XrossExam

Member
Nov 1, 2017
1,933
NGB is 4K and looks glorious.

Edit: nevermind, you're actually talking about the game called Black, not Ninja Gaiden Black lol.

NGB has been super fun to play and while from a textures/atmosphere & controls point of view it's a little dated but the 4K makes it sing visually on the X.

I'd take NG II just as a basic BC title any day, at least I hope with a rock solid framerate. A 4K X Enhanced upgrade would be incredible, but I'd take whatever we could get.
 
Nov 8, 2017
13,386
If they're automatically enhanced then that's awesome. As far as 360 goes The Darkness not being on there is a major bummer. I can't get the first game on PC so it would have been ideal here.
 
OP
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MauroNL

MauroNL

What Are Ya' Buying?
Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,268
The Netherlands
No less than 4(!) games added today, and some highly requested ones too. With todays addition and the month now over there are a few new notes to be added.

- The 4 releases today marks the first time since November 2017 we got 4 games released on one day. (excluding the OG Xbox drops)
- With 3 new retail games the total count for retail games released on BC reaches 225 titles. (still only 17% of the total library)
- For the entire month of October we got 10 new games. Compared to October 2016 and 2017 its a steep drop (16 and 23), which means the average for October drops from 20 to 16. October is still a good month for BC though; only April has seen more releases over time (54 vs 49)
- October was a good month for BC as mentioned; we had more releases than both August and September and almost more than both months combined. (6 and 6)
- With the original Just Cause having been added to BC it means we can now play the entire franchise front to back on Xbox One. This marks the 18th franchise where you can play it fully on Xbox One.
- 3 more Konami games today makes the total for the Japanese publisher rise to 20 titles. This makes them the 5th publisher with the highest number of BC titles released, passing Activision and Namco Bandai on the list.
- Eidos adds another title bringing their total to 8 titles now, the same as SNK. 50% of their total Xbox 360 output is now playable on Xbox One.
- Konami now has 22.22% of its Xbox 360 library available on Xbox One. The 3 games added today boost their percentage up the list, passing EA, 2K, Deep Silver, Capcom and Namco Bandai
- On the exclusions chart Konami pass Deep Silver with todays additions.
- 3 new Castlevania games playable today means we now have 4 Castlevania titles in total on BC. Only Harmony of Despair is still missing from the 360 era, and Curse of Darkness on OG Xbox.
- With the 3 Castlevania games added today, and Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 earlier in the month, 40% of this months BC titles have been Konami games.
 
Oct 27, 2017
822
Really going the extra mile OP. These are exactly the kinds of details I like to pore over and track myself.

Top stuff.

I'm curious to know the percentage of compatible games that were retail releases by year. I suspect, from what I remember, that there were more download-only and XBLA games that comprised the larger output of 2016 and that there has been a higher proportion of retail games throughout this year.
 

Skiptastic

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,745
Fantastic OP. Really great stuff.

Microsoft's efforts on BC is a major reason I'm glad I am part of that gaming ecosystem. Also has pushed me to buy more games digitally, just because I feel more confident that I'll be able to play it on future iterations of Xbox. (I mean, technically I can do that with physical too, but then I'd be amassing a huge library of games and I don't have the space in my house, where we enjoy our lack of clutter!)
 
OP
OP
MauroNL

MauroNL

What Are Ya' Buying?
Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,268
The Netherlands
Thanks!
Really going the extra mile OP. These are exactly the kinds of details I like to pore over and track myself.

Top stuff.

I'm curious to know the percentage of compatible games that were retail releases by year. I suspect, from what I remember, that there were more download-only and XBLA games that comprised the larger output of 2016 and that there has been a higher proportion of retail games throughout this year.
Is what you mean not listed in the Retail vs Arcade paragraph? I have a breakdown for the split between retail and arcade for each year in there.
Fantastic OP. Really great stuff.

