156 Xbox titles to work on European 360s

By Ellie Gibson Published 17 November, 2005

Yanks come out on top again.

Microsoft has unveiled the full list of Xbox games which will work on European Xbox 360s from the moment the console hits the shelves on December 2.

There are 156 titles in total - you can check for your favourite over at theUK Xbox website.

It's a pretty impressive selection, even if it is shorter than the US list - those lucky Yanks will have no less than 212 Xbox games to play on their shiny new console come launch day.

But frankly, there's nothing particularly key on the US list that's missing from ours - we can live without Army Men: Sarge's War, Catwoman and Cabela's Deer Hunt 2004 Season. Bit of a shame about Kill.switch and Samurai Jack, though.

Interestingly, the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack appears on the US list, but not on the European list - chances are this is just an administrative error, however. At least, we do hope so...

If you're disgruntled at the fact that America's getting more backwards compatible titles than us, no matter how rubbish they might be, spare a thought for our Japanese friends and count yourself lucky - their list is a measly 12 games long.

Still, more titles will be added as time goes on - in fact, Microsoft has said it hopes to make all Xbox games ever released compatible eventually. Jolly good, now do get on with it.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (52) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • chacha #1 6 years ago

    yaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/05 @ 16:36

  • Carlo #2 6 years ago

    Why is it different for each reigion? I don't understand/

  • captainrentboy #3 6 years ago

    It's like they're enticing and wanting you lot to come on this forum and scream ''EG are soooo xbox 360 biased,look at that headline..Again!''It's getting rather boring now though.

  • ruttyboy #4 6 years ago

    Sorry, what? Does that mean our hard-drives were produced earlier than the US ones or what? Why not just replicate the same info on all drives?

  • ecureuil #5 6 years ago

    Who is really going to want to play their Xbox games when they have a 360? They shouldn't even have bothered with backwards compatibility. Either do it right, or don't bother.

  • thegamesthething #6 6 years ago

    doesnt [maven] at least get a mention for this? :)

  • speedjack #7 6 years ago

    Weird.

    Its like they've focused on the crap and left a lot of the AAA stuff out so far.
    (E.G. Doom 3, Far Cry, Burnout 3, SSX on Tour).

    And don't tell me its because they're too new... Half Life 2 is on there and it isn't even out yet !

  • myiagros #8 6 years ago

    EG - kill.switch was only available for PS2 and PC in Europe.

  • pollster #9 6 years ago

    156? About the same number of Xbox 360 console's released on the 2nd of Dec in the UK

  • Beano #10 6 years ago

    That many? ;)

  • Furbs #11 6 years ago

    OMGOMGOMG!!! Eurogamer is reporting that 156 is less than 212. So much negativity!! I bet they all go home to cuddle up with their PS2's.

    I bet they're lying about the number anyway. I bet its 6326 games that work which is way more than how many Xbox 1 games will work on PS3. 360 for teh w1n!!

  • drumbaby #12 6 years ago

    I'm cancelling all 156 of my 360 preorders.

  • Carlo #13 6 years ago

    Can someone seriously tell me why it's different for each reigion?

  • nick_f Verified Senior Producer, Microsoft #14 6 years ago

    " No Deus Ex, but they've allowed in fucking Barbie?"

    I love the way people think the ease of getting a game to work on 360 is directly proportional to the game's popularity

  • Beano #15 6 years ago

    "OMGOMGOMG!!! Eurogamer is reporting that 156 is less than 212. So much negativity!! I bet they all go home to cuddle up with their PS2's. "

    OMGOMG.. a over-sensitive Xbox fanboy ?

    Actually... 156 IS less than 212 ;)

  • Furbs #16 6 years ago

    Carlo, maybe its due to licensing? Ie. rights held by different companies?

    Oh for the question as to why certain games are on there, its probably to do with the emulation having difficulty with certain bits of code (hence why Riddick, Doom 3 and Splinter Cell arent there). More recent games have been developed with MS's assistance in helping them be prepped for the 360 backward compatability, which is why HL2 is on there.

    Edit: Beano, please tell me you DIDNT miss the sarcasm in that post? :)
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/05 @ 17:05

  • Vin #17 6 years ago

    No Brothers In Arms, no Deus Ex, but they've allowed in fucking Barbie?

  • Carlo #18 6 years ago

    What have you got against fucking Barbie Vin?!

