Entertainment

Is Xbox 360 Dead? Microsoft Pulls The Plug On Production As Xbox One Backwards Compatible List Grows

Published on: April 27, 2016 at 4:32 PM
By Patrick Frye

Some might call the Xbox 360 dead, but that’s not entirely true. Microsoft has announced that they’re taking the console out of production, even though there are still games being released on the decade-plus-old system. They have stated that they will continue to support the Xbox 360, adding that games will continue being released for three more years.

Of course, those new games will probably not be major releases from Ubisoft, whose last major AC release on the 360 was Assassin’s Creed: Rogue . With the promise of more powerful versions of current generation consoles coming in 2016, it might not be profitable for some developers to keep making new titles for the 360.

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Although Microsoft is officially ending support for the Xbox 360, it’s not dead just because Xbox One is rumored to be getting an upgrade around the same time as Sony’s PlayStation 4K, code-named “Neo.” The possibility of Xbox One taking the same route (virtual reality headset, 4K output support) doesn’t appear likely, mostly due to the lack of even a rumor of an Xbox One VR headset.

Not everybody wants virtual reality, preferring the classic TV-based gaming that has been there for gamers since before Atari had a console.

Another big question on some of our minds is whether Microsoft will continue to support the 360 with Xbox Live. It can only be assumed for now that support is universal, and they’re only shutting down production on the console. Considering how profitable sources say the console and Xbox Live is on it, it’s doubtful they’ll just announce the Xbox 360 is dead, according to Xbox Marketing and Strategy Chief Yusuf Mehdi.

“It’s not like the day we ship the Xbox One your 360 won’t work; we’ll continue to support it. In fact, we’re going to ship over 100 new games on Xbox 360. So you’ll still be able to play your [older] games, just not on the same exact box.”

Does this mean that when the three years ends, the Xbox Live online service won’t even work on your 360? Nobody knows yet, but for those of us who downloaded more games than we physically own, it may be time to consider buying an Xbox One just to keep playing them in the future. The lack of Xbox Live would mean you couldn’t sign in and your downloaded games would be “dead space” on the hard drive, rendering the Xbox 360 dead.

If you do decide to give in and get the Xbox One, you can look forward to some popular classics such as Assassin’s Creed I and II , Beyond Good and Evil HD , Borderlands , Dark Souls , Dead Space , and over 100 titles . Sadly, it doesn’t look like Batman: Arkham Asylum or City is on the list yet.

A while back, it was rumored that the Batman: Arkham series would be either remastered (like Dead Island and Borderlands ) or ported like Prototype 1 and 2 were, but we haven’t seen any evidence of this actually happening.

Three years is still plenty of time for Microsoft to work on ways to get more of their classics backwards compatible with the Xbox One, so there is hope before we can officially call the Xbox 360 dead.

[Image via 360b / Shutterstock.com ]

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