Time Is Running Out For Hundreds Of Games On The Xbox 360 Store

I've been buying XBLA games nearly every week for the last few months to make sure I get the download only games I want. I'm trying to get some disc games 2nd hand but damn I got test drive unlimited 2 from CEX and the disc was so scratch, you couldn't get any further than 5 minutes in.

Over 3.5 months left. Not quite panic stations yet.

I still use my 360 for certain games. The games work fine but the dashboard itself is so slow unfortunately. Was playing Saw the other day as I just got a copy.

Crazy that you have this article up, yet 2 days ago or whatever MS were talking about game preservation.

This week, Sarah Bond made a team dedicated to preserving our digital libraries on Xbox and ensuring game preservation, so what we buy now can be enjoyed in future consoles.

This is their first big test. Will they just stand and watch the X360 store die? Probably so.

i wonder when the same thing will happen to the current market or xbox one only digital will disapear,it's the sad reality we live in and i do reflect on the fact that there is only one way i can access those games i buyed that are link to only one email, do you release the situation? If for reason x,y.z you lose access to your account 10k in digital videogame is gone in an instant thats a frightening thought.

Is there a list of digital exclusive 360 games that aren't backwards compatible?

Theres like 3-4 games for me that unfortunately are not back compatible. The one plus i always give is xbox’s initiative moving these games forward so as not to need the old hardware anyway. I am already way ahead with all the 360 games i wanted adding them digitally in addition to the physicals

@InterceptorAlpha https://www.trueachievements.com/not-backwards-compatible/games

Microsoft cares about games preservation BTW. You know, the people who actively delisted their own in-house games.

Don't have a 360, and 360 physical games are almost non-existent here so yeah. Sad news.

@logicslayer Ooooh nice. Looks like that includes physical releases as well. But that'll be easy enough to sift through. Thank you!

@logicslayer Yep, that list is great, it's what I've been using. Just be aware some games have been delisted like Cell factor, which is annoying because I wanted to get that game.

Is there an updated list of games that are forwards compatible with One/Series consoles but can't be purchased on the modern store front so they will get lost with the 360 store shut down?

I know there were a few I had to buy on 360 marketplace in the past to play on One/Series because they weren't available on the current store.

To be honest the Xbox One's backwards compatibility was so good that it completely replaced the need for my old Xbox One consoles. With the Series X only adding to that it has been easy for me to retire my old 360's.

@ralphdibny I could be wrong, but I believe those have been delisted. I say that because I really wanted to get Daytona USA and Jet Grind Radio but missed my chance.

@P3nguinprisM cheers I think those are 2 of them, I have Daytona but not sure about the other one. I thought there were more games like that though but I know sega went on a delisting spree already. I just thought there were more either that sega missed or from other publishers.

I know one other that's FC but wasn't available on modern store last time I checked and that was 50 Cent Blood on the Sand but I have that on disc, not sure if it's on the 360 marketplace

@ralphdibny Ooh, I do know Blood on the Sand is disc only because I wanted to get it and found it was also delisted (back in 2013, believe it or not) and it was a ridiculous price on eBay for a physical copy.

@TheLastHarbinger They can't be expected to keep the 360 store open forever. They went far above and beyond their competitors and saved what they could though backwards compatibility.

They did a great job with OG/360 backwards compatibility but licensing mainly got in the way. But still, most of the best games made it into backwards compatibility. They fixed that with licensing for the One onward and backwards compatible OG/360 games were relicensed. Now there's no reason for games not to carry on from console to console, except if they require unsupported hardware or shutdown servers.

@Kalele Why would it matter if the One store was closed? All One games are compatible with Series consoles except ones that require unsupported hardware (like the Kinect) or servers that have been shutdown (so are unplayable anyways).

It's not like the 360 store shutdown or a possible future One store shutdown are going to remove backwards compatible games from sale on Series or future consoles.

I'm a massive 360 user and a physical collector. I do want DLC that has been released though as I feel without it, the game's somehow incomplete.

Even for some BC games, DLC may not be available on the newest Xbox store.

I'll leave here a couple of links that may be useful if you need to check what's available and what's not. They helped me heaps. Also, I'd start getting stuff earlier rather than later. The few months we have left will fly by.

Also, don't forget other region stores. For example, Dead to Rights free DLC is only available on the US Marketplace, Army of Two The 40th Day only on the Japanese, etc. (The latter requires a Japanese disc copy though.)

https://www.trueachievements.com/forum/viewthread.aspx?tid=1491161
(Check out the Non-achievement section as well, great sheet there!)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/927749-xbox-360/70390232?page=48

If people have more useful links, it'd be cool to know them.

Good luck to us all!