Microsoft's efforts on BC is a major reason I'm glad I am part of that gaming ecosystem. Also has pushed me to buy more games digitally, just because I feel more confident that I'll be able to play it on future iterations of Xbox. (I mean, technically I can do that with physical too, but then I'd be amassing a huge library of games and I don't have the space in my house, where we enjoy our lack of clutter!)
Thank you. I agree, though I like collecting physical copies too because I feel like actually 'own' something and have a collection. Downside is off course that optical media can deteriorate overtime while digital is timeless (as long as it stays up)
 

Thatguy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,207
Seattle WA
They mentioned 50% of all Xbox One owners have tried at least 1 BC title, so the engagement is there.
That sounds like terrible engagement to me. Technically it's possible every single one of these people tried 1 game for 5 minutes. We need average number of titles played and average hours spent on BC. Otherwise this entire conversation isn't telling us anything.
 
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
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That sounds like terrible engagement to me. Technically it's possible every single one of these people tried 1 game for 5 minutes. We need average number of titles played and average hours spent on BC. Otherwise this entire conversation isn't telling us anything.
Well we haven't heard anything specific about that, and probably won't ever for that matter. The latest info we got was not long ago, but even that wasn't really saying much. But 1 billion hours would be 60 billion minutes. Last I heard there are between 35-40 million Xbox Ones sold. That would put it anywhere between 1500 and 1715 minutes, so roughly 25 to 28.5 hours average per user.
The Backward Compatibility program has quickly become a hallmark feature of the Xbox family, and we love seeing people discover (or rediscover!) games they may have missed the first time around. Gamers have played over 1 billion hours of Xbox 360 and Original Xbox games on Xbox One – and we think our new release is only going to keep that momentum going.
Read more at https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/10...d-backward-compatibility/#F57t1lGwrb4ij87I.99
 
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OP
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
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A new week brings new BC titles, so its time for a new update again!

- This is now the 5th consecutive week we have had new BC games, and if not for the release of Forza Horizon 4 it would have been 8 weeks in a row.
- Ubisoft reinforces its position as the number two publisher in terms of number of titles released on BC with two new games today, bringing its total to 41 titles.
- There are no movements in the charts with todays additions.
- With the addition of HAWX and EndWar there are now 9 Tom Clancy games BC on Xbox One of a total of 11 Xbox 360 Clancy games. Only GRAW 2 and HAWX 2 are still missing
- The output for this year now stands at 95 titles, so we should still make it to 100+ for this year.

I have also update the OP with a new, more detailed tab on BC engagement which you can also find here:

_______________________________________________________________________
Engagement. Do Xbox Gamers play BC games?


Do Xbox gamers actually play backwards compatible games on Xbox One? Well Microsoft have said numerous times that the engagement is there; people like playing old games. At least 50% of Xbox One owners have played a backwards compatible game. But does this mean 5 minutes or actually completing a game? We don't know this and will probably never will. All we can do is make an educated guess based on the figures we do have. The latest number we've got was on October 18, 2018. Gamers have played over 1 billion hours of Xbox 360 and Original Xbox games on Xbox One – and we think our new release is only going to keep that momentum going.

So what does that tell us? Well we know that there are between 35 and 40 million Xbox One consoles out there, probably closer to the latter figure after the X released. So if we break this down we can draw a few conclusions.

1 billion hours played
60 billion minutes played
35-40 million Xbox One sold

1500-1714 minutes played per Xbox One owner
25-28.5 hours played per Xbox One owner

Now if we break this down further to how many days BC started up until the October 18 figure we can determine how much is actually played.

1.4 - 1.6 minutes played per day (1066 days BC exists)
9.8 - 11.2 minutes played per week (152 weeks BC exists)
42.8 - 49 minutes played per month (35 months BC exists)

These 'guesstimates' tell us the average Xbox One owner plays about 10 minutes of BC every week, and roughly 45 minutes every month. Now if we keep in mind what Microsoft said that at least 50% of Xbox One owners have tried BC you can assume these numbers would have been double that.
 
