnit.
LunarDuality @ Jun 13th 2006 2:43PM
@ AndrewNeo
You do know that you're completely wrong about that, right? MS is the one and only source for these updates and the only company spending resources getting these games to work. The original developers have nothing to do with it.
Do not offend the Emulation Ninjas. They will strike you down. (^_^)
Digi Smalls @ Jun 13th 2006 2:43PM
why do they hate Pandemic? FSW and Mercenaries were two of the best, most innovative games for the Xbox.
J Ron @ Jun 13th 2006 2:47PM
@PS3 is garbage
I have issues with your name. The PS3 is way too big to fit in any trash can. I guess you could gut one and turn it into a $600 trash can. I also worry about sony tool boys humping my ps3 trash can in front of the house. The racoons would have a hell of a time tipping it over though.
Sabre @ Jun 13th 2006 2:47PM
"Where is PANZER DRAGOON ORTA !
Come on already!"
I'd also like to second that "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!"
WTF is "Bad Boys 2" on there and not PDO?
ihavenoideawhatisgoingon @ Jun 13th 2006 2:52PM
Kick Ass!!! I LOVE Flatout!!! I can't wait for Flatout 2! It's so much fun to play all the side games at a party!
Sabre @ Jun 13th 2006 2:58PM
"The bottom line is though, that those games sold very poorly and that fact combined with the difficulty of making games as good as those backwards compatible is why they aren't there yet."
Ok...then what is your logic for why "Yourself! Fitness" and "Bad Boys 2" being compatible? Or why isn't "Soul Calibur 2" on there...that game surely didn't sell poorly. Oh and I'm sure "Monster Garage" was a million seller right?
Zacky V @ Jun 13th 2006 3:00PM
YES! We now have Doom 3
SymetriX @ Jun 13th 2006 3:04PM
People will complain that questionable choices are on the list, but the developers at Microsoft have stated previously that this often occurs simply because an unpopular game shares the same engine as a popular title.
It doesn't make sense to intentionally not add emulation for an unpopular title when, in effect, your work on a popular title gave you an additional title "for free", so to speak.
It is however, somewhat questionable to "hype up" an upcoming emulation pack by stating that a large number of titles will be available when, in reality, you really only crossed off a much smaller number of games from your "hit list", and somewhat by virtue gained other titles that are far from top priorities for the emulation team.
Troy @ Jun 13th 2006 3:16PM
HitMan2 Please! I can play 1 & 3 on the 360 but 2 has been sitting on my shelf collecting dust for some time. (I just can't bring myself to fire up the old black beast and big-ass controllers any more).
aegies @ Jun 13th 2006 3:18PM
i hate to join a few speakers of doom here, but psychonauts, beyond good and evil, and panzer dragoon orta, combined, sold less than 250,000 copies on the xbox. psychonauts specifically sold less than 60,000 (and i was one of the less than 60,000). these three games are therefore pretty low on the totem pole, even factoring in mindshare with critics and the very vocal (but in reality very small) internet community. these problems are especially compounded in orta, which was an xbox specific game that pushed the hardware very hard, and had odd coding tricks (which is just what sega does, for some reason). sega doesn't seem to like using standard sdks and apis for their projects, and it bites us in the ass when it comes to emulation, and remember that that is what backwards compatibility on the 360 is. and for the sony fans in the audience, if the ps3 must also rely on software emulation for backwards compatibility, then we're all in for a world of hurt. developers have been pushing the ps2 to do things it was never really equipped to do for a couple of years now, for some of the most popular (critically and/or financially) games on the platform. i'm looking at you, shadow of the collosus, god of war, and killzone (which did manage to sell a decent number of units). shadow of the collosus and killzone especially had to use hardware elements for graphics tricks that were designed for other purposes. so again, this is the reality that we're in right now. either the companies charge an arm and a leg (and in microsoft's case, pay an arm and a leg to bitterly estranged business partners nvidia) to include previous generation chipsets in the systems, or they emulate, and we get this.
Bloo @ Jun 13th 2006 3:20PM
"Ok...then what is your logic for why "Yourself! Fitness" and "Bad Boys 2" being compatible? Or why isn't "Soul Calibur 2" on there...that game surely didn't sell poorly. Oh and I'm sure "Monster Garage" was a million seller right?"
BECAUSE THERE EMULATION REQUIRES ZERO EFFORT. NOTICE I SAID *DIFFICULTY* OF EMULATION *COMBINED* WITH SALES NUMBERS.
Joe Smith @ Jun 13th 2006 3:21PM
I have 100% backwards compatibilty. It's called my Xbox. It turns out that it still works just great even with a new machine in the house. Of course i had to turnit on to check for this article since I haven't played an Xbox 1 game in about 6 months.
Sabre @ Jun 13th 2006 3:22PM
@ aegies:
Yet another flawed "excuse" why certain games aren't compatible. Saying b/c the game didn't "sell well" is a lame excuse. Like I stated before...what is your excuse for Soul Calibur 2? That game easily sold more then all those games you listed yet it doesn't work.
Sabre @ Jun 13th 2006 3:27PM
Can you PROVE that those games required little effort with emulation?
corey @ Jun 13th 2006 3:38PM
OMFG still no mech assualt wtf?that should be top on the list such a great game
Andro @ Jun 13th 2006 3:46PM
Come on already, give us LINKS 2004!
Glenn @ Jun 13th 2006 3:55PM
Sabre - YOU'RE the one with something to PROVE. The devs have stated their reasoning, and we have very little reason to doubt that. I mean, if there were some nefarious plan to protect 360 games here, they're doing an absolutely terrible job of it. And there is no reason, either way Microsoft makes royalties.
