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The $299 XBOX Series S is an Emulation Beast | MVG

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entremet

entremet

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Thanks to Developer Mode, The Xbox Series S can run Retro Arch emulation with excellent performance. In this episode we take a closer look at Dev Mode on the Series S, how to set it up and what to expect running Retro Arch - a UWP based emulator that supports the Xbox Series S and X.
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Interesting stuff! Never knew about Developer Mode.

Discord Link to get your Xbox whitelisted and bypass Developer Mode.

Join the discord: https://discord.gg/SpChKGQE

Go to the "Retail Start Here" channel. It has step by step instructions and also has videos to show how.
 
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dlauv

dlauv

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So I can finally throw away my Wii U?
 
KOfLegend

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Keep in mind that Retroarch is getting a PCXS2 core soon, which means PS2 emulation will also be possible on Xbox Series X|S!
 

Dannepannepuff

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So, if I activate Dev mode on my console I won't be able to play commercial games but will it delete everything on my hard drive too? Or it it as simple as deactivate Dev mode and everything is as before?
 
xyla

xyla

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That's dope - maybe I'll get one for those capabilities alone at one point.
Something like the SNES Classic mini pretty much tops out at 16bit games - but having PS1/Saturn/N64 and DC all in decent shape on the same small system + Game Pass? Might be worth it for me in the future.
 
ffvorax

ffvorax

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Well, MS now has my attention. This is going to be super interesting if it really works that well as a Retro console! :O
Series S now is appealing to me! If they ever release an even smaller version in the future, that would be incredible! :O
 
chandoog

chandoog

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I understand and appreciate the sentiment, but why not go for the bigger console, get an even stronger emulation box and the better xbox of the two while you're at it, with double the storage to boot ?

An additional $200 is a big ask at the upfront, but over the next 4~7 years it will be easily the more worthwhile experience. And you can use Xbox All Access to mitigate a big upfront cost.
 
J2C

J2C

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I have to say thats a terrific selection of games he chose for this cut
 
Decarb

Decarb

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I'm not ready for the mindfuck of Series S playing PS1 and PS2 games while PS5 can't.
 
.exe

.exe

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I had no clue it was that simple to get an emulator working on it! Between this and replaying some of my faves from the Xbox era as well as back compat with stuff like Rare Replay, I might just pick up an S down the line.

Edit: Ah, but discs won't work on the S. Guess that's the catch. Not that I've got a particularly huge stack of OG Xbox games. The PGR games aren't in the BC program anyway :(
 
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Jay_AD

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clay_ghost said:
Wait i forget that i modded my WIIu for emulation lol. I ended not using that much after.

Hmm wonder if WIIU will be able to run PS2 emulation when that released.
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Pretty sure it won't.

Not with PCSX2 that is. That thing is a bit of a hacky resource hog, but still the best we have in terms of PS2 emulation. It's not gonna run on lower-end hardware, definitely not on the Wii U, while the Xbox Series consoles are likely just gonna be able to raw power this. Also there is no saying how the RA core is going to perform, that can also be a bit of a wild card. With these more complex emulations of newer systems, it's often better to go with the stand-alone versions.
 

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I was thinking of getting a MiSTer but this might be cheaper and more appealing cause it can run more systems. Especially if Redream gets ported.
 
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Jay_AD

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Hanzo said:
I was thinking of getting a MiSTer but this might be cheaper and more appealing cause it can run more systems. Especially if Redream gets ported.
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MiSTer is cool, but you have to be in it for the entire process and the love of tinkering. For people who just want to play some old games from time to time, I maintain that an emulation solution is the way to go.

Still, I'd probably wait a bit to see how this develops and if we see more stuff coming besides RA. It's obviously very early for these boxes.
 
kubev

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Decarb said:
I'm not ready for the mindfuck of Series S playing PS1 and PS2 games while PS5 can't.
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I was dreaming of some sort of "official" emulation solution from Microsoft for non-Microsoft consoles, but I didn't think about dev mode for even a second. This is a nice, realistic alternative at the very least. I love how flexible Microsoft is with dev accounts. It was a great way to ensure that you could bypass carrier restrictions to get updates more quickly on Windows Phone, and it now seems to be the way to turn Xbox consoles into emulation machines.
 
gozu

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chandoog said:
I understand and appreciate the sentiment, but why not go for the bigger console, get an even stronger emulation box and the better xbox of the two while you're at it, with double the storage to boot ?
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Because I can buy $200 worth of games, weed and beer to go with the series S, you big, sober dummy!

chandoog said:
An additional $200 is a big ask at the upfront, but over the next 4~7 years it will be easily the more worthwhile experience. And you can use Xbox All Access to mitigate a big upfront cost.
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🥱 why are we still talking? Let's blaze!

tl;dr: have you SEEN people's behavior with COVID? Long term planning is not a strong suit of humans.
 
Valcrist

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Retroarch currently has PS1 support and PS2 support is very close. So yeah, XBox will be able to play PS1 and PS2 games while the PS5 can't.

thaquoth said:
MiSTer is cool, but you have to be in it for the entire process and the love of tinkering. For people who just want to play some old games from time to time, I maintain that an emulation solution is the way to go.

Still, I'd probably wait a bit to see how this develops and if we see more stuff coming besides RA. It's obviously very early for these boxes.
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What? MiSTer is like 0% complicated. The process is nothing. Emulation is harder to deal with tbh. Emulation is not the way to go if you want accuracy and low input latency.
 
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entremet

entremet

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As a note, these apps aren't necessarily optimized for the Series S or X. But they run better due to the better CPUs. Would be interesting if they can create special forks for those boxes for optimization.
 
dlauv

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It'll be interesting to see how PCSX2 runs in software mode after throwing a Zen 2 at it.
 
prodyg

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chandoog said:
I understand and appreciate the sentiment, but why not go for the bigger console, get an even stronger emulation box and the better xbox of the two while you're at it, with double the storage to boot ?

An additional $200 is a big ask at the upfront, but over the next 4~7 years it will be easily the more worthwhile experience. And you can use Xbox All Access to mitigate a big upfront cost.
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I dont think MVG has access to a Series X
 

Geezer

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Jan 29, 2018
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Bah, I just sent my Series S (unopened) back to Microsoft for a refund earlier this morning. I'll keep an eye on this and maybe get another in future.
 

dedge

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Does this allow for changing resolutions and such? I know Dolphin by itself can but I haven't messed with RetroArch a bunch outside of Wii U.
 
TheMoon

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so, is there any way you can use devmode to use the actual official OG XBOX emulators to play the games that aren't officially available/supported through BC? I have this one stupid game that makes me hold onto my 360 lol
 
Mrflood

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Within the next 6 months, I will 100% get one for my Bedroom/Office setup. I can honestly see myself grabbing 1-2 XSS to go along with my XSX this gen.
 
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