News of Xbox One backwards-compatibility with Xbox 360 games is exciting, but emulation is a tricky thing, even for powerful new consoles. Can the Xbox One handle complex Xbox 360 games like Mass Effect? Some early testers provide some interesting answers.
Microsoft surprised the industry at E3 by announcing “native” backward-compatibility to play Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. But before you toss your Xbox 360 console out the window, you’ll want to check out the full details. The ability to play Xbox 360 games on Xbox One is indeed great news, but there are several important factors to consider.
Microsoft may be focused on the Xbox One, but it hasn’t forgotten about the Xbox 360. The company today released a system update that brings long-awaited support for larger external hard drives (up to 2TB), along with some minor UI and account management improvements.
Xbox Live members will get three new free games in May as part of Microsoft’s Games with Gold program. CastleStorm: Definitive Edition will come to the Xbox One, while Xbox 360 owners will get Mafia II and F1 2013.
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Joining the HD game remake trend, Peter Molyneux’s classic action role-playing game Fable is getting a big graphical update with Fable Anniversary. Developer Lionhead Studios now reports that the game is ready for production, and that fans of the series can expect to find it at retailers on February 4th.
Many early console adopters are disappointed by the lack of popular first party games like Halo. But Microsoft’s Phil Spencer explained that the company had to decide between releasing Halo 4 last year on the Xbox 360 and having a full Halo game ready for the Xbox One launch.
Just as eager gamers are unboxing their brand new PS4s, NPD has video game sales figures from the last full month of the soon-to-be-previous console generation. Game sales were up year-over-year for the third straight month while hardware sales had an expected decline.
Microsoft announced Friday that its popular “Games with Gold” promotion, which gives Xbox Live Gold subscribers two free Xbox 360 games each month, will continue indefinitely.
We can’t imagine that many Xbox 360 owners haven’t played Halo 3, but if you’re one of them, and you’re also an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, make sure you log in this month to pick up Bungie’s 2007 hit for free as part of Microsoft’s Games with Gold promotion.
The introduction of the Xbox One in November does not mean the death of the venerable Xbox 360. Xbox Marketing Chief Yusuf Mehdi revealed this week that the company has plans for the Xbox 360 to go for “another three years” with over 100 new 360 games hitting stores after the Xbox One’s launch.