Q&A: 360 Backward Compatibility pro Albert Penello

Microsoft's director of global platform marketing tells us why some games make the cut and others don't, and what Barbie has in common with Tommy Vercetti.

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Backward Compatibility on the Xbox 360 has been a hot topic among gamers ever since the 360 was announced. Microsoft eventually promised that the new console would be able to play some Xbox games, and launched with a backward compatible list that included more than 200 titles.

The Xbox 360's ATI GPU and IBM CPU were vastly different from its predecessor's, which housed a Nvidia GPU and Intel CPU, forcing Microsoft's engineers to rely on emulators. This technological hurdle yields a list of backward compatible games that includes Barbie Horse Adventures, but doesn't include critical darlings Psychonauts and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. In addition, some games that were once on the list have now jumped off, such as Freedom Fighters, Sid Meier's Pirates!, and Mortal Kombat: Deception.

GameSpot News talked with Albert Penello, Microsoft's director of global platform marketing for Xbox, to find out the ins and outs of backward compatibility, and why some games make the list and others don't.

GameSpot: First of all, can you give us a quick overview of what goes into making an Xbox game playable on the Xbox 360? Is each game a case-by-case basis, or do new emulators work for multiple games?

Albert Penello: In the early days of the project, we spent a great deal of engineering time trying to make a general-purpose Xbox emulator capable of playing as many different games as possible. That basic platform has become more capable in the past months, and we're now able to address individual games one at a time. Our typical process involves several weeks of active development on a set of desired titles, followed by at least an equal amount of test time validating the work and checking on the status of other games that might use similar technology.

GS: How important do you think backward compatibility (BC) is to the gaming community? It seems the resources spent adding a dozen games at a time, some of which aren't too popular, might not be worth it from a business point of view.

AP: Backward compatibility is a big issue for some in the gaming community, and it's a big issue for the Back Compat team, most of whom are Xbox gamers themselves. We get considerable feedback from consumers and we try to give their opinions weight. That includes supporting specific games requested by the community, but it also includes getting a breadth of games up and running.

The reason you're seeing certain games become available that aren't necessarily the most popular titles is because they share common features with other games we're working on. When we solve emulation issues for a game, it can unlock similar issues for other games. To give one popular example, Barbie Horse Adventures runs on the Xbox 360 because it uses technology similar to that of the [Grand Theft Auto] series. When we see a game start to work "for free," we release it. It's not our place to withhold titles that work simply because they weren't best-sellers.

GS: What decisions and factors go into deciding which games make the list and which don't?

AP: As we've said before, we prioritized the top-selling titles and games with a large Xbox Live following, along with gamers' feedback, and we're going deeper into the portfolio every day.

GS: How long does it take, on average, to make a game backward compatible?

AP: Anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. Sometimes one of our developers will noodle over a completely broken game and miraculously make it work in an afternoon. Other times, games appear to work perfectly at the outset, but actually have a number of insidious problems discovered in test. Unfortunately, we've seen no relationship between the desirability of a game and its technical challenge.

GS: Is there a conscious decision to pass over series that have already made the leap to the Xbox 360? Xbox games from franchises such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Madden NFL (both of which are available in Xbox 360 form) aren't on the list. Being as big as they are, and with millions of copies already out there, it would seem they would be high priority for the BC team.

AP: There are no plans not to focus on certain franchises. As an example of franchises that are supported, consider [Dead or Alive] and Ghost Recon. Both exist on Xbox 360, yet previous Xbox versions are supported. Backward compatibility is all about preserving and respecting the investment made by original Xbox owners.

GS: What sort of pressure from developers and publishers do you face?

AP: We are working hand-in-hand with our third-party developers and publishers to expand the library of backward compatibility titles.

GS: Can you tell us about the prospects of the following games becoming BC? Psychonauts, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Chronicles of Riddick, Links 2004?

AP: While we can't confirm which titles we're currently working on, we can tell you that customer feedback is both read and considered. Bear in mind that there are plenty of other people out there with their own unique "Top 5" lists.

GS: What have you learned about backward compatibility since launch? Anything you would do over?

AP: Our first run of supported titles in November of 2005 was larger than we expected, and launch day loomed up ahead of us. As a result, we let some bugs slip through that we've since had to correct or are still correcting. We have learned a lot in the process of delivering the first updates and we have used this information to improve the quality of subsequent updates.

GS: At some point, making Xbox games BC is going to stop. Is that when the Xbox is fully phased out? Is it before?