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TheZynster

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,314
I'm amazed brutal legend got backwards compatability there is so much metal music that probably needed relicensing
 
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
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Another great week for BC following an excellent XO18 event. Been a long time since we got new games announced before the standard Tuesday release day. I have compiled a list of new changes following the new stuff.

- A mere 4 weeks ago we got some long awaited new 360 enhanced titles and now we get another 4 new titels. Civilization Revolution was a existing BC game and now has a 4K patch. We also have 3 new titles added to BC with a 4K patch to boot.
- Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns were added to BC this week. These are the first main Final Fantasy games added to BC after Crystal Defenders was added in 2016. The only FF game left for BC is Final Fantasy XI but that seems unlikely.
- The addition of the Final Fantasy games means the franchise is now removed from the Biggest Franchises Missing from BC list.
- The 4 new enhanced games added this week puts the total tally to 25 Xbox 360 games enhanced for Xbox One X.
- Square Enix adds 3 new games to its BC portfolio, putting their total at 16 games. This makes Square Enix jump past THQ, Capcom, 2K and Disney in the total BC chart.
- Square Enix's percentage in the highest percentage of total games released that are BC rises to 40%, moving them past Codemasters and Bethesda.
- The biggest jump Square Enix makes is in the Highest Percentage of Total Games Released (with exclusions)That Are BC chart. They jump 6 places and are now the #6 publisher in the chart.
-
We only need two more titles released this year to cross the 100 games for 2018.
 

crazillo

Member
Apr 5, 2018
8,313
Great work MauroNL!

I do wonder how games that have seen remasters should be treated from this list. We've had exceptions like AC II being BC but then still getting the Ezio collection remaster. My expectation to see the remaining games of the Batman franchise get BC are slim though, given we have the Arkham remaster already. There's also the vice-versa case: Catherine is BC but doesn't get the remaster on Xbox One.
 

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
What defines a "franchise?

Because I instantly thought of the "viva pinata" franchise when I saw banjo. Both those games are fully playable.

Forza Horizon is also an odd one. All the games are on Xbox One except Forza Horizon 1, which is BC. Although the 360 version of FH2 isn't BC since there is an Xbox One version. A bit of an odd one out, especially given some series like Halo have games both BC and in the MCC for example.
 

Deleted member 2254

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,467
Another great week for BC following an excellent XO18 event. Been a long time since we got new games announced before the standard Tuesday release day. I have compiled a list of new changes following the new stuff.

- A mere 4 weeks ago we got some long awaited new 360 enhanced titles and now we get another 4 new titels. Civilization Revolution was a existing BC game and now has a 4K patch. We also have 3 new titles added to BC with a 4K patch to boot.
- Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns were added to BC this week. These are the first main Final Fantasy games added to BC after Crystal Defenders was added in 2016. The only FF game left for BC is Final Fantasy XI but that seems unlikely.
- The addition of the Final Fantasy games means the franchise is now removed from the Biggest Franchises Missing from BC list.
- The 4 new enhanced games added this week puts the total tally to 25 Xbox 360 games enhanced for Xbox One X.
- Square Enix adds 3 new games to its BC portfolio, putting their total at 16 games. This makes Square Enix jump past THQ, Capcom, 2K and Disney in the total BC chart.
- Square Enix's percentage in the highest percentage of total games released that are BC rises to 40%, moving them past Codemasters and Bethesda.
- The biggest jump Square Enix makes is in the Highest Percentage of Total Games Released (with exclusions)That Are BC chart. They jump 6 places and are now the #6 publisher in the chart.
- We only need two more titles released this year to cross the 100 games for 2018
.

But... people told me BC was dead!

