XBox Games Not Compatible With 'Original' XBox360

[richj8990]

What a bummer. I spent about $50 on four different XBox games (both used and new), after reading online that 95% of XBox games are compatible with XBox360, INCLUDING reading this on the official Microsoft XBox360 site. I bought the 20GB Hard Drive, then the Data Transfer Connector, everything good to go, right? Nope. No read of any XBox game. So I call Microsoft and ask them what the deal is. After all, THEY said these games are compatible. Oh...wait, they forgot to mention that the XBox games are only compatible with the XBox360S, not the XBox360. Gee, it would have been nice for them to put the S on the 360 for their official site's explanation of this! So now I have $50 worth of XBox games I can't play on the 360 console. I can get a used XBox from Amazon.com with shipping for $45 total. So...sell the games, buy the used XBox, or is there still any chance of using my 360 for original XBox games?

 

[Supernova1138]

Some Xbox games work on the 360, but not all, you have to connect to Xbox Live to download an emulation program for each game to get them to work. Not every original Xbox game got an emulation program. Connect your system to Xbox Live, pop in the original Xbox game and it should give you the prompt to download the emulator.

 

[richj8990]

Hello Supernova, thanks for the reply. I'm obviously in this way over my head. I looked online for emulation programs, there are a zillion, and most don't even work for XBox - XBox360 game compatibility. Most are designed to play a Sega Game on an XBox, or Play Station Game on a PC, etc. That's great, I may try that one day, by for now I need a very, very specific emulation program for Xbox game compatibility with the XBox360 console. I guess I could try an XBox game on my PC with emulation if nothing else works... For the specific emulation program I need though, it's like finding a needle in the emulation haystack. The previous links I clicked on in the net led nowhere for this, including some questionable sites that would not let me get out of them and I had to use Task Manager to force quit them. And Microsoft's help is no better, it just says to update my console wirelessly. When I did this, there was no prompt for any update, so I assume my console itself is fine for this compatibility. Back to the point of XBox360 vs. XBox360S --- are you sure non S- types can still play XBox games?
Help!

 

[Supernova1138]

The old 360 consoles could play original Xbox titles, but you needed to connect your console to Xbox Live to download an update to get each game to work. I would assume those updates are still available Not every game was made compatible with the 360, and even some that did get backward compatibility are buggy. If you can't get your 360 to download the compatibility updates for those old Xbox games I guess your only option would be to grab an old Xbox off Amazon as you suggested.

 

[rpg_poser]

Hello Supernova, thanks for the reply. I'm obviously in this way over my head. I looked online for emulation programs, there are a zillion, and most don't even work for XBox - XBox360 game compatibility. Most are designed to play a Sega Game on an XBox, or Play Station Game on a PC, etc. That's great, I may try that one day, by for now I need a very, very specific emulation program for Xbox game compatibility with the XBox360 console. I guess I could try an XBox game on my PC with emulation if nothing else works... For the specific emulation program I need though, it's like finding a needle in the emulation haystack. The previous links I clicked on in the net led nowhere for this, including some questionable sites that would not let me get out of them and I had to use Task Manager to force quit them. And Microsoft's help is no better, it just says to update my console wirelessly. When I did this, there was no prompt for any update, so I assume my console itself is fine for this compatibility. Back to the point of XBox360 vs. XBox360S --- are you sure non S- types can still play XBox games?
Help!

There are different types of emulators, looks like your googlefu found emulators for running old games on hacked xboxes. You don't need to be concerned with those. The emulators Supernova is referring to are official MS emulators for running xbox games on your xbox360. You can only get those by sticking an xbox game disc in your 360 while it's connected to the internet, then either you will be prompted the download an 'update' (the emulator) or you will get a message saying that the game is not compatible with the xbox360. If you really like the game, and it isn't compatible, you will need an original xbox to play it.

 

[richj8990]

I think I know what the problem is; it's one of those things were you search for something and look down and it's already in your hand. I can connect wirelessly from the XBox360 to the internet. I've even been able to (automatically) get some updates online. However, I cannot directly connect to XBox Live. This is most likely because I haven't paid the $60 fee for this. I went online to register and it said "Pay $60 for one year". Oh really, I'm going to pay $60 just to MAYBE have an emulation program automatically download for XBox game compatibility? What a ripoff. Not to be rude, but what really is the point of XBox online, besides playing with friends? What is the point? That you can show off your avatar? I'd much rather be done with the golden goose chasing fiasco and simply buy a used X-Box for $45. Sorry to bother you guys about this stupid problem.

 

[richj8990]

Best answer selected by richj8990.