Microsoft laid it out very clearly on xbox.com, if you don't agree with the claims, then you need to bring some proof.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilityfaq.htm
aegies @ Jun 13th 2006 3:58PM
sabre, honestly, i'm not sure. i would imagine it's on the priority list. however, the game was by no means a huge seller. it sold well. it was also multiplatform. something else i'm noticing is that a lot of the notable games missing in action are japanese developed titles. as with my previous comments regarding sega, it's my understanding that japanese developers until recently disdained prebuilt software development tools, preferring instead to create their own dev tools. it's only now that you're hearing about japanese studios using existing game engines like unreal3. there are obviously exceptions to this, as ninja gaiden works on the 360 (kind of, from what i understand). however, ninja gaiden is also easily the best selling japanese game for the console, and sold in the neighborhood of 5 to 6 times the number of copies. i would lend my condolences to you as a fellow soul calibur 2 owner, but it seems less like you're complaining that you can't play your favorite game, and more like you're trying to take a cheap shot at the 360's backwards compatibility. i suppose that's fine, as i will admit to only a middling satisfaction at the xbox games i can or can't play on my 360 (and at current count, i own 17 xbox games, and can't play 11 of them), but i acknowledge the nightmare of an emulation platform that both crosses video chipset generations, hardware calls, and crosses to a competitor, as well as moving from x86 architecture on the processor side to a powerpc based architecture. this is the gaming equivalent of alchemy.
Pencil Shavings @ Jun 13th 2006 4:07PM
For $600, you could buy an Xbox 360, an Xbox, a roll of duct tape, and still have money left over
...
Yes but the blasted monkey will STILL run away.
Otto @ Jun 13th 2006 4:19PM
We still need:
Rallisport 2
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Soul Calibur 2 (still mad at namco for SC 3 not on xbx)
Psychonauts
epobirs @ Jun 13th 2006 4:22PM
#38
What possible motivation would Microsoft have for playing favorites among titles that are long since out of production?
If the emulation effort were solely about money the list would solely consist of strong selling title that are less than a year in release or part of the Platinum Hits line. Any other titles are unlikely to get such a sales boost from the Xbox 360 that it would cause the publishers to order a new production run, even a small one.
Think about it. When does MS make money on a game? On first and second party games it is when those games are sold to retailers and manage to sellthrough to consumers at full price. Third party games generate revenue for the platofrm company (MS,Nintendo, or Sony) in te form of production royalties. The company makes money even if the game is a turkey but turkeys are damaging to the platform in general.
Games that have already been in store inventories for years or are sold used do not make money for Microsoft. And a game would have to see an almost unheard of surge in popularity to merit a new production run over a year after release if it didn't do enough business in the first place to become a Platinum Hits title.
So if this was just about the potential for new sales of Xbox games on the 360 and about catering to the tastes fo the mainstream, why wouldn't the list simply consist of those titles that appeared on the Xbox Top Twenty Sellers list over the last five years? Why bother with outdated sports titles and budget movie tie-ins with wretched reputations?
Why? Because this stuff is hard to do and playing favorites would result in far shorter list that would still leave the vocal fanbase of beloved but badly selling titles complaining. Getting Halo 1 & 2 working was a reasonable goal in the beginning but after that they've had to take whatever they can get. Beyond those there is no single title that will please everybody, so they just work towards everything, one step at a time. Every time the emulator is improved a bit to deal with a known problem with many games the entire list of those games that still do not work has to be tested to see which ones are now functional. Sometimes that means a game very few people care about gets added to the BC list. But it also means they are that much closer to making the whole library work.
Focusing on just newer titles that offer the most potential for pumping up revenue would be self-defeating. After nearly five years of developing Xbox games the coders are going to apply their hardwon skills to every project, whether it is something good or a turkey. Once that highly refined engine has been coded it can just as easily can be applied to a new entry in a hit franchise or a tie-in to a lousy movie. Either way, it presents a challenge to the emulation team. So the list is going to favor the less sophisticated and/or older Xbox games. It's just the nature of the beast.
If it were just a matter of desire the emulator would run every single item in the original Xbox library. This would make everyone interested in Xbox games happy and help make a lot more money for Microsoft, not to mention improving consumer interest in the 360. So, unless you can offer a rational reason why Microsoft would choose to do that rather than being subject to the difficulties of the task, you'll just have to accept that some games are harder than others and they can only work on one problem at a time.
They could have more frequent updates to the list but it would mean one game here, two games there but no cessation in the rate of complaining from those who only care about their one favorite Xbox title.
ElGuapo82 @ Jun 13th 2006 4:27PM
Indigo Prophecy!?!
Why not?
I bought this game after I traded up for the 360 and still have yet to play it. *Sadness occurs*
Robotic House Plant @ Jun 13th 2006 4:33PM
I'm really happy to see Lego Star Wars on the list. One of my all time favorites.
I'm probably in the minority of those who own Intellivision Lives!, and although I never though I'd be able to play it again, it's kinda cool to know that I can.
Jason W @ Jun 13th 2006 4:40PM
Ok this list isnt that good, but there are a few gems on the list. I too have games I wish would work, but have yet to be added. I would love to get another box when the prices drop again (used that is), but it would be better to have them working on my system. I do not plan to buy a PS3 but I do think Sony made the right move when bought the rights to their chips. This is a better way to go in the future and I think MS has learned the lesson. Xpect the NextBox to have 95-100 backwards compatable with the 360.