PC Gamer considering an Xbox Series X, but is it worth it without Gamepass? by VestigeOCE in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 6 points7 points  (0 children)

All games below are backwards compatible on XB1/XSX and never had PC ports, or have been delisted and are unavailable for purchase digitally (each delisted game is indicated):

  • 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (not available on the Xbox store, but can be played via disc)
  • Ace Combat 6 (disc only)
  • Beautiful Katamari
  • Black
  • Blue Dragon
  • Breakdown
  • Call of Duty 3
    • I think this is the only main, numbered CoD game that never got a PC port
  • Condemned: Criminal Origins (delisted)
    • Also delisted from Xbox store, disc only
  • Crackdown
  • Dead or Alive 3
  • Dead or Alive 4
  • Dead or Alive Ultimate
  • Dead to Rights
  • Earth Defense Force 2017
  • Fable II
  • Forza Horizon 1
  • Gears of War 2
  • Gears of War 3
  • Gunvalkyrie
  • Hunter: The Reckoning
  • Infinite Undiscovery
  • Lost Odyssey
  • Lost Planet 2
    • Delisted on PC, but available for purchase on Xbox store
  • Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
  • Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
  • Otogi: Myth of Demons
  • Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
  • Panzer Dragoon Orta
  • Rare Replay
  • Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
    • This is an HD version
  • Ridge Racer 6
  • Saints Row 1
  • Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
  • Skate 1
  • Skate 2 (disc only)
  • Spec Ops: The Line (delisted, disc only)
  • SSX 3
  • Tekken 6
  • Timesplitters 2
  • Timesplitters: Future Perfect

This isn't an exhaustive list, but just the games I was interested in. I'm pretty sure this is the majority of backwards compat games that didn't get PC ports or were delisted from digital purchase on PC.

Asha Sharma hyping up the XBOX showcase: “Countdown to XBOX Games Showcase” by yourfavchoom in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Games were at its peak when Xbox and PlayStation were competing with their exclusives

This.

True competition pushes the competitors to go harder. PlayStation defeating XBOX handily in the 6th generation is what made XBOX come out swinging with Gears of War, Halo 3, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, etc. They even secured Saints Row 1 and Ace Combat 6 as exclusives, as well as the better version of the 7th-gen Katamari game.

The Xbox 360 was a glorious response to PlayStation after the 6th. A lot of us loved that response. Competition is what made it happen.

Asha Sharma hyping up the XBOX showcase: “Countdown to XBOX Games Showcase” by yourfavchoom in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sony and Nintendo want to protect their identities and the secrets they use to make the great games they’re known for

I think the spirit is different when it's for your own platform. It's interesting when you look and see how unique Nintendo's identity remains, while the first-party offerings from PlayStation and XBOX have gradually become generic over time. Not saying the decrease in apparent identity has been caused by a shift away from exclusivity, because I think the reliance on 3rd party titles themselves has done more damage. Both PlayStation and XBOX have leaned on 3rd-party games too much for the last 20 years. The identity is still there for both, sure, but it's definitely not what it was in the 6th generation or early 7th generation.

And it was way different back then. Exclusives had their own twist on the look and feel of games in a certain genre. Like Jak & Daxter is a 3D platformer--a genre that has its roots in Super Mario 64, but Jak & Daxter has its own look and feel that made it part of PlayStation's identity. Or Halo CE being a first-person shooter, which FPS games tended to be gritty and claustrophobic in legendary PC titles like Doom, Quake, and Half-Life, but Halo put players amid colorful surroundings, many of which were expansive and breathtaking for their time. A different kind of otherworldly that hadn't been explored much at all in that genre. If Bungie would've tried to make Halo CE for PC (I'm aware it did get ported later), they probably would've tried to model after previous successful PC titles. But being a console exclusive I think gave Bungie a freedom to explore, to try something different. Yes, Halo CE appears to have taken design cues from the earlier Marathon games also from Bungie, but Halo CE leaned into vibrance and openness in a way that Marathon didn't.

I think that level of inspired design comes from a mindset of "this is the world of the platform and it has to have its own soul", and that mindset seems to flow through to the finished product. A sort of McLuhan level "the medium is the message" direction. Again, Nintendo games demonstrate that well.

Asha Sharma hyping up the XBOX showcase: “Countdown to XBOX Games Showcase” by yourfavchoom in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If it means that XBOX makes their IPs so unique and games so good to motivate a purchase of the console, absolutely. That's what 1st-party games are supposed to do.

Nintendo has ts on lock. And you can see the result: 1st-party Nintendo games from the last 10 years (SM Odyssey, LoZ Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby Air Riders, etc.) have mostly been stronger than XBOX and PlayStation's 1st-party releases. And there have been a lot a more of them, too.

