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Lots of talk about backwards compatibility online today. We wanted to get to the bottom of it all, so we went right to the team working on the next back compat update. We hear directly from them that they're in the testing phase of another update, and it should be out in the next few weeks. We saw the list they're testing, and it looks like they're hoping to add at least a dozen titles.

Long before the launch, we thought we might hit a few dozen titles, and we all feel pretty good about the list of well over 200 titles on the back compat list today, including many of the games that you’ve asked for. You all have heard us say the work isn't simple. Many games did unique things to take advantage of the processing power of the Xbox, and that makes it difficult to emulate, especially when we then have to make new code work with existing (and future) compatible titles.

But rest assured, we're not done yet.

We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the "Emulation Ninjas" who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you.


Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming update…

http://news.portalit.net/fullnews_Mi...ners_1601.html

Microsoft Seeks To Calm Down Angry Xbox 360 Owners

Peter Moore managed to get many Xbox gamers very angry with a controversial statement, recently revealed by Kikizo.com. In an E3 statement, Moore said that:

"Nobody is concerned anymore about backwards compatibility. We under promised and over delivered on that. More are coming, but at some point, you just go, there's enough, let's move on, or people aren't as worried about a game being backwards compatible."

Reactions were sure to follow, as many Xbox 360 were lead to believe Microsoft intends to pull the plug on the whole backwards compatibility deal, although Microsoft's statements in 2005 hinted that all Xbox games would be compatible with XXbox 360. While very few Xbox owners seemed to intend of keeping both Xbox consoles, many decided to sell the older models and only stick with the 360 ones.

Disappointed fans means bad business, especially when the competition (Sony and Nintendo) has made backwards compatibility one of the key feature of their platforms. So, it's no wonder Microsoft decided a change of tune was necessary

According to Gamerscoreblog.com, (a blog written by employees of Microsoft Games Global Marketing team), the software giant says that:

"We wanted to get to the bottom of it all, so we went right to the team working on the next back compat update. [...]We saw the list they're testing, and it looks like they're hoping to add at least a dozen titles.

But rest assured, we're not done yet.

We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the "Emulation Ninjas" who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you."

At present time the backwards compatibility list features over 200 titles.

$40 XBL Vision camera & UNO bundle detailed by MS source along with prices & dates for other 360 accessories

Posted Jun 2nd 2006 12:26AM by Dan Choi


Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.

Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.

Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.

New faceplates featuring Halo, Forza 2, & Viva Pinata for $19.99 each

Wireless headest with a 30-foot range for $59.99

256MB Memory Unit for $59.99

Wireless gaming receiver for $19.99 (but it'll go on sale in Winter 2007, unlike the others, probably around the month of February)

As stated before, the wireless gaming receiver will let you use wireless 360 peripherals -- such as the wireless controller, wheel, and headset -- on your PC. MS is apparently still considering the price point for the wireless racing wheel, as the $130 figure reported by us earlier has not been repeated in this round of releases (though it could still eventually be used). No official pricing has been given for the HD-DVD add-on, either.

Hopefully, Microsoft will provide some way of allowing those who have already purchased UNO on Live Marketplace to download a comparable title with the bundle (with or without camera functionality). Our source at Microsoft saw nothing that would indicate a unbundled SKU for the 360- and PC-compatible camera, so it looks like it'll only be available at $40 for the foreseeable future. [Note that our earlier post on the pricing rumor contained a typo in the headline which might have led you to believe a second unbundled SKU for the camera would be available for $20; the figure was listed correctly in the body of the text, but the error in the title was ours and ours alone (our source had it right all along). Apologies to anyone who might have been misled -- the older post has been fixed.]

If these figures are what the peripherals in questions are eventually priced at, our hopes of a gradual easing of Memory Unit price points will have been thoroughly dashed (the better to service 360 Core owners in need of greater and/or cheaper storage options). Offering more value is good, but dropping the price of the 64MB MU to a proportional $14.99 would be an impressive show of good will to cost-conscious shoppers (however unlikely due to retail margin requirements). Not only that, those close to running out of, or who have already run out of, space on their 20GB hard drives are probably even more disappointed in the lack of hard-disk upgrades available in time for the two-tiered PS3 launch in November. Hopefully we'll see more options (and price drops) next year.