Double Fine demands 360-compatible Psychonauts

Tim Schafer wants gamers' help in getting critically lauded game playable on Microsoft's next-gen system.

The tale of Double Fine's Psychonauts doesn't have a storybook ending. The game, from the mind of Tim Schafer (Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle), won major awards and gamers' hearts but underperformed in retail. Its poor sales figures were seen as a major reason that its publisher, Majesco, went from promising gaming superstar to Wall Street bust.

However, if critics' say is worth anything, it wasn't the game's fault that Majesco went south. One of the higher-rated games of 2005, Psychonauts was released on the PlayStation 2, PC, and Xbox. Now, Double Fine wants to see it played on one more console.

On the developer's Web site, Schafer is calling on the Psychonauts community to ask Microsoft to make the game playable on the Xbox 360. After likening his own request to Microsoft for making the game backward compatible to the final exchange in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schafer asks gamers to write into Microsoft's backward-compatibility-info e-mail account to make software emulators for the game.

"I want you to...send Microsoft a heartfelt message. Something to the effect of, 'I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!' (Please, try to make up your own disease.)"

Aside from some comments possibly taken out of context, Microsoft has vocally recommitted itself to expanding the catalog of backward-compatible games. The company released its latest additions to the list, which added 21 games, including Big Mutha Truckers, Bad Boys 2, and Minority Report...but no Psychonauts.

160 Comments

  • schaferforever

    Posted Oct 13, 2006 1:51 pm PT

    microsoft listen to tim schafer... he is the all knowing master of games

  • Poshkidney

    Posted Sep 17, 2006 8:08 am PT

    microsoft let him or i will favour linux over windows

  • EvilLorax

    Posted Jul 19, 2006 7:02 pm PT

    Schafer's requested email example -"' I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360! "

    Is a joke. It's one of the few jokes these days that aren't offensive, insensitive, or insulting.

  • MasterAsh42

    Posted Jul 2, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    From rjxtian:
    'Schafer's requested email example -"'I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!' " -

    is insulting, insensitive, not funny, offensive.'

    I don't believe you read closely enough into it. . .Maybe I'm alone in this interpretation, but the example seems to be a stab at the reasons for Psychonauts not doing well at retail: the current trend of gamers choosing to stuff themselves on repetitive tripe.

    For every critically acclaimed title successful at retail, there are dozens of pale imitators or simply poor constructs which, despite thousands of critics systematically detailing the many shortcomings of these titles, still move a reasonable amount of copies. (I'm looking at you, Shadow the Hedgehog.) And in the case of Psychonauts, which last I remember only sold around 500,000 units on the PS2 (I'm sure X-Box and PC moved less), that's a slap in the face to the genius developer of this little platformer that could.

    So when I read: "I want you to...send Microsoft a heartfelt message. Something to the effect of, 'I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!' (Please, try to make up your own disease.)", I see:

    "I want you to...send Microsoft a heartfelt message. Something to the effect of, 'I'm a frighteningly consistent consumer of your crap, finally dying of boredom due to a sudden realization of a lack of change, and my last wish before I tell this entire industry to "kiss off" is to play Psychonauts on your overly-hyped, rushed-to-market console, the XBOX 360!' (But please, try something close, but with your own brand of wit.)"

  • rjxtian

    Posted Jun 26, 2006 8:22 am PT

    Schafer's requested email example -"' I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360! " -

    is insulting, insensitive, not funny, offensive.

  • never-named

    Posted Jun 24, 2006 9:14 am PT

    Psychonauts is far by one of the greatest modern platformers yet!

  • marthapartha

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 8:07 pm PT

    Psychonauts is a game full of wit and dry humour, its not for everyone, but should be available for everyone.

    I found out about Raz via Gamespot. After I played it, I asked my gamer friends if they had played it yet. Two of them were waiting for it to be released and were eager to play it. When I informed them the game had been out for over a year and a half, they were stunned.

    I know Majesco said they spent alot on advertising, but not too many people got to see it on the shelves (up here in the North Central States).

    The other problem was the bile green line drawing of Raz, it
    turned most casual shoppers off. Not only was the cover misleading of the game graphics, but the few purchasers seemed to be mothers buying it for their seven year-old children who somehow missed the "Teen" rating and returned the game as being "offensive".

