Fall Update brings downloadable Xbox games December 2
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Nov 13th 2007 at 9:56AM }
And here we were hoping our favorite console was going to learn how to make julienne fries. Alas, no. Instead, the Fall Dashboard Update for the Xbox 360 brings with it the ability to download original Xbox games. The news comes from Official Xbox Magazine (by way of CVG, whose article has since been pulled), which reports that the update will be available December 2nd. The first round of Xbox titles up for grabs are Halo: Combat Evolved (duh), Fable, Indigo Prophecy, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex, and Burnout 3.
Microsoft apparently plans to make as much of the original Xbox catalogue available as possible (can we get to work on Panzer Dragoon Orta, please?). Games are expected to cost 1200 MS Points ($15 U.S.).
Of course, there are still some unanswered questions. How much space will the games take up? Will they be upscaled to HD (we're betting yes)? Will Halo: Combat Evolved fans finally get Live enabled multiplayer? All the games on the list have 360 sequels already out or in the works except Crimson Skies and Indigo Prophecy. Is this a hint that the rumored Crimson Skies sequel is real? Is Indigo Prophecy getting a much deserved sequel? Only time will tell, but at least you shouldn't have to wait too long.
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rockeranimefreak @ Nov 13th 2007 10:02AM
well I guess its better than giving money to gs!
HazyCloud @ Nov 13th 2007 10:03AM
Bring on the Xbox v1 games. This is great news. Now I may try a few games I might have passed over before.
Tony @ Nov 13th 2007 10:03AM
That's pretty cool, although I think the price is a bit high for my tastes... suppose it depends on which game we're talking.
Jeffff @ Nov 13th 2007 10:04AM
hEAVY rAIN. INDIGO PROPHECY ALREADY IS GETTING A SEQUAL.
xenocidic @ Nov 13th 2007 10:06AM
That sounds wicked, but the real question that you need to ask is...
WILL THERE BE CHEEVOS?!?!?!
Richard Mitchell @ Nov 13th 2007 10:07AM
"hEAVY rAIN. INDIGO PROPHECY ALREADY IS GETTING A SEQUAL."
Nope. Heavy Rain is just made by the same company, but it is not a sequel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_Rain#Details
Viridium @ Nov 13th 2007 10:06AM
Jefff, I don't think that Heavy Rain is a direct sequel to Fahrenheit. Further, I believe it's also been listed as a PS3 exclusive (thanks, Quantic Dream).
P.S. your caps lock is on.
thisguyrighthere @ Nov 13th 2007 10:08AM
$15 a piece?
It's still cheaper to grab one used or off of eBay or Half.com and if you have the actual physical game you can trade it away or sell it again. Can't do that with a download.
Nice idea though just too pricey to convince me to do it. The cost of the games plus the cost of a bigger hard drive make this a feature I'm not likely to use.
modeps @ Nov 13th 2007 10:13AM
One other question: Do they have Achievements?
Bravo6 @ Nov 13th 2007 10:14AM
$10 would be reasonable imo.
Jon @ Nov 13th 2007 10:22AM
hmm I wonder if they would activate an online multiplayer version of Halo ala halo for pc or mac. If so, I might cough up $15 big ones for that...oh and achievements.
CarpeD1em500 @ Nov 13th 2007 10:18AM
Is it sad that the achievement question would be the deal-breaker for me? I'm not playing through games again just for fun but ... if I can add to my gamerscore...ahh...tempting...
I think 500 pts would be a good baseline for these games. It's gotta be more than Arcade (200), but 1000 seems like it would be too much, b/c they aren't true 360 games. What are your thoughts, especially Knuckles?
Neon Jebus @ Nov 13th 2007 10:22AM
CarpeD1em...
Not at all, I wouldn't think of paying $15 for any of them without it. Well maybe Halo but that would only be if it had multiplayer and all the CE maps included.
No cheevos, no deal. I still own most of those games.
KC @ Nov 13th 2007 10:24AM
If H:CE has achievements and online play then it would be worth it to me for just that one. Don't really care about any other Xbox 1 games.
The Fuzz 53 @ Nov 13th 2007 10:30AM
What's the story on the rest of the update???
mark @ Nov 13th 2007 10:31AM
halo: CE with achievements and online play would be awesome but i have a feeling that its not going to happen only because bungie hasn't hinted at it and they would still have some part in that game
DaveC @ Nov 13th 2007 10:32AM
I want to know if you can use the guide while playing these.
monkeymonkeymonkey @ Nov 13th 2007 10:34AM
Dang, that would eat up my space on the 20GB drive quickly. Is it possible to swap out the drive yourself? Could I hook the 20GB to my PC and image the drive, then write the image to a 120GB drive?
lharmon @ Nov 13th 2007 10:36AM
If the achievements are around, then I'm ON BOARD! w00t! If not, then I just grab halo:ce. Good times either way.
