Why Microsoft is right not to allow HD remakes

After Microsoft’s decision not to bother with HD remixes of original Xbox games, we’ve decided it’s actually the right thing to do, and here’s why

[ZombieAssassin]

Well to be fair MS themselves don't have a bunch of IP's from last gen to re-make in HD, but if they released Halo CE and Fable i'd buy them day 1.

I don't think there is anything stopping 3rd parties from bringing franchises back in HD on the X360 but I think it has something to do with DVD size restraints and them not wanting to pay royalties on 2 discs when they would only have to be paying Sony for the 1 blu-ray. This is just what i gather from all the info out there though.

@boing

Yes but I imagine the reason the PoP isnt releasing on xbox is because they would need more than 1 dvd for it and they prolly don't want to pay the extra royalties. As for MK I am surprised it's not releasing on the Xbox as well but I guess for some reason they're not doing it.

Whats your point though, I take it you are just trolling in a sense. Yea Sony doesn't own the IP to those games but that has nothing to do with this...I was just saying MS isn't doing HD remakes because they don't have a lot of IP's to really do them for. I mean whats stopping 3rd parties from re-releasing those games on Xbox?

[Lucreto]

Thats true also it doesn't help that the disc size is smaller this gen than the original xbox.

[8800gtx]

Microsoft dont need to create HD remakes, Windows and any entry level GPU will give you your HD remakes. Remind me again, why are people so inclined to pay for what is free?

8800gtx

@people disagreeing

Most Xbox games were released on PC, those run in 1080p today. Most PS2 games were released on PC as well AKA GTA3 series that runs in 1080p today as well. Those that werent released can mostly be emulated in 1080p.

8800gtx

[RyuStrife]

Dude, not everyone's computer is able to emulate at 1080p 60 fps + bugs. Even then, you'd still have to buy it (unless you pirate). But do you know how much ico ps2 cost now? Expensive. And it's rare to find it at stores. Remakes aren't just for rebuyers, it's for a lot of those who missed it the first time, and are not able to buy it now.

[ico92]

on Amazon Ico is priced between $68-200.00 yeah the game isn't exactly cheap. Remakes/ re-releases aren't just a great way of reviving an old game but also introducing gamers to franchises e.g. do you know how i got in to Mario when i was a kid ? Super Mario All Stars, i got into Half Life through the Orange Box etc

[HolyOrangeCows]

"is right not to allow"

This website is pathetic. They couldn't do better damage control if they were Microsoft themselves.

[Shepherd 214]

Xbox had a more than solid line-up last gen.

It had all the best Star Wars games, whereas PS2 had nearly zilch as far as Star Wars goes.

Xbox:

-KotOR
-KotOR 2
-Republic Commando
-Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
-Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
-Battlefront
-Battlefront 2

PS2:

-Battlefront
-Battlefront 2
-Bounty Hunter

Then the Original Xbox had excellent exclusive Western RPG's such as The Elder Scroll's 3: Morrowind, Fable, Indigo Prophecy, Dreamfall, Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and Jade Empire.

Not to mention the Xbox also had Halo CE and Halo 2, while the PS2 had almost no exclusive FPS games at all. None to brag about anyway. I guess there was the first Killzone but...ehh...

Then there was the load of great multiplats like EA James Bond games and Tom Clancy games. I enjoyed those quite a bit.

But, as we all know, the original Xbox didnt have much of a line-up. Im not trying to show anyone up, but for those who didnt actually have an Original Xbox, owning one actually was a real treat.

[Theonik]

@Sheppard
And how many of those were also on PC? (including ported later) No point in re-releasing these games and most of the tittles that weren't also released on PC weren't from MS. That is where the Xbox fell short last gen, it had a lot of great games but most could be had elsewhere. Not that i'm implying it was a bad system though.

[Ares84PS3]

@Shepherd 214

PS2 had no Star Wars games??

- Star Wars Battlefront
- Star Wars Battlefront II
- Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Bounty Hunter
- Star Wars The Force Unleashed
- Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
- Star Wars The Clone Wars
- Lego Star Wars
- Lego Star Wars II The Original Trillogy
- Star Wars Starfighter
- Star Wars Jedi Starfighter
- Star Wars Racer Revenge
- Star Wars Super Bombard Racing

I mean, if this isn't enough than I don't know what to say. Maybe not the games you want to play or like but to say that PS2 had no star wars game is BS.

