Not quite retro - XBox One X (and the 360/PS3 era)

[dowie]

I've not been a big gamer as an adult, I did love my megadrive, amiga and PC games when I was a kid and in particular the GTA series. I did also buy some consoles - PS2 (mostly for GTA San Andreas) and PS3 (again for GTAIV) and at the time I owned them I mostly bought just a few Rockstar Games - Bully on the PS2, RDR on the PS3 etc.

I've recently been trying some retro gaming inc some old Nintendo stuff and buying a cheap PS2 games from CEX, I've started grabbing a few PS3 games too but it's occurred to me that for this era I'm perhaps missing a trick as, aside from PS exclusives the Xbox one X or the Series X would seem to be optimal. I'm reluctant to get a Series X as I could probably play anything current gen on my PC at say 1440p... but I'm very behind on games anyway - have only just bought the Last of Us for PS3 for example! I will likely buy a PS5 Pro at some point rendering a PS4 Pro largely pointless so... reasons in favour an XBox One X:

- cheaper than PS4 Pro (which will also be redundant if I get a PS5 Pro too)
- WAG friendly - sits more inconspicuously under TV
- has a 4k Blu Ray player - fewer devices required in living room
- backwards compatible
- actually enhances some 360 games too
- can play current gen stuff via cloud gaming too I understand?

Those last two points seem quite relevant to my recent interest in popping into CEX, finding some awesome games from a few years ago that I've never paid and paying just a few quid for them! Aside from PS3 exclusives it seems that games from that era will be better on an XBox One X.

In the era of 4k TVs the PS3 and 360's typical 720p output arguably scales better than the FullHD (1080p) era as it's a 3* integer scale to 4k (2160p) - even if the scaling method isn't strictly integer scaling.

Back in the FullHD era the PS3 could be set to 1080p (and scale internally with a decent-ish scaler) or be left for the TV to handle... not ideal - but these days with a 4k set then 720p or 1080p is a 3* or 2* (respectively) scale horizontally and vertically - so our current TVs are pretty good for trying these games...

... but the XBox One X is way more powerful - so running games on that should be better by default (whereas the PS4 can't run PS3 games) and there's the enhancements - some 360 games got improved for the XBox One and can render at a higher res and output at 4k.

And lastly - games like RDR and GTAIV didn't actually render at even 720p back on the PS3, AFAIK GTAIV was like 640p or something and then used the internal scaler to get to 720p (so an already soft game could look like dog **** at 4k) whereas the 360 version was 720p and apparently has enhancements for the XBox One X to output at 4k resolution. So if I want to re-play RDR or GTAIV on a modern TV I'm better off getting the 360 versions and ditto to if I want to try any of these from the 360 era:

List of Xbox One X enhanced games - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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In conclusion - though I will probably get a PS5, I think perhaps, if I am going to try one XBox, I should get an XBox One X and by default buy the 360 versions rather than PS3 versions of any games from that era + potentially some XBox One era games too (albeit I'd maybe look to get some as PS4 versions for the PS5 when I get that far in my gaming journey) - still quite far behind in terms of gaming eras.

Any comments welcome if I've missed any key points here - I guess I can't go too wrong here, it's only £70 or so for a second hand console + a bit more for controllers - should I opt for current gen xbox controllers or even one of the fancier elite ones?

 

[Vandle]

Sounds like you have already made your mind up. I've had every version of both consoles other than the PS5 Pro and tbh there is little difference performance wise, certainly nothing notable. While we all seem to agree that PS has the far better exclusives the online UI of Xbox live is streets ahead of PSN if you are going to dabble in that world.
Also even though I have bashed it in other threads but Gamepass is definitely an option for you with some of the older game libraries on there. You may find it's good value to dip in and out of every few months.

I've had an early gen elite controller for years. never failed me. The weight is perfect.

 

[dowie]

I've had every version of both consoles other than the PS5 Pro and tbh there is little difference performance wise, certainly nothing notable.