AP: We're not going to forget about the console that got us where we are today. Xbox still has a very bright future with many top-tier titles coming out from the world's best developers. The bottom line is that we will care as long as our customers continue to. For that matter, we ourselves have personal favorite games that we're eager to see supported on the platform.

GS: Is it too early to start thinking about backward compatibility for the next Xbox?

AP: It's never too early to think about the future, but it is too early to talk about it.

GS: Thank you very much for your time.

113 Comments

  • BigMoney09

    Posted Aug 9, 2006 7:06 pm PT

    seriously, i'm super ****** off about them not having MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2 that was my favorite game growing up . y didnt MS just make all the games bc instead of adding 1 or 2 games each month. glad to see at least me, dragansama, and actually care about fighters

  • Ammo-ReD

    Posted Jul 15, 2006 1:43 pm PT

    I just bought Syberia 2 and The Chronicles of Riddick... To find out what? The Xbox 360 doesn't support it? WOOT? Xbox 360 will sooo lose this "console-battle" if they just grow hemeroids! PS3 will be compatible with PS2-games and PS1-games (!) from release! No updates needed! THAT'S marketing! Microsoft, making the customer happy should be your FIRST "objective" waiting 'till AFTER release isn't good enough! It's even required to have a HDD to play the old games. I'm starting to regret that I bought the Xbox 360 just because of this minor mistake Microsoft was able to pull off. Work, work, work! The console is sweet, but this update thingy simply isn't good enough!

  • EchoEcho

    Posted Jul 13, 2006 1:15 am PT

    Good Lord, did half of you even /read/ this article before you starting whining?

  • SouthPark_Fan13

    Posted Jul 12, 2006 7:50 am PT

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

  • defaillance

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 11:52 am PT

    wish they had worked on EA NHL06 instead of waiting for the next release... shame

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 7:37 am PT

    hey i've got an idea if you want to play xbox games buy the xbox its 50 dollars at every pawn shop in the country

  • Fiku42

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 1:00 am PT

    *sigh* can Msoft ever get it right?? theres backwars compatible list is messed up but then again xbox1 besides the 2 halos and dead or alives it didnt really have any good games on it

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 12:43 pm PT

    and then they wonder why 360 isnt a success. way to dump on your old fans with huge xbox libraries. sony always gets this right. i hate them though.

  • VegetaMaelstrom

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 11:43 pm PT

    Microsoft never, ever, ever over promises and under delivers *cough* XBLA *cough*. They talk like politicians and promise the world and hope people forget what they said later. Or even worse they deny even saying things they previously said. Peter Moore said that every Xbox game would eventually be BC then a few months later said nobody cares about BC anymore so it will be cancelled shortly. Then when the forum outcry reached him, BC was all of a sudden a "priority" again. *Sigh* This company is so full of sh*t that they make Sony look honest and that ain't easy.

  • Grinch123456

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 10:34 am PT

    Stop your whining! We can all go play Barbie Horse Adventure on the Xbox360! Woo!

  • theKSMM

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:00 pm PT

    Sheesh, people, they're working on it...give 'em a break.

    These aren't easy technical problems. Microsoft doesn't need to promise a schedule for their work. First off, they can't even predict when they'll have ceratin things working. And secondly, what kind of outcry do you think there will be when they miss a BC date for somebody's favorite game?

  • juvinwo1

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 5:34 pm PT

    backwards compatability is HUGE, this must continue!!!, keep up the good work M$!!!!

  • optimus

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:50 pm PT

    Why could i move games about on xbox 1 but not 360?!!
    I hope ms adresses this.

    I'd personally love it if microsoft released an xbox 1 -360 adaptor mostly to transfer data from old xbox 1 mem cards to 360 HDD/mem cards and make use of steel battalion's giant controller for LAN partys.

    I'd pay $29.95 for a controller/mem adaptor/inporter.
    Having to start halo over each time you play it on a diffrent 360 ia sad-especially when i could move it all over many xbox 1's back n the day.

  • redface666

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:24 pm PT

    ... just as long as they do X-men 1&2

  • phSychO_AtDawn

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 3:14 pm PT

    they actually do answer our request they answered my prayer for Splinter Cell.

  • unreal6666

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 2:12 pm PT

    Why no unreal game support at all?

    I don't get it? One of the biggest Fps franchise ever and it is completely ignored..ok i know that unreal championship did not have the sucess of ut 2004 but still unreal is unreal and i want it?

    i bought the games thinking they would work...what a goof... i did not have the sense to check the bc list first.

