# Xbox 360: Backwards Compatible? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 23, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438 "2009-03-23T07:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/1 "2009-03-23T07:28:40Z")
Quick question: I’m thinking of buying an Xbox 360 console, but are they backwards compatible with my existing Xbox games? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/2 "2009-03-23T07:30:18Z")
Answer: yes, [some are.](http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/3 "2009-03-23T10:03:28Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Answer: yes, [some are.](http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm) Thanks for the info - it’s more fuss than I expected. I’m not faffing around with Xbox Live, though; the old console and games can just go into the cupboard. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/4 "2009-03-23T10:19:29Z")
You don’t need XBL though, you can download it and burn it to a CD with your ordinary computer and then just pop it into the 360’s disc drive to have it install the updates. Still, there are some really good old Xbox games that the 360 simply won’t run. Pity. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/5 "2009-03-23T12:43:04Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > You don’t need XBL though, you can download it and burn it to a CD with your ordinary computer and then just pop it into the 360’s disc drive to have it install the updates. Still, there are some really good old Xbox games that the 360 simply won’t run. Pity. Yup. Or just connect once and do it. You don’t need to be connected to play. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/6 "2009-03-23T20:45:43Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > You don’t need XBL though, you can download it and burn it to a CD with your ordinary computer and then just pop it into the 360’s disc drive to have it install the updates. Still, there are some really good old Xbox games that the 360 simply won’t run. Pity. Oh, OK - that looks a bit less of a hassle. Still a pain, though - whose dumb idea was it to “upgrade” consoles from plug and play to PC’s without keyboards? If I wanted to arse about with downloads, I’d get a gaming PC. Yeah, I know, online play. But for me gaming is, like masturbation, an essentially solitary vice. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/7 "2009-03-23T21:44:50Z")
Throwing a CAT 5 cable into the back of the console and getting the updates isn’t much of a hassle at all. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/8 "2009-03-23T22:00:21Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > Oh, OK - that looks a bit less of a hassle. To be honest, takes something like 5 minutes max. The update files are very small, they can be burned to a CD very quickly, and they update very fast. For years we had a 360 without Xbox Live, and we updated our backwards compatibility easily enough. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/9 "2009-03-24T01:20:03Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > Oh, OK - that looks a bit less of a hassle. Still a pain, though - whose dumb idea was it to “upgrade” consoles from plug and play to PC’s without keyboards? If I wanted to arse about with downloads, I’d get a gaming PC. Consoles are still plug and play. It’s some of these pesky extras (backwards compatibility on the Xbox, Virtual Console on the Wii, Home on the PS3) that require an online connection. And really, there’s not a whole lot PC-like about the whole thing. Which is why I love my consoles. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-360-backwards-compatible/490438/10 "2009-03-24T15:03:00Z")
In case you missed it from that link: you can also order a DVD from Microsoft that has the emulator software for all of those listed games, so you won’t have to burn discs yourself. The DVD is free, shipping should be $2. [Here’s the order link](https://om.one.microsoft.com/opa/start.om?storeid=5416CFAC-D7D8-4C7F-AA34-9C0913B65035&localeCode=en-us&NewTrans=1&campaigncode=20357,60139).