Don't get me wrong - I do love my PS3 and obvs there's exclusives on there too but I do recall GTAIV (rendered at 640p on PS3) being a bit blurry on a "FullHD" (1080p) TV back in the day and that was a basic 32" screen... I suspect (but haven't yet tried) it will be even more-so on the PS3 if hooked up to a larger 4k TV - console upscaling 640p to 720p or 1080p internally then a 4k LG TV upscaling that again. The 360 version was known to be sharper back in the day as it rendered at 720p (much better for a modern TV) and now has frame-rate improvements etc.. likewise RDR is even better with 4k backwards compatibility enhancements for the One X and X Series.

While we all seem to agree that PS has the far better exclusives the online UI of Xbox live is streets ahead of PSN if you are going to dabble in that world.
Also even though I have bashed it in other threads but Gamepass is definitely an option for you with some of the older game libraries on there. You may find it's good value to dip in and out of every few months.

Yup, I think if I had been more into gaming I'd certainly have carried on down the PS route and got a PS4 or PS4 Pro, I will very likely get a PS5 Pro too.

Also AFAIK there aren't any significant "exclusives" for the series X (yet), but I could play some 360 and Xbox One exclusives which the XBox one X covers nicely.

That's good to know re: GamePass, thanks and that's how I'll likely use it - like subscribe for a month then unsubscribe etc.. as I'm only a casual gamer.

I've had an early gen elite controller for years. never failed me. The weight is perfect.

That's also good to know - I think I will seek out a decent controller - can also use it for PC too, especially if getting into this GamePass stuff and current gen games.

 

[sja360]

Is there a particular budget you were looking at? I guess the only slight negative for the one X is the harddrive and the fact it wont be as fast as the series S/X or PS5

 

[dowie]

Is there a particular budget you were looking at?

Not particularly but I intend to get PS5 Pro too so I guess maybe the series X might be overkill to buy as well as I don't think there's any exclusives for it and the PS5 could handle current gen stuff + any PS4 exclusives (save for VR stuff).

I guess the only slight negative for the one X is the harddrive and the fact it wont be as fast as the series S/X or PS5

That's true though I understand an external SSD can solve that - I did wonder about the S but I don't think it's suitable, can't take the old 360 or XBox One discs from CEX and I think the backwards compatibility is more limited - like the old 360 games that got enhanced are for the One X and the Series X, if I get say GTAIV or RDR even as a digital download on the series S then it will lack the enhancements AFAIK?

 

[sja360]

Yeah you don't get the enhancements on the games for series S, probably best to get the one x and if you can attach an ssd to make games load faster.

 

[Dsteviedee]

Another thing to consider, now that Dev Mode is free, you can emulate older systems upto PS1 comfortably through an Xbox One X.

Here

 

[dowie]

I will likely buy a PS5 Pro at some point rendering a PS4 Pro largely pointless so... reasons in favour an XBox One X:
[...]
- actually enhances some 360 games too
- can play current gen stuff via cloud gaming too I understand?

OK so thread update - was only casually looking but I got a bit fussy browsing ebay, missed out on one decided against some others, then started looking at series X consoles and black Friday came around, mega discounts on PS5 consoles so I bought a PS5 Pro!

My main motivation for consoles over the years has been rockstar games - I got a PS2 in order to play San Andreas, I got a PS3 for GTAIV (I did get GTAV on the PS3 too), with GTAVI coming out (eventually) I would want to have the best console possible and given the price is good now I thought why not.

X Box One X then - not sure, might still grab one to go in the lounge, I got a 4k Dell Monitor to go with the PS5/not putting it in the lounge but a One X might look more discrete.

I got the current gaming point above wrong-ish - the cloud gaming isn't at 4k apparently (also rather moot now I've got the PS5 Pro as I can use that for any recent games).

So the main reasons for getting a One X (aside from using it as a 4k Blu Ray Player in the lounge) would be 360 backwards compatibility/enhancements - but taking a loot at the status of games I'd be interested in this isn't as useful a feature given the remakes:

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Red Dead Redemption - blurry 640p on PS3 but a clearer 720p on the 360 and was backwards compatible enhanced to 4k on One X/Series X. But.... it just recently had a remaster for PS5 & others - no need for xbox version anymore.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - One X version is full 4k vs the PS4 Pro's version which uses checker-boarding from 1440p (and unchanged for PS5) - marginal reason to get the xbox version.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - backwards compatible enhanced on One X/Series X - just recently had a remaster for PS5 & others - no need for xbox version anymore.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - (just like RDR2) One X version is full 4k vs the PS4 Pro's version which uses checker-boarding from 1440p (and unchanged for PS5) - marginal reason to get the xbox version.