    I think that they are focusing too much on stupid games to be bc just to brag about a big amount of games that are bc.

    Do they listen to fans for what games they want?

    Obviously not... on xbox.com there are so many BC want list threads it is not even funny and i started a few...they got such an ass whooping that they did have to fill in a few requests like doom 3 or lego star wars but the rest of the new games that are bc are not top selling games....who cares about the barbie game? no one really...still it got there so it proves that they are just going to do the easy games first then add a few hard ones to shut some people up and brag about what they are doing...

    I have yet to see a poll on xbox.com anywhere and i must admit i am fairly new to the site but i have to say that i have never seen a poll for what top 10 games fans would want BC.... does that ring a bell?

    They would rather see the site polluted with thousands of threads and rants about BC games than rather have a poll, get the results, sit down , look at it and see if it is doable and in a reasonable amount of time.

    Geniuses they are not i guess...it does not take rocket science to figure out a way to calm the fans...

    i guess they will never get the BC rants done because they are stupid in the way they are handling the situation.

    The interview above is nothing new, nothing that a rabid fan about bc has not read before. This guy just came in to chime in excuses for microsoft and make us think that it is a bubble gum world and all is rosey..

    Sorry pal... you did not prove anything or tell me anything new.

    I like the 360 and it's possibilities and the games but M$ failed on the BC part of the deal...

    thanks for nothing M$

  • runstalker

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:44 pm PT

    I love this one. Albert says:

    :
    Backward compatibility is all about preserving and respecting the investment made by original Xbox owners.


    I think the 'preserving' and 'respecting' of that investment came a little too late, buddy. The 'Back Compat' team should've been up and operational in mid-2004. We can thank Peter Moore for its derailment. He apparently didn't think much of Xbox game owners' investments. The 360 koolaid rush blinded his good judgment.

  • mike_mgoblue

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:39 pm PT

    ALL of the SNK Neo Geo games need to appear on Xbox Live Arcade!!!

  • mike_mgoblue

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:38 pm PT

    EVERY Xbox Platinum Hits game NEEDS to be Backwards Compatible!!!

  • mike_mgoblue

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:37 pm PT

    EVERY SINGLE Xbox Platinum Hits game ABSOLUTELY NEEDS to be Backwards Compatible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • GoddBless

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:23 pm PT

    "donscrillinger
    wheres espn nfl2k5 or phantom dust"

    "soulknight63133
    NFL2k5 and Phantom Dust would be nice to have on the BC list."

    I'm with you both!!! I've been waiting for those two since launch.

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:14 pm PT

    all my xbox games were stolen, so if I had a 360 I couldn't care less about BC

  • plightstar

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:13 pm PT

    Jet Set Radio future, thats all I want.....

  • ttgowings

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:08 pm PT

    A few things to understand some of which were covered here and some of which were commented here on the issues and problems with the 360 and the BWC problems, Microsoft in creating the original Xbox did not own the IP rights on the GPU nVidia did(does) hence this entire debacle hence the reasons why other console makers haven't had such major issues in the past with BWC, though why MS didn't see this happening in afterthought is a mystery since they are afterall mostly a software company and not necessarilly a hardware company the only thought one could have would be that in the short term outlook they just weren't looking far enough in the future for their next console plans and BWC but with their little email snafu that just came to light this may not have been the case but either way anyone that thinks that Sony had an easy time of it with the PS2 let alone the upcoming debalacle of the PS3 is misinformed since Sony is now backburning their BWC emulator efforts by basically putting in an entire PS2 inside their first run of their PS3's because they are having just as many problems if not more them MS is with their emulators at this point. And its not that anyone who bought or owns 360's are asking MS for more then should be provided by BWC, MS themselves numerous times has not only said "the most popular" games but they have also stated that "all" games would "eventually" be BWC on the 360. And since a few months ago they stopped production on the original Xbox's to ramp up production on the 360's should not all orig Xbox games from here on out be BWC ??

    The Origins Of The Xbox: A Transcript Of The Beauty Contest Meeting Seven Years Ago

    PS3 To Include PS2 Hardware

    Links to Xbox.com's Forum on the matter of BWC

    Backward Compatable Game Wishlist

    Attempt at an OFFICIAL 360 Backwards Compatability Request list...