On another not, what the heck is up with xbox live? Is it all messed up, or am I just having problems?
ali @ Nov 13th 2007 10:37AM
meh, the reason i got an xbox was to play new games. i'd rather see divx support and a more usable interface for browsing all the content in MP and my network.
Ithilis @ Nov 13th 2007 10:42AM
Ali -
I'm in total agreement here. I didn't buy an Xbox last generation due to lack of interest, so this feature doesn't interest me at all. Increase usability and functionality, as well as DivX (which is now confirmed for the PS3), and I'm a happy camper.
Also, bring the Video Marketplace to Canada.
Josh @ Nov 13th 2007 10:47AM
This is the worst idea ever. They are just trying to push their larger hard drives that until now would have been completely pointless.
If the downloadable version of Halo has online multiplayer but they don't add it in a title update for the original I'll be pissed.
Shadowman @ Nov 13th 2007 10:51AM
I think the price isn't too bad, considering that a top tier Arcade game is 1200MP.
I do agree that it should have achievements as well as full guide functionality.
Also some updates to said games would be nice, such as the Multiplayer over live for Halo, or a few new Score based events for a leaderboard.
£7.50 for a game (although this will be higher since American MS Points are cheaper than the UK's) isn't too bad at all I say.
SadisticHam @ Nov 13th 2007 10:56AM
If they add in achievements and perhaps have some improvements/changes they have me sold.
I own an xbox so if these games have no changes, I can pick any game up second hand for cheap anyway so i wont bother.
Lol @ the idiots claiming this is just the big evil MS trying to push hard drives. Gee, there trying to earn money who would of thought it. Anyone would think they was forcing you to buy this stuff. Morons.
Crazy Nut BE @ Nov 13th 2007 11:00AM
Could this be the surprise Bungie said they had for us?
xenocidic @ Nov 13th 2007 11:15AM
@CarpeD1em500
I'm in the same boat. I just sold a whole bunch of Xbox games I never finished that I had purchased last gen (some still shrinkwrapped) because I knew I would never get around to playing them without achievements.
sad? but true.
Jesse @ Nov 13th 2007 11:17AM
hopefully they start putting other full games on there, playing shenmue without having to hook up my Dreamcast would be awesome
Scott @ Nov 13th 2007 11:23AM
If they drop the price some more ($15 for games that are quite a bit cheaper, even after shipping costs) I could definitly fall for this. The best part of the modded last gen system was that I could have 20+ game choices without having to put in different discs. My laziness is worth a couple bucks, but not $15 for a game I have the disc for right next to my 360.
A classy move would be to allow you to download the digital version of a game if you have the disc. Then to stop people from just renting/buying-reselling games, every so often make you put the disc back in the 360 to re-up the "Yup, I still own it" flag. Worst case, people get to play an old xbox game a few times after they sell/return the rental. Then people who like to collect the physical discs of the real game/already have the game cuz they are dedicated Xbox fans, get to take advantage of the achieves/laziness factor. And if re-upping annoys you that bad, you would have the option to just pay for the game like people who don't own the disc.
And they should focus on getting puzzle xbox games going, since they are good for quick pick up and play, which is what I like about the current Arcade games.
Also, think they will have demos of old Xbox games available like current Arcade titles? That would be kinda tight.
Love
Wordy Willy
Hockle @ Nov 13th 2007 11:40AM
I think this is actually pretty cool. Achievements or not, I think people will take advantage of it.
rob @ Nov 13th 2007 11:32AM
The update is coming on the 4th of December not the 2nd. theres a bit more on it over at euro gamer.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=87475
matt @ Nov 13th 2007 11:33AM
will they be in high def if running on a high def tv?
saylorsgang @ Nov 13th 2007 3:03PM
i think this is a great idea, I would'nt mind paying 15$ for a decent game, I forsee by the time the next generation of consoles come out, we will buy all of our games this way, no more discs.I think the Wii has already proved downloadable games is a cashcow.
jroc @ Nov 13th 2007 11:51AM
at least we wont have to listen to that annoying dvd drive when we play a game.
Boff @ Nov 13th 2007 12:01PM
What about the fabled Video Marketplace in the UK, hmmm? They've kept quiet about that.