Jokes aside, excellent work, it's really interesting to see how publishers handle this feature considering it's only for Xbox, which means that they effectively give the console "new" exclusives. Square Enix showed interest in bringing Final Fantasy games to new consoles announcing 8 older titles hitting new grounds, but 2 of them are skipping Xbox One for some odd reason, so it's interesting that they instead brought over the 3 Final Fantasy XIII games with various enhancements too, considering this makes Xbox One the only current-gen console to play the games.
 

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
Another great week for BC following an excellent XO18 event. Been a long time since we got new games announced before the standard Tuesday release day. I have compiled a list of new changes following the new stuff.

- A mere 4 weeks ago we got some long awaited new 360 enhanced titles and now we get another 4 new titels. Civilization Revolution was a existing BC game and now has a 4K patch. We also have 3 new titles added to BC with a 4K patch to boot.
- Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns were added to BC this week. These are the first main Final Fantasy games added to BC after Crystal Defenders was added in 2016. The only FF game left for BC is Final Fantasy XI but that seems unlikely.
- The addition of the Final Fantasy games means the franchise is now removed from the Biggest Franchises Missing from BC list.
- The 4 new enhanced games added this week puts the total tally to 25 Xbox 360 games enhanced for Xbox One X.
- Square Enix adds 3 new games to its BC portfolio, putting their total at 16 games. This makes Square Enix jump past THQ, Capcom, 2K and Disney in the total BC chart.
- Square Enix's percentage in the highest percentage of total games released that are BC rises to 40%, moving them past Codemasters and Bethesda.
- The biggest jump Square Enix makes is in the Highest Percentage of Total Games Released (with exclusions)That Are BC chart. They jump 6 places and are now the #6 publisher in the chart.
-
We only need two more titles released this year to cross the 100 games for 2018.

I wonder how much more work is involved with Xbox One X enhanced 360 BC games. I think it's a fantastic selling point, especially when these games can't be played in HD elsewhere. I also wonder if they would go back to any games already BC and enhance them now.
 

litebrite

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,832
I wonder how much more work is involved with Xbox One X enhanced 360 BC games. I think it's a fantastic selling point, especially when these games can't be played in HD elsewhere. I also wonder if they would go back to any games already BC and enhance them now.
CivilIzation Revolution had been BC for awhile before it was X enhanced yesterday. Is that what you mean?
 

Chettlar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,604
CivilIzation Revolution had been BC for awhile before it was X enhanced yesterday. Is that what you mean?

Ah okay, I didn't realize. That's exactly what I mean then yes. That's good to know. Sounds like it's just a matter of trying their hand with games and seeing which allow them to up the res and not break the game.

It's astounding they did it with Red Dead.

For me, if I get an X, a huge factor is enhanced console only BC games. I missed a lot of games from last gen and many of them never got remasters. So I'm always looking to see if they can enhance more. I'm eager to replay the Gears games as well. Gears Ultimate, Gears 2 4K, Gears 3 4K. Too bad Gears Ultimate isn't 4K on Xbox.
 
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
3,268
The Netherlands
Surprise Thursday drop! First time in a while so time for another update.

- With 3 new games added today we have finally passed the 100 titles mark for 2018 with one full month left to spare. We have been blessed with 102 games this year, and if the trend continues we should end the year with 110 or 111 games total.
- With November now over the total tally for the month is 8 games, which is one less than we had last year. November 2016 is still the best November (excluding launch month) with 19 games.
- SEGA adds two new games to its BC library, which brings its total to 40 games.
- EA's BC percentage rises to exactly 20% putting them level with 2K.
- SEGA closes the gap to just 1 title with the number 2 publisher Ubisoft. SEGA has now published 40 games through BC on Xbox One, Ubisoft has 41.
- SEGA passes Square Enix in the exclusions chart with todays new games.
- The addition of Sonic Unleashed means we now have 13 Sonic games backwards compatible on Xbox One. 17 Sonic games were releassed on Xbox One so there are still 4 Sonic games left, 1 of which is a Kinect Only game (Sonic Free Riders). This means we still have Sonic 06, Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing and Sonic's Ultimate Geneses Collection left for BC.
- This was the first regular Thursday BC drop since March 29 when Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare was released.
 
