Interview: Phil Spencer wants to see Xbox 360 games running on PC

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Xbox chief Phil Spencer joins Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team

Xbox chief Phil Spencer joins Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team

Among other discussions, Xbox head Phil Spencer said during a recent interview that he'd like to be able to play Xbox 360 games on PC.

Since Microsoft's stellar engineers made Xbox One backwards compatibility a reality, many of us have been wondering what other surprises could the Xbox team have up their collective sleeves. After all, Phil Spencer himself conceded during the reveal that they weren't sure it was possible to make Xbox 360 games run on Xbox One.

Given the prowess of Xbox's platform engineers, it seems realistic that the X360 emulator could run on PCs as well. Phil Spencer seems to agree, stating that its development is a simple case of priorities.

Gizmodo Brazil asked about the possibility of seeing original Xbox games on the Xbox One. During his response, Phil Spencer said that he'd not only like to see original Xbox games on Xbox One but also Xbox 360 games on PC (via Microsoft Translate):

..."[Getting original Xbox games on Xbox One] is something I want to do. It is a matter of priority. I would love to have the ability to play Xbox 360 on PC at some point too, so we have different things we have to think when we plan these things. But it would be great to have support for original Xbox games. So yes, I want to do it, but we have many other things we want to do well. People fight with me for not having background music (laughs), so we have much work to do. Which is great! It's great to have that feedback.

Phil Spencer also teased the backwards compatibility line-up, slated for a reveal this November when the New Xbox One Experience goes public.

..."I won't reveal the secrets. Wait a month! You will have to wait a month, or else we won't have big surprises. I think people will be pleasantly surprised with some of the games that will be available."...

Gizmodo Brazil also asked about the possibility of a Xbox hand-held, akin to the Nintendo DS. Phil Spencer reiterated previous statements that their interest lies in mobile devices that people already own, citing Minecraft Pocket Edition in the process:

..."For us, I think we'll move on to look at mobiles and one of the things we've done in this direction in the last year was the acquisition of Minecraft. One of the things that motivates us with Minecraft is how it is strong in mobile devices. I think that for us it is more advantageous to focus on mobile devices that people already have and bring the Xbox experience to these devices. Whether through work we're doing with Windows 10 or other places that we can put our games."......"We will not make a portable dedicated to games, we'll think of something that works on mobile devices that run games."...

Phil Spencer stated in the past that Xbox One game streaming to Windows 10 Mobile is on the cards. Continuum also opens up some cool possibilities for portable play. For example, Minecraft Windows 10 Edition switches between controller, keyboard, mouse and touch inputs in an instant, and seems like a good fit for Continuum gaming on an external monitor.

You can find the full interview here, if you don't speak Portuguese, you can run it through Bing Translator over here.

