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Microsoft has been keen to include its PC user base in future gaming plans as shown by the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, which debuted last year. This year, Microsoft will be expanding that even further as not only is Xbox One set to get backwards compatibility with original Xbox games, but PC will be getting support for them too, according to Xbox head, Phil Spencer.
Alongside the prominent reveal of the Xbox One X, it was announced at E3 this year that original Xbox games will soon be supported on Xbox One. In an interview with PC Gamer, Spencer expressed his hopes that the library will make its way to Windows 10 at some point in the future, accompanied by the Xbox Game Pass that launched last month.
“Emulation is hard. Xbox 360 specifically is a PowerPC chip, emulated to x86, which is difficult. It's a little bit easier when you have a fixed spec. The original Xbox, OG Xbox, is a little bit easier, because that was an x86 chip it was running on.”
“We don't have the deep catalog of games on PC that we do on console, so I've had some pushback from the marketing team that, well it wouldn't necessarily be the best feature right now, because we won't have enough games, but I just want to start. So I'm putting a lot of pressure on the team to go get enough content lined up to do something on the PC, and then make sure we have a long-term commitment to build.”
Original Xbox games are not the only thing from the 16-year-old console to be making a comeback. Microsoft has partnered with accessory manufacturer Hyperkin to breathe new life into the original controller, named The Duke, set for release later this year.
The controller is compatible with the Xbox One, Xbox One S and the upcoming Xbox One X. It is currently unknown if it will be compatible with PC upon release.
KitGuru Says: While I’m not a fan of the original Xbox controller, I can appreciate that it’ll bring a lot of nostalgia for original Xbox users. What’s the first original Xbox game you’ll be playing?
i’ve got a ton of old xbox games still laying around, it would be great to see them playable on my pc.
not so sure why they’d bring back the fat controller though. i didn’t mind it since i have big hands, but it was fairly commonly called the worst controller of that generation.
Being a big handed guy, I love the Duke more than anything. Everything else feels tiny and I get cramps in long sessions. Also, best triggers EVER for racing… Having the og controller on pc would be awesome, without 3rd party apps and stuff. BTW, make the RC receiver work as well please ^. ^
I kept one… NFSU2, seems like an excellent decision now!
Unless they make it so I can stick my original game discs into the optical drive on my gaming rig and play them that way instead of making me buy them again, I’m not interested.
And people that called it that were wrong. I loved that thing.