  • smitten10

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 12:59 pm PT

    Okay. I find it hillarious that almost every person on this board has said that this game or that game needs to be BC or is the only one they care about. Which Albert said it best when he said, "everyone has a Top 5 list".

    I have watched this BC thing go on for awhile now, and there will be these games that everyone says must be done and they will be happy, but those games are released (Black, Splinter Cell, Doom III, etc.) and then everybody says, "where's Psychonauts?" So essentially there is no way to truly please everyone without complete BC and there is a good chance that that will never happen or it will takes years to fully realize.

    So essentially I am over it. I have enough BC games that work well that I like and enough 360 games and new games on the horizon to keep me happy. I feel that was promised and delivered. Everything else is just gravy.

    But whining over Panzer Dragon is just... well... I'm over it. The BC games will continue to roll out ever expanding the library while new 360 games will start hitting the shelves at a breakneck pace come the holiday season. So I frankly will be playing new games more than worrying about my old ones.

  • REVENGEotSITH

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 12:48 pm PT

    We can't comment on what titles we are working on right now.

    Why not? This isn't the CIA and Top Secret information we're talking about! We are talking about old Xbox games, for crying out loud. Stop treating us gamers like we are idiots and stop treating this information like it has to do with national security, Microsoft. Just tell us what titles and when we should expect them. If you don't make those dates, fine - just let us know.

    This secrecy stuff is getting old.

  • ReaperXxxx

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 12:48 pm PT

    Halo 2 is BC. That's the only Xbox game I play on my 360 anyway. I'd like to see Unreal Championship 2 and Half Life 2 make the BC list, but it's really not that important.

  • rayzor6

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 12:47 pm PT

    I respect everyone POV on BC....however, let this be a lesson: NEVER EVER believe in what will be promised later. It is becoming a popular trend to *say* that they will do something and not do it, or do it poorly. By purchasing the stuff, WE...as gamers...tell these companies that is ok. You can rant on the internet as much as you want. The only way your voice will be heard is not buy a product that is promised to have X at a later date. By holding back our money, we tell them: deliver it as promised or no cash for you. Plain and simple. You might have to wait a little longer, but at least we will get what has been promised.

  • Cunder

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 12:30 pm PT

    Funni how they say they tring to get the best selling titles up , but yet they focus on titles that probably work do to they use the same programing so it takes less work.

    Let me say this if the consumer and the fans, or whatever ask for a title and you say you pick up the most wanted and titles and work on the BC. And you don't bring out what they want, and your bringing out crappy games. Guess what your not doing your stupid job, your just being lazy tring to avoid anymore work.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 11:33 am PT

    more talk of backwards compatibility

  • DarthTall

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 11:31 am PT

    Panzer Dragoon Orta has a small but very loyal following. Everyone I know who actually played this game LOVED it. Seeing that title and other highly-reviewed ones like Sid Meyer's Pirates!, Mercenaries and Brothers In Arms become compatible might just help me retain my loyalty come this November.

  • xspawn69

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 10:48 am PT

    conker & riddick

  • vamroc

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 10:37 am PT

    Ultimate Spider Man and X-men Legends 2 Rise of Apocolypes thats all I ask. A solid title like X-men Legends 2 should be made BC. Hell it was released only 2 weeks before Shadow the Craphog and that was in the first batch of BC games. Darkwatch was on the first list as well and that shipped before Ultimate Spider Man and USM is a much better title. What Microsoft should have done is make sure all the 05 titles were BC then make the million sellers and 06 titles BC. This way 360 owners would have only the best titles to play on the best system ever.

  • teamparadox2k

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 10:08 am PT

    "all you kids braggin that you still have your xbox1s, good for you. but they PROMISED 360 owners a huge library of xbox1 games available & in my opinion (& others) have YET to deliver."

    No they didnt, they said over and over TOP SELLING TITLES..

    Now for the guy talking about how it should be easy to emulate because of DirectX and OpenGL. Thats not 100% true, while the hardware did support those API's it also had its own set of API that was specific to the hardware and patented by nVidia. This is why MS needs to pay a fee to nVidia for every 360, they needed to license certain parts of their API in order to emulate the hardware via software which from what I understand is very complex because it isnt simple little things. The shaders for example are not easy to emulate and those were all custom in order to optimise for the low system ram in the Xbox.

    Certain developers also made their own API's for their custom engines which makes things even harder since im sure most of them arent willing to freely share their source code. If 3rd parties opened up their code libraries to the B/C team things would go alot smoother, but it would also open them up to code theft and things of that nature...its a very sensitive topic.