  • tengu #19 6 years ago

    I wouldn't want to fight Ken, would you Carlo? He looks beefy.

  • davyuk #20 6 years ago

    Can someone seriously tell me why it's different for each reigion?

    Because they are having to write code that handles the emulation for each game. Each game will have unique elements of code specific to each region, so US emulation code will either not work with PAL code or be buggy.

  • Mr_Brown #21 6 years ago

    Erm...I don't see Morrowind on that list...>_

  • TehPieBoy #22 6 years ago

    " "OMGOMGOMG!!! Eurogamer is reporting that 156 is less than 212. So much negativity!! I bet they all go home to cuddle up with their PS2's. "

    OMGOMG.. a over-sensitive Xbox fanboy ?

    Actually... 156 IS less than 212 ;)"

    Why do you have to be so serious about everything...

    At least its more than Japan...but personally i could care less.

  • tengu #23 6 years ago

    Furbs, I'm the first one to get the sarcasm, do I win a prize?

  • prettyboytim #24 6 years ago

    Still no Steel Battallion..

  • kangarootoo #25 6 years ago

    @tengu
    You win TehPieBoy as your minion for his sarcasm detection failure.
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/05 @ 17:36

  • All_Action_Hero #26 6 years ago

    i said this would happen...

  • kangarootoo #27 6 years ago

    " i said this would happen..."

    What, me making fun of people. Sometimes it happens I'll admit. I certainly mean no offence to TehPieBoy, I just can't help myself sometimes.

    I like to think that my record on here is pretty even. Sometimes I make what I think are reasoned comments, sometimes I rip into people who I think are acting like nobheads, and sometimes I make slight jibes at the expense of others (as in this case). I'm not sure your posting history is quite so balanced.

    I am completely happy for the same lighthearted jibes to be made at my expense. I think you will always see the worst in me come in reaction to someone else acting like an arse (in my eyes of course).

    EDIT: Of course, if your comment was unrelated to mine I now appear rather self obsessed :)
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/05 @ 17:45

  • Spud_leg_wizz #28 6 years ago

    These comments threads attract absolute mentals.

  • BraveArse #29 6 years ago

    Seems like a decent starting point. Bit puzzled as to why Sniper Elite is on the US list but not on European tho. Or could there be language translation issues with the emulation? Seems unlikely to me...

    /brave acknowledges he may be the only Sniper Elite fan in this discussion.

  • Gouki #30 6 years ago

    PLEASE MICROSOFT STREET FIGHTER. Then i can sell my xobx as i cant live without playing SF online.

    It is one of the best games played online and yet no support yet. :-( boohooo

    Rant over.

    Edited by 1 at 17/11/05 @ 17:50

  • themerlin13 #31 6 years ago

    OK people BAD news, Gameplay are sending out emails to people to say they wont get a 360 on launch, for as far back as August orders!!!!!

  • moosetipper2003 #32 6 years ago

    NO SPLINTER CELL??? THAT AIN´T GOOD!

  • Speedwolf #33 6 years ago

    Still no Steel Battallion..

    For a fanbase of four? Effort...

  • Nige #34 6 years ago

    >Why is it different for each reigion?

    It's different for each region because like the hardware, the games are different for each region. I don't know for a fact, but I'm assuming that emulation works in a similar way to an update, essentially 'patching' the cached code on your hard drive. Updates are targetted specifically to the encoded game, but you can't just run an executable file on an Xbox - it must be specifically signed by Microsoft, and they test it to make sure it works properly before it gets rolled out.

    I'm assuming the most recent Xbox games are being verified and targetted for 360 compatibility as they get certified by MS.

  • speedstars13 #35 6 years ago

    Why don't you dumbasses focus your engery toward MS for the real culprit, not EG. EG is simply reporting the FACT, there is no bias whatsoever.

  • Furbs #36 6 years ago

    tengu, you win an invite to the Phantom Launch Party, its being held in Bermuda Triangle, which I guess is near Jamaica Square? Hosted by Lord Lucan, you'll be the first to try out the new Duke Nukem game. You'll be served a luxury meal of Shegar Steak and be bought home on the Marie Celeste.

  • Pho-Zoon #37 6 years ago

    What's funny is that there hasn't been a single genuine Xbox fanboy comment in this whole thread, but because Beano didn't get the sarcasm, it all went tits up and turned into another 'EG is anti-Xbox' discussion

    /laughs so hard his pet fanboy falls out of his cage

    Oh yeah, and for those of you wondering who wants to play Xbox games on a 360 (ecureuil, I'm looking at you)- I do. I never owned an original Xbox and would really like to pick up a few classic titles during gaps in the 360 release schedule.