[Shepherd 214]

Actually Theonik i dont care if they were on PC or not. Im talking about 4-5 years ago, and i didnt have a good enough computer to run any of those. So your typical PC argument doesnt work there.

And also, to the other guy who is clueless(Ares), i intentionally DID NOT mention Star Wars games like Lego Star Wars, Bombard Racer, Starfighter, Clone Wars, Revenge of the Sith The Game, etc. because all those and many more were either pointed at kids or were pretty much crap. You could have also mentioned Star Wars Obiwan, which was also on PS2, but you would have just been shooting yourself in the foot. And as i said, im talking about 4-5 years ago before current gen consoles. TFU didnt exist then.

So back to my point. PS2 didnt have the excellent Star Wars games like the shooter Republic Commando, the Jedi Knight games, or the Knights of the Old Republic games. Xbox did, and many people couldnt have afforded a console AND a good enough PC to play those games at the time. SO Xbox got the job done, PS2 didnt if you wanted those games, End of story.

[Theonik]

Last gen sure but now? Why on earth would you remake them if most will be equivalent to their PC versions? I do realise not everyone had money for a gaming PC but right now you can play these games in HD on almost any PC. Waste of time and resources. The PS2's library has more tittles that need ports.
That said Ubisoft's Beyond Good and Evil remake sounds good. *Since it adds things beyond what was offered on the original game.

[boing]

prince of persia and mortal kombat are not IP own by sony and are getting HD remakes for ps3

[TreMillz]

thats because its more than one game packed in on one disc. in MS case it would be a disc per game....royalties is a b!tch

[FACTUAL evidence]

If microsoft barely makes games for their console this gen what makes you think they'll grab old hit from the original XBOX to make a HD remake. Microsoft hardly has the time for their gamers. You should know MS wouldn't do this. They f^$%ed over their fanbase last gen, and they'll do it again.

[baodeus]

wait, so a game that fit on DVD last gen won't fit on this gen DVD, even if it is on HD persay? I don't get it (it is not like developers completely redoing the game engine.) Just WHat? I just don't understand your guys view at times.

Although for people that already own the original xbox game (that is backward compatible w/ x360), there isn't much incentive for HD remake (a tiny crispier graphics doesn't change how the game is played). I do prefer backward compatible over HD (get game for cheaper price and still enjoy it fully).

Unless you miss some game....like.............phant om dust, panza dragoon orta or something of that caliber, then yeah, it would be great to get it in HD.

@josh14399
I agree. Good point.

[Redempteur]

MOst of these games have just their graphical engine remade.

as far as i'm concerned these remakes are collections ..2 or 3 games remade in HD for cheaper than a regular game WITH new things.

So it make sense that space is an issue.

[baodeus]

@redempteur

You made a good point, however, the orginal xbox didn't really have time for sequal (like God of War for example) to include into one. One of the only possible ones are like Halo, Splinter cell (also ninja gaiden, but that would be like the same game). I don't remember much of any other games that has sequal on xbox.

Now unless, they want to include 2 or 3 different games into one, but then you would run into another problem of agreement between different developers.

[Redempteur]

if i follow this logic , then microsoft just CANNOT have HD remakes collections ( god of war collection , sly cooper collection ico collection , prince of persia collection ) like the sony does because they just don't have as many franchises ??

TRUE the original xbox lineup was weak compared to the PS2

[baodeus]

@redempteur

They can still make HD, but it will be a one game only. Not a collection like PS3. That is why i questions that why do you need a blue-ray for an HD remake in response to Rising Dragon post.

"3rd parties from bringing franchises back in HD on the X360 but I think it has something to do with DVD size restraints and them not wanting to pay royalties on 2 discs when they would only have to be paying Sony for the 1 blu-ray"

[Dark_king]

The problems is games in HD are bigger and the 360 has less space on its dvd this gen then last.

[dragonelite]

Microsoft has paid for some licensing shit to nvidea to make halo 1&2 forward compatible. And i think they licensing cost is what keeps ubisoft to stop making hd remakes for 360 but really those games can be played full hd on almost any gaming pc right now.