Gods hero @ Nov 13th 2007 3:29PM
I read the update was coming 4th dec... but I might be wrong, also it seems that Europe will not be getting the video marketplace like the US, but will infact be getting a video rental service (the same thing) but I think ms wanted to take a new apporach to it I don't know why.
Josh @ Nov 13th 2007 12:20PM
The ability to gain some more Halo achievements will probably convince me on CE.
refinedsugar @ Nov 13th 2007 12:30PM
Indigo Prophecy was a great game, and the original xbox had a catalog of great games, but $15? Maybe with true HD and some achievements ... but like many have said, it's just as easy to go out and buy the original xbox title. Then play it on your 360 through BC or juice up your original xbox, if you still have one.
Not itching for DIVX support, but I too, would like to see the Video marketplace finally make it's way to Canada. They said it was going to happen before the end of the year and we're half way thru November.
Etchasketchist @ Nov 13th 2007 12:41PM
Didn't see that coming! Radness. Now let's talk about hard drive upgrades. What's the deal? Can someone who's gone from 20GB to 120GB tell me about the process? What happens to your XBLA games and saved games? I'm scared that if I plop in a new hard drive my Xbox will become like brand new and I'll have to rebuy and download everything and replay all my games and just generally start from scratch. Can anyone please assuage my irrational fears?
Gemini Ace @ Nov 13th 2007 12:45PM
Friggin' awesome! Now if they have achievements and online play (Halo CE) then it's worth the $15. Otherwise I would rather have the disk and keep the space on my hard drive.
Terd Ferguson @ Nov 13th 2007 12:57PM
Bad idea. Not into playing games in SD anymore.
Tried a few games on my original xbox and they were terrible compared to next-gen.
I want a quick guide interface and some transparent menus, also some Live marketplace to Canada.
xenocidic @ Nov 13th 2007 12:58PM
etchasketchist, you can order the hard drive transfer cable and from what I hear everything transfers over pretty well. (even the oh-so-non-transferrable Viva Pinata saves)
CPickler @ Nov 13th 2007 1:01PM
If you buy the retail 120 GB hard drive it comes with the transfer cable. Run the wizard. Done. There are very clear instructions included with the hard drive.
c4v3man @ Nov 13th 2007 1:21PM
I think the price is OK relative to the Live Arcade games, however I feel it's all a little overpriced, but perhaps I'm cheap. So I'm fine with 1200 points (will probably get Halo:CE since I only own that for PC). I think if more of the decent arcade games were in the 200-400 point range they'd obviously seel alot more, then they could drop the Halo games to 800-1000. That's alot of data to download though compared to a live arcade game, so costs are slightly higher.
James @ Nov 13th 2007 1:19PM
I mirror the commentary... if they have achievements and online play, I'd pay for them. A lower price would be more appreciated, but for the added features it might be worth it.
monkeymonkeymonkey -- there are instructions out there already about how to transfer from a 20GB to a 120GB, there's a cable included when you buy it separate.
stinger503 @ Nov 13th 2007 1:28PM
I'd much rather them improve the backwards compatability
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Foggy Bottoms @ Nov 13th 2007 2:34PM
your mention of panzer dragoon reminded me of herzog zwei. anybody else play that? it was badass. not related at all, except for the german, but man that game was sweet.
ogvor @ Nov 13th 2007 3:20PM
Burnout 3 is probably the best burnout game, and I'd like to try Crimson Skies, so this is pretty cool for thsoe times when no new games are released (like druing the summer)
HellCat @ Nov 28th 2007 7:22AM
Stupid why would I buy a game I already have in my library, already got 4 of them why would I pay for the same thing again, unlikely that they will enable you to play from the original disk, just plain stupid
James @ Nov 14th 2007 10:13PM
I agree with the poster who said this is a ploy to sell bigger HDs. Somebody said that the guy was "whining", but I beg to differ. MS sells you a console, and you pay extra for the one with a hard drive. They release a bunch of tiny DLC, and you feel like the tiny-even-when-it-was-released 20GB drive will be enough. Then they release bigger content like movies, and you get by. Then they release a bigger hard drive, and everybody says "Why do we need this?" So out come the 4-7 GB games from the original Xbox as if to answer the question. I'm allowed to bitch because I am the victim of a bait-and-switch. Rather than letting you supply your own bigger hard drive, or offload your content to a USB device, or play it over the network, or... they make you pay extra to get full use out of your bought-and-paid-for system.