GTAIV: blurry 640p on PS3 but a clearer 720p on the 360 - doesn't get a resolution enhancement on the One X/Series X but does get some improved performance - good reason for xbox version.

Bully Scholarship Edition - not on PS3 (original version was an SD 480i PS2 game) - runs at 720p on the 360 and can run at 4k on the One X/Series X via backwards compatibility (but no new textures). Good reason for xbox version.

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So there were potentially 6 games I had in mind initially for the One X (or possibly Series X) but at least 2 of them (Oblivion and RDR) have been remastered and now I'd be better off with the new PS5 versions. Also Skyrim and RDR2 only seem like marginal differences right? So maybe pointless for them too.

I could perhaps get Bully Scholarship edition and GTAIV for PC instead - I have an old PC but it does have a Tesla XP - I did use it for AI stuff but don't need that locally now and only really need the GPU for for Elite Dangerous but I could run some other older games too.

I dunno - if there were some other titles that either Xbox Exclusive or have backwards compatibility enhancements vs their PS3 or PS4 equivalents and no new PS5 versions then maybe I'll still consider one (and likely get RDR2 and Skyrim for it too). I don't know enough about previous generation Xbox exclusives or the rest of the catalogue of games from the previous two generations of consoles - if there are a few others that are worthwhile then maybe I'll still consider getting one and the getting some of the games listed above with green or orange comments too.

 

[Timber]

Skyrim has been re-released as a PS5 native game around the Special Edition, I think again for the Anniversary with Creation Club stuff added. So that's 4K 2160p / 60fps. That would make it the same category as RDR / Oblivion. Just no PS5 Pro patch as it pre-dated that mandatory requirement.

RDR2 is heavily getting linked as a gen-nine version coming for a while now, so I'd be surprised if that's not coming too.

Your list is really short so for me I'd just stick with PC & PS. But then I sold my Xbox Series X last year as I no longer trust Microsoft with a digital ecosystem.

If you had more games like; Daytona, Uno, EDF, Assault Heroes, Geometry Wars, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey etc. You know all the old 360 exclusives it would make more sense to be looking at an Xbox. I was hoping at some point MS would bring OG & 360 back compat to their PC Xbox App, but I think that's going to be reserved for thier new hardware (licensing).

Btw hope you are enjoying the PS5 Pro - great machine. I happen to love mine, but I do also game on PC, Steam Deck, Switch 1/2, so just enjoy videogames in general.

 

[dowie]

Skyrim has been re-released as a PS5 native game around the Special Edition, I think again for the Anniversary with Creation Club stuff added. So that's 4K 2160p / 60fps. That would make it the same category as RDR / Oblivion.

Ah nice, thanks, I got that one wrong then.

So I guess a year or two ago the Xbox One X (or Series X) would've made a lot of sense for RDR, RDR2, Oblivion and Skyrim but now it's become a bit moot with just RDR2 being the slightly better one of those on Xbox.

If you had more games like; Daytona, Uno, EDF, Assault Heroes, Geometry Wars, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey etc. You know all the old 360 exclusives it would make more sense to be looking at an Xbox.

It's partly because I simply haven't kept up to date with gaming so there may still be reason yet to get an Xbox too - others I was considering were Fallout 4 and Fallout 3 for example (the latter has a better 360 release vs PS3 + enhanced for the One X & Series X) - but Fallout 4 is enhanced on PS5 as of last year and I can play Fallout 3 on PC.

Btw hope you are enjoying the PS5 Pro - great machine. I happen to love mine, but I do also game on PC, Steam Deck, Switch 1/2, so just enjoy videogames in general.

Yeah it's fantastic thanks, I've loved playing GTAV so far.

 

[Timber]

Ah nice, thanks, I got that one wrong then.

