lost in games

Dear Microsoft,

Although i will never, ever forgive you for completely abandoning the original XBOX once the 360 was launched i want to say thank you for this latest update of the backwards compatibility.

I don’t say that often but when a company, two years after launching its console, is still updating the backwards compatibility i do find it commendable.

You announced yesterday that a further 80 titles of the original XBOX are now playable. In this updated backwards compatibility list i found Freedom Fighters. I have been wanting to play this game for some time now but was put off by the fact that i had to bring back the original XBOX to the living room. Although this is still US only i believe and hope that real soon i will be able to play my PAL version too.

At a time when one of your competitors asks gamers to pay a premium to have backwards compatibility i applaud your commitment to letting gamers have a taste of the old.

Thank you again. I am a happy customer.

Following the better than expected commercial success of Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4 the publisher has raised its expectations for the 3rd fiscal quarter financial results.

The statement released by the company revises the outlook up from USD 1.05 billion to USD 1.23 billion. For the full financial year revenues go up from previous expectations of USD 2.07 billion to USD 2.30 billion.

Although the success is based on existing franchises and not on original IP, it’s still great to see that it is because these franchises are being improved upon and this is appreciated by the gamer consumer.

Oh the memories…..

Finally, it is coming to XBLA. According to Eurogamer the game is due to be released on the 19th of December. From what i have read, Codemasters have not changed a thing on the game. They simply improved on it visually (giving you the option of HD and retro visual style) and also added an online one on one feature. If it stays true to the original version i will be taking mighty Apoel against the world! How sweet is that???

What I also want to see is 4 player offline matches. The accessibility and familiarity of the game will attract people who are not into the more complicated FIFA and PES and that would make it a great party game during the holiday period.