    I hope Mr. Shafer gets Psychonauts released for the 360, and I hope people find out about it, if it does.

  • tuddy_666

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 12:11 pm PT

    Psychonauts is one of "Those" games, Nobody buys it, but it rocks. If it had 360 compatibility then it might get higher sales because it gets mentioned on sites like this

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 2:57 pm PT

    meh.

  • videogamr49

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:43 pm PT

    Here's the email I sent in this morning...

    I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of [insert disease here], and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!

    That's right (except for the dying of that pandemic disease...and that I'm 9 years old..and I'm at a hospital) BUT hear me out! I want to really see Psychonauts as an Xbox 360 compatible game! I believe it was one of my top favorite games (with Halo up at the top I might add). We need to see Psyhonauts on the Xbox 360! It is absolutely a must. Most people trust your decision about Xbox-compatible games for the Xbox 360 but come on, you made a Barbie game comptible with the 360!? What a waste of space.

    I have been a Microsoft Fan for a very, very, very long time all the way back when I first bought my first computer with Windows 95 on it. I am a PC Builder (I only build PCs for myself) and I hope to soon get Windows Vista. You need to hear me out that putting Psychonauts on the Xbox 360 would be one of the last greatest compatible games you could do on the Xbox 360. With all your heart...

    PLEASE MAKE PSYCHONAUTS AN XBOX 360 COMPATIBLE GAME!

    I have also attached a picture for you to look at to see the happy kids and their ambition to see Psychonauts on the Xbox 360.

    Thank you and may you guys have a great life!

    I still have yet to receive an email back from them, but it has only been a day so far.

  • robowarriorx

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:08 pm PT

    having "criteria" to make a game BC is ridiculous. In this day and age, it is something we all expect. thanks to Sony. If the games that were BC on the 360 were identical to the XBox versions, it wouldn't matter, but since, in most cases, the games do look significantly better on the 360 it is well worth it. And, considering that the 360 doesn't exactly have what I would call a flood of games coming out for it, I need other options for the system. Psychonauts is one of the only platformers I have played and enjoyed in years, thanks in part to it's irreverent sense of humour. Sure, I have an original XBox, but I expect to be able to play any Xbox game on the 360, since it is the XBox 360...Hardware issues aside, I am sure they could figure out a way to make the ENTIRE BC compatible before PS3 and WII if they dedicated a little more manpower to it. I expect a quality product, and so should you.

  • javajoe96work

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 2:18 pm PT

    If you want a game to be backwards compatible email mircosoft at:

    backcomp@microsoft.com

    And as you all email for your fav games, whould you mind adding Phantom Dust to your email to Mircosoft.

    Joe

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 1:10 pm PT

    i htought it was compatible already

  • SCARFACELP

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:49 pm PT

    SERIOUSLY the people who get offended by Tim Schafer's comment/post should not even bother posting . They will only get ridiculed, His fans already know the type of humor this guy uses, so please if you don't know what you're talking about save your self the grief. Personally i think Psychonauts was another cult hit for mr. Schafer. Its sad that his games don't perform alot better than they do. It is Majesco's fault that Psychonauts didn't do too well, they marketed the hell out of Advent Rising and left Psychonauts on the back burner
    What ever this game sold was because of word of mouth alone.

  • linkofhyrule007

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:43 pm PT

    What Microsoft needs to do first is take all of the games that were Live, check 3 different times, and if there are people online each 2 or 3 times, then make it BC. Otherwise, you have to have 2 Live accounts, and I bet if people find that out, they won't buy a 360. But that doesn't mean they should skip over quality games like Psychonauts... Any other non-Live games that people want to play that weren't good, play them on your XBOX if you love them so much.

  • scphan

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:30 pm PT

    i just beat that game and it kicked butt i hope it dose come to the 360 or they just should make psychonauts2 for the 360 if they arnt already making it

  • dark_xaero

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:56 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • PeachyRamune

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:47 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • PeachyRamune

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:47 am PT

    Looks like Psychonauts will be compatible for the PS3.