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Hey Please

Avenger
Oct 31, 2017
22,824
Not America
OP thank you for your S-Tier effort with regards to quantifying, collating and presenting data in digestible way.

Personally, I am only interested in the 4K BC games because that has been a truly ground breaking endeavour.
 
Oct 27, 2017
822
Surprise Thursday drop! First time in a while so time for another update.

- With 3 new games added today we have finally passed the 100 titles mark for 2018 with one full month left to spare. We have been blessed with 102 games this year, and if the trend continues we should end the year with 110 or 111 games total.

I'll note that there were no further games in December of last year, with the final few games of 2017 arriving one day short of a year ago on November 30th. I would wager that this fact along with the continued drop in total games this year, these three will close 2018.

Unless, of course, there's FINALLY another slate of Original Xbox games next month. One can only hope.
 
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
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I'll note that there were no further games in December of last year, with the final few games of 2017 arriving one day short of a year ago on November 30th. I would wager that this fact along with the continued drop in total games this year, these three will close 2018.

Unless, of course, there's FINALLY another slate of Original Xbox games next month. One can only hope.
Yes I noticed that as well, but given their recent streak I would hope this is not the end of the year yet. We'll have to wait and see.
OP thank you for your S-Tier effort with regards to quantifying, collating and presenting data in digestible way.

Personally, I am only interested in the 4K BC games because that has been a truly ground breaking endeavour.
Thanks!
 
OP
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
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I'll note that there were no further games in December of last year, with the final few games of 2017 arriving one day short of a year ago on November 30th. I would wager that this fact along with the continued drop in total games this year, these three will close 2018.

Unless, of course, there's FINALLY another slate of Original Xbox games next month. One can only hope.
Welp....guess not!

Its Tuesday again and we are treated to another BC drop, and 3 games no less!

- We are starting this December with three new games even though we did not get any new games last December. Positive signs for a BC program that is as healthy as ever!
- Three new games were added today, add those to the three we got last Thursday means we have 6 new BC games in the past 6 days.
- The long awaited title The Darkness is finally added to BC, and with the second game already being BC it means the franchise is now fully playable on Xbox One.
- All three games added today are from 2K Games bringing their total to 17 games. This moves them past Disney and Square Enix in number of titles on BC.
- 2K was in the bottom of the table in the Highest Percentage of Total That Are BC, but with the three new games today their percentage rises from 20% to 24.3% moving them past EA, Deep Silver, Capcom, Bandai Namco and Konami.
- In the Highest Percentage of Total Games Released (with exclusions)That Are BC chart 2K rises to the #6 position moving them past Bethesda, Square Enix and SEGA.
 
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MauroNL

MauroNL

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Oct 26, 2017
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Ah yes, a new year has arrived and thankfully there are already new BC games to welcome to the family!

First lets quickly recap 2018.

• 105 new games added
• 94 Retail games
• 11 XBLA games
• Average 9 games added every month
• April most active month with 22 games (this does include a OG Xbox batch, otherwise January would be the most active month)
• Ubisoft was the most active publisher with 15 new games, followed by EA with 10 games and 2K and Konami with 9 games each
• Some highly requested titles released this year like: MGS 2,3 and Peace Walker, Burnout Revenge, Modern Warfare 1&3, Darkness 1&2, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Conviction and Double Agent, Crysis 1, 2 and 3, Castlevania Lords of Shadow 1&2 and Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns
• Only 14 new Xbox 360 enhanced titles were added this year
• There was only 1 big drop of Original Xbox games this year so there have been no new titles since April.

So all in all a very good year for BC despite some doom and gloom throughout the year on ERA especially. Over a 100 new games and finally some highly requested retail titles added. Plus further confirmation that the 360 enhanced program is not dead. The only worrying thing is the fact that its gone pretty silent on Original Xbox games but lets hope those will come eventually.