Source: Gizmodo Brazil via Neowin

Jez Corden
Jez Corden

Jez Corden is a Senior Editor for Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by caffeine. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and listen to his Xbox Two podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!
62 Comments
  • Hell yeah!!!
  • If they could bring the Xbox 360 library to the Windows 19 Store, that would be huge for Windows 10, for the Windows 10 Store, and for Xbox.
  • There's no point about that... Majority of Xbox 360 games were released alongside the PC versions. Only the few exclusives being ported to Windows 10 would be a welcome change. Also since Windows 10 is a universal store, placing these games there without being able to support phones and tablets would break the One OS on Everything breakthrough that Windows 10 has introduced. Posted via the Windows Central App
  • Your logic is so dumb is not even funny. First of all, there a bunch of games that are on consoles only. Not just the exclusive games that people crave for (Halo especially). But games like Red Dead Redemption, Dante's Inferno come to mind.
    .
    .
    About Continuum/universal apps. Not all apps can work on mobile. Not to mention that this is not apps but games, we're taking about. There isn't much they can do to these game to make them support tablet and phone. They can only port the games not change the games U/add/remove things to the games. They're not the developers. And they're not allowed to change anything about those games.
  • There are already plenty of games in the Windows Store that do not work on phones (e.g. Project Spark). If Microsoft wants the Windows 10 Store to succeed, it needs AAA games in there to pull people away from parasitic competitors like Steam. There are a ton of games on Xbox 360 that aren't on PC yet. Many people would prefer playing Xbox games instead of non-Xbox games, even on PC. Bringing Xbox 360 games to Windows 10 would instantly make the Windows 10 Store one of the best PC gaming stores on the market.  
  • Meanwhile now universal games r coming. Heil Microsoft yeah :)
  • Finally PC players can stfu about halo on pc
  • Halo 2 was already going to PC
  • I know halo 2 is on PC, thanks.
  • I swore I read about a 360 emulator years ago. Sure there was no xbl support but it ran
  • No, there is no real Xbox emulator. Anything that says it is one will likely give you viruses.
  • There is actually one in development but nothing works as of now Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Actually, the Xenia emulator currently has 34 working titles now listed. It is coming along.
  • Not exactly we want the halo games made for pc using a emulator will probably still even require the use of a controller
  • Hail Microsoft :v
  • It would be nice to use the wireless Xbox adapter in the continuum dock.
  • Bring it on!!!
  • First make xbox one games like forza 6, forza horizon 2 and halo 5 run on PC. Also master chief ultimate edition is nowhere to be seen. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Use the Xbox streaming thing Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Maybe people want to play those games who dont own an xbox
  • You'll never see a CURRENT console get offical support for on the PC..... As they want people to BUY the consoles... But, last gen, sure, great idea, Microsoft can see more sales for older games as more choice and no more Red Rings of death  (maybe some blue screens but, that is for a different discussion). So, a system that was going to die off a year from now, it could get a 2nd life...
  • I would love future xbox to exist both as a box you can buy and a software environment that you can run on your PC. "Here's the product with the core experience we want our users to have, but for you crazy kids that like to build machines here's the software and min/rec specs sheet to build your own. Go crazy."
  • Developers would hate it...
  • Easier than trying to port a game to PC after the fact.
  • Why would developers hate something that instantly makes their games work on another platform through no effort by them? It's free money.
  • It's not possible to provide the raw direct hardware access that games need without running into issues across different types of hardware and drivers. This is why developers love consoles -- only one set of hardware and drivers to worry about -- and why PC ports can take so long.
  • Sure, but if we can get a range of hardware components built with a "Compatible with Xbox" certification, it would make the process much easier. They build these games on computers in the first place using emulator software to simulate the hardware profile they're building it for. The devs would still be developing for a "system" it would just be software based. It would be between MS and hardware vendors to make sure it worked outside of the vanilla XBox.
  • This scenario doesn't involve any extra work for developers. They've already made the games. In this scenario, those games then just magically work inside a virtual machine / emulator on PC, similar to how Xbox 360 backwards compatibility works on Xbox One. Ergo, no developers should "hate" something like this, as it would instantly guarantee them more revenue for no more work.
  • I like where this is going. Play to your strengths in every platform you control.
  • Get them working all on the One first before moving on geez
  • Yep, they still haven't been released to non-preview XBL members. If they work on the One, then they can be streamed from the XBox App on Windows 10. The streaming works great and has become my favorite way to play Xbox games (28" monitor on my main PC).
  • Yeah, why should they plan ahead. They should just wing it.
  • Can't wait for the list. I expect there will be some good ones.
  • Anyway we can get CPU games to run in the Xbox?
  • No dedicated Xbox handheld? Noooooooooooooo!
  • It's called a Windows Phone. There are a ton of mobile Xbox games to play.
  • Not even close...
  • It's the best solution for Microsoft (one they've failed to support). What do you expect them to do, launch a dedicated handheld like the PS Vita and watch it flop miserably like the PS Vita? Even 3DS sales pale in comparison to DS sales. Dedicated handheld gaming systems are dead.
  • I would like to play xbox one games on my 950xl
  • U sir are not a gamer at all
  • You mean he doesn't have arthritis in all his fingers? Anyone who enjoys playing games is a gamer, doesn't matter how they play or what they play or even how often, its annoying to see this kind of elitism in the "gamer" community.
  • He's "not a gamer" because he wants to play games? That makes no sense.
  • Many people consider playing games on your phone doesnt make u a gamer, it's like saying the 40-50 year olds who play games on Facebook all day are gamers... Are they. No they are not lol
  • They are. Just like someone who enjoys checkers or chess is a gamer the same as someone who plays Magic or D&D. Are they games? Do people like to play them? These are the only two qualifying questions that matter. Anything else is BS gatekeeping.
  • Looks like this might be the end of the Xbox or the convergence of it with PC. If so it'll suck to be playstation.
  • You'll stick with PlayStation because Xbox has more upside? Huh? Logic does not compute.
  • And how does it have more upside?
  • It has more upside via the convergence of experiences across a wider swath of devices: one experience across phones, tablets, computers, consoles, and HoloLens. No other company in the world can do that. Only Microsoft can. Thus, I find Xbox more appealing.
  • I meant to say that the spreading of the Xbox brand and games to both PC and Console. So Xbox will survive than playstation. But I'm just worried about the console itself not the brand.
  • He said it'll suck to be PlayStation, not that he'll stick with it.
  • Hmm, either he ninja edited that or I need to go grab a cup of coffee, because I definitely read it as "stuck", not suck.
  • Asking all games will be playable on PCi s a bit much to ask especially someo f the big budget games, surely publishing issues will come up.  I always thought some of the xbox live arcade games should be on PC or even on mobile, would of helped the catalague of games on those platforms.  Perhaps we are going to see this very soon.   
  • If Microsoft wants to destroy Sony and all console competition, all they have to do is make it so xBox games can be played on PC and vice versa. In other words, universal games.
  • They won't destroy consoles that way, but they will make a hell of a lot more money doing this
  • I don't really understand why they're concerned about original Xbox compatibility on the One. Is there anyone (statistically significant, I know there are always a few outliers) that actually wants that? I might like to fire up Republic Commandos, but this can't really be any kind of priority can it?
  • Star Wars Battlefront 2! That was so fun.
  • 007 everything or nothing
    This game was awesome too bad it didn't run on the 360 Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Panzer Dragoon Orta and Jet Set Radio Future!
  • If Xbox 360 can do reverse compatibility with Xbox One and PC, that'd suggest Xbox One games being capable to do the same for PC, right?
    Because I SOOOOO want Quantum Break and Halo Guardians on PC, but I don't have any current gen consoles Posted via the Windows Central App
  • Yea, would love this, and if we could access out 360 saves, this would be awesome... There is a bunch of 360 games I never completed because I got a Xbox one, so going back to some of these titles would be fun and I could finish up a bunch of games (acheivements )
  • Backwards compatible games do use your xb360 games as long as you used the "cloud storage" option for saving them and you do get the same achievements (as long as the publisher doesn't change it as part of a bundle package I'd assume).
  •  Thanks for the article Jez. Just want to inform all folks who live outside US that Xbox 360 is a great media Player. If you want to access Netflix and other streaming stations on your Xbox 360 you can use UnoTelly as I do to get around the geo block.