Xbox new preservation team watches as 360 store closes and hundreds of digital games disappear. I salute you xbox team 🙌

Haven't used my 360 is years have 2 or 3 of them under my bed and they had been there since I bought an Xbone I thought the 360 store was gone years ago sad times ahead for people who care about these things

Maybe a little unrelated. I haven’t used X360 console in more that 10 years, but did pay for Gauntlet and Paperboy retro ‘Arcade’ titles.

Not thrilled that can no longer access to download on XSX / respective marketplace.

(In comparison, Frogger that I had purchased yesteryear on X360 still available to redownload).

i need to make sure to get all the games i want. really makes me wanna cry , the xbox360 was amazing , best console ever 😭😭

I still have my 360 - its in a box packed away somewhere and hasn't been used since I got my XB1 (let alone the 1X or Series X). I still have my 360 discs too and the majority of Digital games I owned are available to download on my Series X via BC

I have 100's of games in my backlog as it is without worrying about games I missed over 10yrs ago that cannot be played on modern hardware.

@GrandValkyrie Preserving antique hardware or games 'locked' to antique hardware is NOT preserving Games. To 'keep' those games working, MS would need to keep producing 360 hardware so the games 'locked' to it remain playable. You can't play your N64 games without a working N64 which is 'obsolete' hardware.

Game 'preservation' is more like PC where you buy a Game and it remains 'playable' regardless of Hardware - you don't 'lose' access to games you bought 10yrs ago on PC despite upgrading. Storing the game on a server you can download and/or play anywhere is.

Not every Publisher wants or can 'preserve' their game forever - some had licences that expired after a set time (think about Spider-Man made by Treyarch for example) so don't have the 'right' to sell that game anymore. Games like Fifa or Madden may want you to upgrade to the latest version - not have the entire History of that franchise available to buy...

Microsoft can ONLY preserve the games they have the Rights, the Licences etc to 'preserve'. They cannot make other Publishers (Like EA, Ubisoft, Square Enix etc) keep their games available on ANY hardware, let alone obsolete (as in no longer in production) hardware as the 360 now is.

You can complain that you can't buy or play 100's of 360 games, but how many of them are actually Xbox first party, Xbox owned IP's? If certain games aren't playable/available on modern hardware, that is more down to the Publisher and/or expired licenses...

Looking at these comments, it seems FOMO is getting MS a few last $ from these games.

Havent touched my 360 in many years, simply no time.

What happens for games that are stuck on the 360, but have lots of dlc on the HDD and a requirement to login online? Like RockBand 3, RockBand Beatles, songs etc...
I have everything downloaded onto the HDD, but still need to sign into my account to play it. Will that portion still work?

I know this is a pipe dream but it'd be nice if MS put all of the non-BC games on sale before they shut down the store.

Still play race driver grid online with other oldies

@SirStephenH The Xbox One, One S, One X, Series S and Series X stores are the same thing.

@nomither6 That's why I will be buried with mine. All 6 of them.

@benseac I was wondering the same thing and I have my wallet ready. I've been holding out on Call of Duty Classic for years waiting for that one to be on sale. I already know as soon as I buy it full price the next day it will go on sale.

I use my Xbox 360 all the time. I have so many games for it it's not even funny. That's why I have six fully refurbished units. I have three matte S, 2 glossy S, and an E. I have a few more for parts as well and I plan on getting another E, I just need to find one that's not all scratched up.

I miss the OG and 360 era so much...

So I have Fallout 3 GOTY and a couple of days ago I loaded it up but had to go to the Microsoft store in order to “install” each of the 5 DLC additions.

Wtf is going to happen in the future for this and other games with a similar issue? I guess everyone is screwed at that point.

@Kalele which is why physical game preservation is the only true way. As the digital crowd is beholden to MS and Sony hosting legacy games in their storefronts. Delisting happens all of the time due to licensing. Companies won’t continue to pay royalty fees indefinitely for several years. At least with physical games one can always play as long as the console medium is available or they can creat ISOs for emulators. No access to a digital storefront required.

@Arcticpandapopz I know that feel. I don't know if this has been offered before, but if you install the game onto the HD from disc, it helps with scratched discs.

@Evilinsane I've tried this before but it didn't work. But thanks for the tip.

@Steel76 Me too... It was my first XBOX experience, and I loved the XBLA era. I think my most played game at the time was Trials Evolution. One of my Tracks was highlighted in a Top 10 list on a website once as being unique and addictive. It was called "The Rotatornator". 🤣 I felt quite proud... 😎

@Arcticpandapopz I'm sorry, friend, it's always worked for me. That disc must be scratched up horribly. I know if I put one in the Xbox One that is backwards compatible, it downloads a version rather than copying from the disc. Maybe that's where I got my idea from.