    I can finally play Halo1, Halo2, and Half-Life2.

    I'm so excited.

    /just can't hide it.

  • Feanor #38 6 years ago

    "Erm...I don't see Morrowind on that list...>_"

    Yo do know that there's no announced way to get saved games for Xbox titles on the 360, right? Who in their right mind is going to buy a 360 and start Morrowind from scratch again...

  • potatoes #39 6 years ago

    what i find strange is that PES 5 is on the American list (it was the only game i was looking for to be backward compatible), but you can't get PES in the US.

    that's what initially led me to believe that the original list of 200+ was a universal list, now im just confused with a european list too...

  • All_Action_Hero #40 6 years ago

    kanga, my comment was in no way aimed at you.

    i have no idea what you were on about.

    i was referring to eurogamer running the story on the uk BC list without mentioning the comment poster who pointed it out to them.

  • themerlin13 #41 6 years ago

    Er Wonga......."SONY, they always put Europe first" lol
    Thats why we got screwed with the PSP, nearly a year late and still out of stock?

    Lets face it, we always get screwed in Europe!

  • Xerx3s #42 6 years ago

    Just a thought, why is there a diffrence in lists? Are there games in yankeeland that wernt released here?
    Edited by 1 at 18/11/05 @ 07:52

  • WhyMeeeeee #43 6 years ago

    i don't see conker or grabbed by the ghoulies on the list and rare is a microsoft studio, whats going on there?

  • Tejstar #44 6 years ago

    Nooooooo! Where's Outrun 2????????

  • Triggerhappytel #45 6 years ago

    Is this list counting old games (i.e, will my three-year-old copy of Halo work) or would I have to buy new versions of these games to actually get them to work?!

    I'm confused.

  • DarthCheesiest #46 6 years ago

    I don't own an Xbox and with Ridge Racer, DOA4 and Oblivion off the launch list, was looking forward to playing the Xbox games I own (Outrun and StreetFighter).
    Also, where is the DOA4 Joystick Eurogamer showed a picture of and is there a decent steering wheel with force feedback.

  • BBIAJ #47 6 years ago

    "tengu, you win an invite to the Phantom Launch Party, its being held in Bermuda Triangle, which I guess is near Jamaica Square? Hosted by Lord Lucan, you'll be the first to try out the new Duke Nukem game. You'll be served a luxury meal of Shegar Steak and be bought home on the Marie Celeste."

    Best. Post. EVER! :o)

  • afray #48 6 years ago

    "and Cabela's Deer Hunt 2004 Season"

    For some reason I read that as "Cat Deely's Hunt 2004 season."
    Now *there's* a game.

  • kangarootoo #49 6 years ago

    @All_Action_Hero

    Oops. That will be the alternative "I am self obsessed" option then. Sorry about that.

  • William #50 6 years ago

    "It's a pretty impressive selection."

    Is it? I did the math, and 41 of my 57 PAL Xbox games won't be able to run at launch day on the 360. Among these 41 are 8 titles published by Microsoft themselves.

  • Burnt-Kona Verified Senior Artist, Full Fat Productions #51 6 years ago

    William, Microsoft obviously think you play too many games and need to cut down ;p

  • Kafeen #52 6 years ago

    Damn it, why aren't any of mine on that list?

    Still, Japan only get 12 that are compatable. I thought Microsoft were trying to encourage Japanese gamers to buy the 360.

  • Tommyc352 #53 6 years ago

    /is out yet? no ok im going back to sleep

  • AOFanboi #54 6 years ago

    <em>OK people BAD news, Gameplay are sending out emails to people to say they wont get a 360 on launch, for as far back as August orders!!!!!</em>

    Rumour has it some stores are selling to people depending on how much extra stuff (games, hardware) they ordered, not on how early they preordered...

  • Bumbuliuz #55 6 years ago

    To be honest Im quite relaxed about backward compatabilty. Im mostly looking for it in online games. I still have my lovely xobx and all my games and they arent going anywhere. Mabye some of the games I will buy after 2nd of Dec I will play on the Xbox 360, all the others I played on the xbox and finished them there. The only reason to play them on the 360 is to see them in HDTV, like Halo 1 and 2.