  • faizali86

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:40 am PT

    sad story, but would love to see the game anyway

  • fat_shark

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:11 am PT

    ...So that XBox 360 owners can not buy the game as well?

  • cikame

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:09 am PT

    i got back the auto message baby.
    Thanks for sending us your comments on Xbox 360 backward compatibility.
    We've just received your email. While we may not have time to directly
    respond to your email - we value your input and appreciate your taking
    the time to send us your thoughts.
    yeah, im sure you do, if you did i wouldn't have got an auto message...i know its normal to get auto-messages but why do they put "we value your message" if they haven't even read it yet.
    i wouldn't mind a "this is an auto message to say your e-mail has arrived, thanks".

  • moocow21

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 11:03 am PT

    YES, M$ has to start making GOOD games BC, not just crappy games that sold well.

  • jacques117

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:46 am PT

    That game is amazing, I want it to come to the 360 so bad...

  • runstalker

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:43 am PT

    Geezus guys, at least apply high school-level English when writing to Microsoft. I.e., use the word "you" instead of "u", and use commas, capitalization, etc. It's sort of like speaking clearly: people will take you more seriously because you're making the effort.

  • frankeyser

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:37 am PT

    my email to backcomp@microsoft.com

    Hi my name is Francis Keyser and i am an underprivileged child of 25 years of age. my back aches and my head throbs from the medical condition, i wannaplayapsychonautsonmy360atitis. The doctor said i may die in 30 days if i can't play this game on my 360. please save my life... please.
    love,
    Francis

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:30 am PT

    That's what the hell I'm talking about! I want my Psychonauts to be backward-compatible! *pumps fist*

  • m0zart Site moderator

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:22 am PT

    Psychonauts WAS a very innovative and very good game, one that SHOULD have been the next blockbuster game.
    I don't understand WHY it didn't do well, from talking with people on other forums, the game was a 9.5 game at LEAST. But it seems to be the fate of good games to be overlooked when the next "Silent Hill" X comes out.

    I agree that Psychnauts deserves more attention, and backwards compatibility. However -- your comment about Silent Hill games is silly. "Silent Hill 2" is still not backwards compatible for the XBOX 360. "Silent Hill 4" was really the worst of the series, and yet it's the one which gets compatibility support.

  • bob_dartagnan

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:14 am PT

    Ok the 10 of you who bought it, get crackin!

  • videogamr49

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:13 am PT

    "'I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!'" Will do but I will make up my own disease.

    This was the game I was waiting for to be compatible for the 360. Psychonauts was one of my all-time favorite games for the Xbox (aside from Halo and Halo 2). I hope they make a sequel to the game, I would buy it for the Xbox 360.

  • Kaarstein

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 10:11 am PT

    Why not just make a GC port? we are currently having a gaming draught on GC, and we would eat it up.

  • oldhott02

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:59 am PT

    I would prolly buy it if they made it compatible with the 360

  • cikame

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:56 am PT

    im sending em an e-mail, i dont have psychonauts or an xbox360 but i've played the demo on the pc and it was great and i admired how creative tim is, i dont understand all this need for BC via updates once in awhile but for a game as great as psychonauts it needs to be done.

  • scarface96sz

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:52 am PT

    i'd like to see steel battalion get emulated. i don't know how you'd plug in the controller, but i want to see it done and i'm not buying a 360 till it happens.

  • AtomicEdge

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:36 am PT

    This and Chronicles of Riddik: Escape from butcher bay NEED some love!

  • PurpleLightning

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:26 am PT

    GO GO TIM!!!

  • MROmeo10

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:16 am PT

    I would probabally care if: a) I played it b) it is XBox live online compatable c) game saves are transferable between XBox and XBox 360.

  • lhardwick692

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 9:00 am PT

    instead of rushing the xbox360 out like they did---microsoft should have taken the time and made the 360 backwards compatable for all games--not for what they deem necessary to be backwards compatable..they rushed it out in fear that sonys ps3 will kill them..and if they dont get their act straight--they will still loose the console war--again---
    i got a 360 and nothing coming out that i want to play--all you get is first person shooters and wargames--and then all they can worry about is updating the 360 with new setup and bug fixes--and downloadable games from generations ago--
    i didnt buy a 360 or a hi def tv to play old school--so microsoft better straighten up or my 360 will be traded in on a ps3..bye bye

  • ONI5

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 8:45 am PT

    I'd rather see Shenmue 2, but this is just as good. Great game BTW.