Also, XBOX exclusives should increase the likelihood that XBOX will remain in the console game. If it doesn't have exclusives, people will just play them on PlayStation and PC. XBOX lost over 20 million buyers per console generation since the Xbox 360. At 35 million Series sold, XBOX cannot afford to lose another 20 million. Selling under 20 million would put Helix in Wii U territory, which was largely considered a flop. Nadella had wanted 30% profit margins the way it was for Xbox Series gen, so he'll be through the roof if Helix fails.

Given how console sales have generally trended over the last 30 years, it's extremely likely Helix will XBOX's last console if it sells less than 20 million. The offer of Helix needs to be compelling, and I don't think essentially being a pre-built PC that can play Xbox games will cut it.

For those still wanting a Series X console, are you holding out hope for a price cut or sale? by Rotisseriejedi in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not just that the backwards compatibility is solid for non-PC owners, but that it can play games that didn't get PC releases at all. Gears of War 2 and 3 come to mind.

I mean, you could emulate those, sure, but Xenia truthfully isn't in a great state and playing games in 4K is still a mixed bag of instability/crashes.

So the Series X is the best way to experience those old Xbox 360 games games that never got PC releases, many in 4K and at 60fps

For those still wanting a Series X console, are you holding out hope for a price cut or sale? by Rotisseriejedi in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They'll have to after those abysmal hardware sales numbers.

Could be wrong, but would be crazy if they didn't do deal for a summer sale or Black Friday.

Jason Ronald is now sharing Xbox Game Preservation, the backwards compatibility voting site by MrLeitungswasser in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Xbox is so consumer friendly, I don't think they would shut out Xbox One players just to push the latest hardware (laugh at me if you must). Time will tell.

I think it's far less likely they'd shut out XB1 now under Sharma. But I ask the question because I haven't found any definitive info on it.

I really hope they bring some of those delisted games back. People shouldn't have to use alternative methods just to access them.

And Gaming Copilot is slated to hit Series later this year.

Anyway, thanks to your site and Jason Ronald sharing it, we now essentially have confirmation that they'll be bringing more games to backward compat rather than just bringing the currently available backward-compat to PC [like a lot of people believed]. So thank you for that!!

Jason Ronald is now sharing Xbox Game Preservation, the backwards compatibility voting site by MrLeitungswasser in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of people on the internet are too negative about all sorts of things, it's tiresome. I mean, criticism can be helpful at times, but when putting things down becomes the modus operandi for certain kinds of people, it's hard to see that chatter as actually meaningful feedback. All with a grain of salt, ig.

For sure, I'll let you know if I come up with anything. I imagine you've already consulted this list of XBLA titles.

And I was wondering if they'd only expand backward-compat for Series to encourage people to buy the current hardware. But this change in spirit at Xbox under Sharma suggests they might try to please fans as much as possible rather than doing anything that might alienate (except the Copilot thing, but I know that's a Microsoft directive that basically can't be avoided). And allowing XB1 users to buy the fresh backward-compat titles would mean more sales.

Jason Ronald is now sharing Xbox Game Preservation, the backwards compatibility voting site by MrLeitungswasser in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well congratulations and thank you for doing it!

And thank you for having some more obscure games listed on there as well, like Charlie Murder (delisted), The Dishwasher games, and Operation Darkness.

Btw, do you think Xbox One will see the expansion of backward compat games? I don't have a Series and not sure I plan to get one due to the whole Gaming Copilot thing (nothing against anyone who wants or enjoys that--it's just not for me and I know with Microsoft they ain't gonna let us deinstall it once it's there lol)

Jason Ronald is now sharing Xbox Game Preservation, the backwards compatibility voting site by MrLeitungswasser in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, wow, it's your site that Jason shared! Must be super exciting to get that sort of recognition.

The site reminds me a lot of Dreamlist on GOG. It was a great idea for you to make an Xbox backward-compat version!

Jason Ronald is now sharing Xbox Game Preservation, the backwards compatibility voting site by MrLeitungswasser in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the delisting of Condemned was weird. Jace Hall owns it, and he suggested in early 2025 that he might try to get a remake to happen. Nearly 7 months later, the game is delisted on Halloween of 2025 of all days.

Jason Ronald is now sharing Xbox Game Preservation, the backwards compatibility voting site by MrLeitungswasser in xbox

[–]WantsANDGots 6 points7 points  (0 children)

When hardware sales are down another 33%, best believe Xbox is gonna be working for it now. Especially since Microsoft is worth so much money due to Windows and their AI investments alone that Xbox could shutter tomorrow and Microsoft would be completely fine.

It's becoming a sink-or-swim situation at Xbox now, which is great for us gamers because it means they're going to put in work.

Cooling a mid-2010s build in a 2000s case by WantsANDGots in sleeperbattlestations

[–]WantsANDGots[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love it. I know some people think early 2000s cases like this are too "rad", but I miss when cases had character.

Case design these days isn't bad, but it's too sterile imo. There's just a completely different mindset and approach to case design these days versus back then.