    It would be like Microsoft giving the source code to Office to the open source community and then trusting none of that code would end up in an office app somewhere down the line.

  • RyanGT

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:53 am PT

    I'm with U1. Where the hell is the Panzer Dragoon Orta support!? My Xbox is busted and it's really the only game I wanna play for it.

  • javajoe96work

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:46 am PT

    DeusExMathias: Black is backwards compatible.

    I want Phantom Dust backwards compatibile.

  • Sandman100

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:43 am PT

    I stopped playing xbox games when I got a 360. I'm fine with the title that have already being put on the the BC listed.

  • Britesparc

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 9:21 am PT

    How feasible would it be for them to include a patch on all new Xbox releases so they played on 360 straight out of the box? It kinda puts be off buying new Xbox games (as opposed to 360 games) because, OK, I've still got my old Xbox, but I don't use it for games anymore (it's become my bedroom DVD player).

  • WillT12345

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 8:40 am PT

    I stopped playing xbox games when I got the 360.

  • DeusExMathias

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 8:13 am PT

    I would love to see:
    Morrowind
    Riddick
    Project: Snowblind
    Black (I _still_ haven't played this one)
    Rainbow Six 3: Lockdown

    Too bad sports games are so popular with the kiddies. I'd like the BC team to concentrate on the Action/Shooter games

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 7:59 am PT

    MoreCowbell6924 said:
    "warhawk256
    "Let this quote be forever immortalized:

    "Barbie Horse Adventures runs on the Xbox 360 because it uses technology similar to that of the [Grand Theft Auto] series. "

    Are. You . Kidding me."

    Exactly what I was thinking "

    I thought the same thing as well.

  • dragonsama

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 7:48 am PT

    I'm still waiting for them to make fighters compatible on the 360

    where is?

    Capcom Vs SNK 2
    Marvel Vs Capcom 2
    Street Fighter anniversary collection
    Guilty Gear 2X
    King of Fighters Maximum Impact
    King of fighters 2002/2003
    King of Fighters Neowave
    Samurai Showdown V
    SNK VS Capcom SVC Chaos
    Dead or alive ultimate 1
    Dead or alive ultimate 2
    Dear or alive Extreme Beach Volleyball
    Mortal Kombat Deception

    if I have said it once I'll say it 1000 times. Back wards compatibility on the 360 fails completely until they can have these game run on it. I mean come on they are 2D fighters it can't be THAT hard to get them to run on 360.

  • Jeras_Tren

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 7:42 am PT

    Shenmue II and Fifa 06 would be nice

  • iwannamilkbone

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 6:33 am PT

    Riddick and james bond 007-everything or nothing

  • XBOX-HALO

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 6:22 am PT

    you NEED to put ESPN NFL 2K5 on BC! its getting tiring and annoying on the XboxV1

  • DarkSta1ker

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 6:05 am PT

    I am not worried because the only games I kept were Ninja Gaiden Black and Halo 2 and they are both good and compatible, but I would love to see Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones because I was a huge fan of POP and I had to sell pretty much all of my Xbox stuff to get the 360. That is all I need to make me happy...well that and Gears of War.

  • SachielMyAngel

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:58 am PT

    Psychonauts.

  • DirtyAl

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:37 am PT

    N----F----L----

    2-----K------5!!!!!!
    N----F----L----

    2-----K------5!!!!!!
    N----F----L----

    2-----K------5!!!!!!
    N----F----L----

    2-----K------5!!!!!!
    N----F----L----

    2-----K------5!!!!!!

  • Quadster

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:35 am PT

    can i just say...if there's something PC gaming has taught me is that regardless of the chipset, be it from Nvidia or ATI, both companies run their hardware thru OpenGL or DirectX (Regardless of software revision number)
    Application Programing interfaces.
    From what i know Both Xbox and Xbox 360 are native to DirectX Support, so which makes me wonder if microsoft realise this and regardless of hardware, Geforce or Radeon it would use hardware calls in directX so other than that, both consoles use UMA (Unified Memory Architecture), both systems have HDDs both use DVD as the storage medium, so effectively the CPU is the only thing which is stopping full hardware playing of previous Generation games, in this case Xbox titles
    i could very well be wrong in this case but knowing what PCs are like, but this is the only way i can see it

  • OPOLO

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:06 am PT

    Well, I learned a few things from this story

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