  • buzzguy

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 8:09 am PT

    This game should have been released on the GCN. That audience would have snapped it up, unlike those who play on the other consoles.
    Oh yeah, it would be great if MS made the 360 compatible with this game, along with some of the other hidden gems mentioned.

  • Alexandre_Palma

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:57 am PT

    Psychonauts rules! I played the game and Schaffer did it again...I have played "Day of the Tentacle", "Full Throttle" and they are all great games! Congratulations for such a great job creating those stories and turn them into videogames! PSYCHONAUTS MUST BE ON THAT LIST NEXT TIME!

  • kuddles79

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:55 am PT

    I'm sure it was partially marketing, but I'm afraid to say that it probably also has to do with the audience. If they called it Psychonauts 3 and turned Raz into a guy with baditude it probably would have sold a lot better.

  • CrazedColombian

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:24 am PT

    never played it but if it didnt sell well i shouldnbt be in the bc list

  • adorablejay

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:22 am PT

    this is what got back after writing them..anyone else get anything back ??

    Jason,

    We are working on more games like Psychonats and Stranger's Wrath. We don't work on games like Zapper or Barbie; they just happened to work so we added them to the list.

    I hope that explains things.

    Sincerely,

    Alan Stuart
    Emulation Ninja
    Xbox 360 Team

  • adorablejay

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 7:06 am PT

    i emailed them on putting up some games that we as gamers want and this is what i got back from them....did anyone else get something back along the lines of this ??.....i will show what i sent them and what they sent me back:

    hey i am writing u at 3 am i just got home from work and i wanted to tell u that u guys need to start adding some good games to this backwards list, sure u wanna add the most but look at Nintendo for a good hard example of how to do it right people dont care about #'s as much as they care about the quality of games, meaning stop adding games that no one cares about, starting adding better games like The Suffering series, or Psychonauts or Indigo Prophecy,Oddworld Stranger's Wrath and hell i could go on, u may only end up with a small list but so what it will be a list of games that us gamers want, you will make alot of people happy when you start working for the people on what games to work on, here is a idea even post on the website what games would people like to see and maybe make a top 10 and then work on thoses top 10 games, let the gamers pick after all we are the ones who own and play the games so let us have a say on what games are worked on so they will play on the 360, that way we all get to feel like we have a say and everyone gets a chance to voice what they like, but whatever you do end up doing dont stop with the backwards stuff cause alot of gamer will be very disapointed and when you disapoint your buyers at one point or another they will move on....think of sega....they no longer make game systems....

    thanks for ur time
    Jason

    here is what i got back:

    Jason,

    We are working on more games like Psychonats and Stranger's Wrath. We don't work on games like Zapper or Barbie; they just happened to work so we added them to the list.

    I hope that explains things.

    Sincerely,

    Alan Stuart
    Emulation Ninja
    Xbox 360 Team

  • skitzocyko

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 6:38 am PT

    how about soul caliber too while you are at it!!!

  • Havak123

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 6:26 am PT

    Why should Bad Boys 2 be on the list, but not Psychonauts. Psychonauts was one of the best games of the year and never noticed. While on the other hand Bad Boys 2 was a crappy game and was not even noticed, yet is still on the backward-compatability list. Schaffer's mind and storytelling as well as his creative gameplay deserve and should be able to be played on the XBOX 360.

  • paradyme777

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 6:20 am PT

    Wow, if more people came out and said that they want their games BC that would really help out. I bet you'll see it on the next update.

  • shizwill03

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 5:46 am PT

    I never got to play the game [Work and Schoolaholic], and that my nephew traded in his xbox for money towards the 360.

    I will consider picking it up if it is BC with the 360. I did wanna play it when it was released but I had no time on my hands.

    If I don't play it I am very sure that my nephews will eat it up.

  • Dinghy_Dog

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 5:37 am PT

    if microsoft would actually spend a little money in making their system BC, it wouldnt take long. they sure can get things released if you need to spend some MS Points on it!

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