Xbox emulators
The Xbox is a 6th generation console produced by Microsoft in 2001. Known originally as the DirectXbox, this console is notable for essentially being a PC, as a result of using components from both Intel and Nvidia, as well as being x86-based. It is, in theory, the most powerful console of the 6th generation as a result (in practice however, the GameCube's architecture allowed for better optimization and more impressive technical feats; the reason for Xbox versions of games having better visuals than their PS2 and Gamecube counterparts has something to do with the Xbox being easier to develop, as the API for it is similar in some ways to Windows NT).
Contents
Emulators
Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | Active | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cxbx | Windows | Git | ✓ | ✗ |
Dxbx | Windows | 0.5 | ✗ | ✗ |
Xenoborg | Windows | r19 | ✗ | ✗ |
XQEMU | Windows, Linux, OS X | Git | ✗ | ✗ |
Xeon | Windows | 1.0 | ✗ | ✗ |
Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | Active | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|
Xbox 360 | Xbox 360 | Patch based | ✗ | ✗ |
Comparisons
- Cxbx can boot around 61 games, with around a dozen in a playable state (List)
- Xeon can emulate Halo well, but nothing else.
Consoles
- Xbox 360 is backwards compatible, but it is not 100% like the Wii is with the GameCube. While some work off the bat, some need patches downloaded and even then there are still issues with many games from graphical glitches and slowdown to full blown programming fails (falling through floors in Half Life 2).
Emulation issues
Due to a lack of interest, or in some case very toxic behavior or potential legal threats towards devs, and the misconception that all Xbox games got PS2/PC/GC ports (that couldn't be farther from the truth), the Xbox 1 emulation scene is almost dead at the moment.
Compounded to this is the high level entry for the effort involved: emulating a complex (and partially undocumented) x86 CPU from scratch, undocumented NVIDIA graphical and sound components (the Nouveau project for Linux may be of help, but the GeForce architecture is notoriously complicated), obscure BIOS for each hardware revision posing problems with lots of stuff including video rendering. (More) There's progress nevertheless, but it's slow and interest is very low.