Classic arcade game Jet Set Willy coming to Xbox 360 and Windows Phone this Friday

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Although these are not Xbox LIVE games, the 1983 classic arcade and sequel to Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, is headed to the Xbox 360 as an Indie Arcade game this Friday. In addition, a version for Windows Phone is coming with it at or around the same time (we all know how hard it can be for timing).

The game Jet Set Willy should be a lot of fun for those who enjoy some retro gameplay on their modern devices as the port looks is official, being handled by Elite Systems Ltd. That company has also brought their previous ZX Spectrum games to iOS in the past. From the company’s press release...

"The release of Jet Set Willy 360 as an Xbox Live Indie Game and as a Windows Phone game is the next exciting step in bringing classic ZX Spectrum games to a new audience, via new devices and platforms and in the process restoring some order to the market.We began doing this some 22 months ago with our ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection Apps for iOS devices and in the intervening period there have been more than 100,000 paid instances. The release of Jet Set Willy 360 follows the positive reception and a successful launch of Manic Miner 360 as an Xbox Live Indie Game and as a Windows Phone game. It’s expected to be followed by more classic ZX Spectrum Games."

That other classic, Manic Miner came out late last year and is quite an interesting version. The game operates in both portrait and landscape with optional joystick or button controls. Overall, it’s not a bad version of the game and fetches for $1.99, which for some is a bit on the high side. But what’s the price of nostalgia?  

You can pick that game up here in the Marketplace with a free trial. Elite Systems Ltd. are evidently planning on bringing more classics to the Xbox gaming system (both phone and console), assuming this game continues to sell as well as Manic Miner.

We’ll keep an eye out for when Jet Set Willy lands on Windows Phone, though it shouldn’t be too long from now.

Related: Windows Phone ZX Spectrum emulator MetroSpec hitting beta and needs more testers

via: IGN; Thanks, Dan, for the heads up

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.