Now on to the 3 new games added today.

- Battlestations Pacific was added today and with the previous game Midway already available it means the franchise is fully playable on Xbox One.
- Ubisoft reinforces its #2 position on the BC total list, with a total of 42 titles. Eidos passes SNK with its 9th entry today.
- Eidos moves past Disney to the #3 position on the percentage chart. Over 56% of Eidos' 360 library is now BC.
- Codemasters moves past EA on the exclusions chart, and Eidos also moves to the #3 position.
- Raving Rabbids is the 4th Rayman game on BC now, which means all Xbox 360 released Rayman games are now BC.
 
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SirFritz

Member
Jan 22, 2018
2,114
Still disapointed most niche games got left out from this. The 360 has tons of console exclusive shmups and practically none are BC.
 

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,836
The Milky Way
Good work, but like you say - does BC really matter? Well it hasn't helped MS close the gap on Sony from what we can tell so I'd say not really.

Don't forget Sony used to do the whole BC thing and decided to drop it after they looked into how much people used it.

I think it's a great thing to offer though...I've always backed BC and hope nextgen has it too.
The reason I jumped in to XBO this gen and bought the X at launch without hesitation after being PS4-only for 4 years, was because of Ninja Gaiden Black (at 4K/60fps/16:9 no less). I didn't even have to buy the game because I already owned it digitally from the 360 days.

I've spent a ton of time on BC titles since, everything from The Orange Box to Omega Five. And my wife has be super happy playing the likes of Zuma and Earthworm Jim again.
 

crazillo

Member
Apr 5, 2018
8,313
I wonder how to deal with titles like Tales of Vesperia. The remaster is a clear indicator that a BC version will likely not be available. We had the odd exception with Darksiders getting Xbox One X Enhanced visuals upgrades for the 360 game after the remaster, but I see this as an exception. We might need to take a title like Tales of Vesperia off the list of games that are likely to become BC, right? What other games would be examples of this? Batman Arkham Returns possibly?
 

Terbinator

Member
Oct 29, 2017
10,388
Halo Reach sorely needs the X update (and 60FPS if at all) possible. The motion blur and AA is just too much at 720p, even with the more stable boost from BC versus the 360 game.
 

Deleted member 16849

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,167
Most of my 360 catalog is BC now with a few exceptions and wont happen to due to remasters and rereleases

Still missing and likely to happen

Crackdown 2
Eternal Sonata
GRAW2
Full House Poker
Charlie Murder
Shoot Many Robots

Won't happen list due to licensing and remasters

Tales of Vesperia
Resonance of Fate
Tony Hawk HD
Forza 4
Uno (the 360 version was better btw)
Gotham City Imposters
Terraria 360
Dragons Dogma
Rocksmith
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Dust: An Eysian Tail

The Xbox One X BC enhanced list is pitiful and needs a stronger push from Microsoft and publishers. Games like Vanquish and Black Ops are blurry messes at sub 720p resolutions. Black Ops 1 has thousands of people still playing and a X patch would be amazing. The fact I as an Australian can find games in under 10 seconds just goes to show you how many people are still going strong.
 

Filipus

Prophet of Regret
Avenger
Dec 7, 2017
5,161
If you mean buying them digitally then yes.
Digital yes. Physical no. For instance a Japanese FFXIII disc will work perfectly on a US 360 etc. The BC part removes all region locking since it downloads the same emulator from anywhere around the world. One of the added beauties of BC.

Thanks, I did mean physical CDs since that is how I have my entire collection. I still remember the first time I bought a game from the US and tried to play it in my european Xbox, dissapointment killed me.
 

black070

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
5,583
MS deserve all the praise in the world for their approach to BC. X enhancements are just icing on an already delicious cake.

I don't plan to purchase any games in the near future because I have my hands full with a lot of previous gen games I've been itching to replay.