So I guess a year or two ago the Xbox One X (or Series X) would've made a lot of sense for RDR, RDR2, Oblivion and Skyrim but now it's become a bit moot with just RDR2 being the slightly better one of those on Xbox.

Np. I think I might be wrong too, in that it was the Anniversary edition for Skyrim that saw the release of PS5 and Xbox Series versions. But yep the PS5/Series X releases are going to be the same, bar some minute differences.

RDR2 definitely will favour the Series X. Although personally I think the lack of a 60fps mode on ay console is a far bigger issue. Hopefully the rumours are true and Rockstar is porting that one soon.

It's partly because I simply haven't kept up to date with gaming so there may still be reason yet to get an Xbox too - others I was considering were Fallout 4 and Fallout 3 for example (the latter has a better 360 release vs PS3 + enhanced for the One X & Series X) - but Fallout 4 is enhanced on PS5 as of last year and I can play Fallout 3 on PC.

Yep; Fallout 4 had a re-release as a ninth-gen game so again will be the same (largely) on PS5/Series X. Although there has been a lot of criticism of the recent anniversary PC release so I'm unsure if any of that applies to the consoles too.

Fallout 3 is brilliant on the Series X. The frame boost and previous One X enhancements. Not really a way to play on PS4/5. It's had some love on Steam recently with minor improvements like Cloud Saves so is great to play on PC too (and particularly on Steam Deck). Plus you have mods. Again another one with strong rumours of a remake, which personally I can see happening given Bethesda's recent efforts.

Fallout NV isn't enhanced on One X so bit of a let down in that regards. But again no version on PS4/5 either. Would be nice if Bethesda did some sort of Fallout 3/NV double-pack as a remaster with all DLC.

 

[sx_turbo]

the xbox is probably best for retro the OG xbox and 360 really did have a lot of amazing games, and microsoft have done an amazing job at keeping that back catalogue live, but for true retro you'll probably need nintendo xbox and PS as they all offered differing games and all have reasonably good back catalogue.

gamepass is also very good for xbox. for PC i think it's too much money, but for xbox it's pretty good value for money as the catalogue of games is significantly more than the PC.

in terms of hardware, the series x might well be the one to go for, you can pick up games cheap from CEX on disc and play them through the disc drive. the hardware is also significantly better than the series s, with the series s being only marginal with the xbox one x.

for cheapish entry to xbox series x hardware you could try getting used or hitting up vince on here for a repaired series x i remember seeing a thread where he's repaired a few

 

[Timber]

If I was more into Xbox and Xbox 360 games I'd probably run original hardware. Particularly as the 360 can run half of OG games and the slim (plus other revisions) has HDMI output. Also despite Microsoft's excellent back-compat programme there are still loads of games that never made it, or have been delisted. Also when hardware gets that old there's very interesting community software and hardware efforts that are really cool.

Also new peripherals like the Retro Fighter wireless joypad etc.

 

[JoeBoi]

GTAIV: blurry 640p on PS3 but a clearer 720p on the 360 - doesn't get a resolution enhancement on the One X/Series X but does get some improved performance - good reason for xbox version.

Bully Scholarship Edition - not on PS3 (original version was an SD 480i PS2 game) - runs at 720p on the 360 and can run at 4k on the One X/Series X via backwards compatibility (but no new textures). Good reason for xbox

I am fairly sure whilst GTA4 runs better on the One X and Series consoles, it also has issues with the last mission because of the frame rate boost. GTA4 had some great mods on PC that enhance performance and visuals, worth checking out.

Bully, if you really want to play it will be worth checking out on PC - I am sure there are enhancement packs out there.

Enjoy the PS5 Pro, it is great, perhaps a bit pricy and some games run worse than standard edition BUT the games that do utilise the features well seem great. Yotei was amazing .

 

[dowie]

Yotei was amazing

Funnily enough you're the second person in a few days to recommend that, someone else at a party last week suggested it.

I think I will get GTAIV and Bully for PC (despite previously purchasing each for the PS3/PS2 respectively).

 

[lettuce]

Can the Xbox One X be gotten for a cheap price now days?. Is there much difference in prices between a One X and a series S?. I got a One S from a certain marketplace last year for like £100.....but that was before MS lost their minds