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> Xbox 360 and PS3 emulators are still borderline unusable on my new-ish PC. This is unfortunate as a decade ago Microsoft had an internal emulator for Xbox 36

> Xbox 360 and PS3 emulators are still borderline unusable on my new-ish PC. This is unfortunate as a decade ago Microsoft had an internal emulator for Xbox 360 that ran at near native speed. I am curious if that emulator is what it used to play Xbox360 games on newer x64 based Xbox models, or if they are using a different code base. Either way, technically it is possible for the experience to be good!

hot_gril 2y ago
I wonder about that too. New console supports only a subset of 360 games somehow, and with different enhancements. The 360 could also play original Xbox games without much exception, but it was noticeably slower than the original. Halo 2 on 360 has a shorter render distance.
- jamesfinlayson 2y ago
  > The 360 could also play original Xbox games without much exception I remember there being a list of what it could play but I was never too sure how comprehensive it was. I know it couldn't emulate Midtown Madness 3.
  - hot_gril 2y ago
    Oh. So it can't emulate the game I probably played the most.
vekatimest 2y ago
I think the 360 backwards compatibility is a mix of emulation and certain parts being disassembled & recompiled for x86 with some black magic. edit: Here's an interview with platform lead Bill Stillwell that goes into a lot more detail https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2017-xbox-one-x-back-compat-how-does-it-actually-work https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2017-xbox-one-x-bac...
- com2kid 2y ago
  Oh sweet, thanks for the link. It sounds like it was harder getting things running on the XB1's tiny CPU vs running an emulator on monster dev machines, no surprise there! :-D
- devmor 2y ago
  I believe there is actually a recent userland project that disassembles and recompiles 360 games for x86...
matthewfcarlson 2y ago
Hands down my favorite thing about my time at microsoft as an intern was just a random brown bag lunch with the engineers who did the powerPC emulator for xbox360 games on xbox one. It was an incredible talk and they went deep and were happy to answer questions.
- com2kid 2y ago
  Oh damn, I was probably there at the time, working in the building, and was completely unaware of the talk! That would've been awesome! By that time though my org had spun out of Xbox to become the Microsoft Band team, so we didn't get any of the cool invites anymore. :(

hot_gril 2y ago

I wonder about that too. New console supports only a subset of 360 games somehow, and with different enhancements. The 360 could also play original Xbox games without much exception, but it was noticeably slower than the original. Halo 2 on 360 has a shorter render distance.

jamesfinlayson 2y ago
> The 360 could also play original Xbox games without much exception I remember there being a list of what it could play but I was never too sure how comprehensive it was. I know it couldn't emulate Midtown Madness 3.
- hot_gril 2y ago
  Oh. So it can't emulate the game I probably played the most.

vekatimest 2y ago

I think the 360 backwards compatibility is a mix of emulation and certain parts being disassembled & recompiled for x86 with some black magic. edit: Here's an interview with platform lead Bill Stillwell that goes into a lot more detail https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2017-xbox-one-x-back-compat-how-does-it-actually-work https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2017-xbox-one-x-bac...

com2kid 2y ago
Oh sweet, thanks for the link. It sounds like it was harder getting things running on the XB1's tiny CPU vs running an emulator on monster dev machines, no surprise there! :-D
devmor 2y ago
I believe there is actually a recent userland project that disassembles and recompiles 360 games for x86...

matthewfcarlson 2y ago

Hands down my favorite thing about my time at microsoft as an intern was just a random brown bag lunch with the engineers who did the powerPC emulator for xbox360 games on xbox one. It was an incredible talk and they went deep and were happy to answer questions.

com2kid 2y ago
Oh damn, I was probably there at the time, working in the building, and was completely unaware of the talk! That would've been awesome! By that time though my org had spun out of Xbox to become the Microsoft Band team, so we didn't get any of the cool invites anymore. :(