[Andronix]

Great playability in a game is timeless. But graphics age badly because each year the standard improves so much. I would hate to see every crap game given a lick of paint just to sell a few extra copies. But let's not kid ourselves that everything this generation is better than the last or the one before that just because of the graphics.

GTA IV is great, but I prefer the world of GTA: Vice City.
FFXIII looks fab, but I got more involved with the story of FFVII & FFVIII.
Star Wars the Force Unleashed looks pretty and has some cool physics effects but it can't hold a candle compared to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. SW:KOTOR has a fantastic story that grips and draws you into a fresh new take on Star Wars. Its such a good game world that Bioware decided to make an MMO with it. Many gamers might overlook it. But give it a fresh lick of paint, update the textures, the models and graphics as a whole and many new gamers will get to experience one of the greatest modern RPGs ever.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic HD with achievements? Yes, bloody, please!

[PS360fanboy]

I'd totally buy KOTOR 1+2 HD collection!

[josh14399]

HD remakes are great because they allow me to buy games that i either missed last gen or haven't got anymore. nobody should have a problem with hd remakes because they are cheap and nobody is forced to make them. microsoft wont bother doing them because they are spending their whole budget for new games on kinect.

[bananlol]

I just know that if sony said no to the ico collection id be pissed!

[Redempteur]

Ico collection is on the rails and annonced last month

[NoBUDI]

Plain and simple. No cash ins here

[Silly gameAr]

It may be limited, but the 360 does have BC. I think HD remakes are a good idea. Like josh said, they allow me to play the games that I may have missed the first time for a low price.

Plus HD and trophy support are a great touch.

[TANUKI]

How are PS2 remakes "cash-ins"? The prices alone are vastly discounted AND what is the difference when you buy all those retro games on Xbox Live/PSN?

At least with the HD remakes, there is a blatant effort to improve what was already made.

[T9X69]

Those retro games can't be played on my 360/PS3 already, where on my Xbox I can play just about any original Xbox game I want, where my PS3 can't. HD remakes benefit for Sony because they screwed most people out of BC unless you bought a specific model of the PS3 which most users don't have.

[coolbeans]

See what the God of War collection starting price is, look at what you can get for God of War 1+2 on PS2, then come back to be repeated with the whole "discounted" BS you've just stated.

[ksense]

well if you bought the ps3 in the early stages you would have had bc but then you wanted it to be cheap so they took them out and got the price down to your level....

also to the person above while i agree it isn't vastly discounted there is no way I would have bought the games for ps2 and completed them with the way they looked. I missed out on those games when they first came out and i thoroughly enjoyed playing the collection. I got my copy of it for 30$ which isn't great but w.e u can't have it all instead of the $40 they are trying to sell it for.

[T9X69]

Yea because I'm sure BC makes a $300 price difference from then and now /s.

[bananlol]

People say that all 360 models has bc, yet my arcade wouldnt play my halo 2 disc, kept blabbing about insufficiant storage. The only console this gen who seems to have proper bc is the wii. And even it have had remakes, called new play controll or something. Bought metroid prime 1 and 2 with widescreen and 480p and it was great.

[ksense]

@T9X69
ofcourse that was not the only thing they took out if u noticed....

obviously they had to be fair to the early adopters that did pay that much money and bought it and not people that bitched and moaned the price was too high and just waited till they brought the price down.

I would be pissed if the price went down 200$ (since i bought mgs4 bundle for 500) and there was no noticeable difference.

[AssassinHD]

My 60GB PS3 has BC as well, and I much prefer these HD remakes.

[Christopher]

I have an 80GB PS3 that grants me a lot more games to play with BC than the whole XBox library, let alone those in the library that are BC.

Stop using the stupid "There's no BC" argument when it was made available for more than 2 years and you failed to pay for it.

And, even then, PS2s are still being sold, and for dirt cheap. If you own the old games, pay $50 for a PS2 and play them all w/o the need for HD remakes.

[Baka-akaB]

same here . It's not like we are asking for the whole libary to be remade . Some classics deserves the love if possible .

When it doesnt happens no big deal , we can play the original in various fashions . But when an actually good remake of a classic happens , it's in no way a negative thing .

[CimmerianDrake]

Plain and simple. Oh wait, you mean you DIDN'T buy a 60GB PS3 Phat with all the card readers, 4 usb slots, and full BC? Awww, such a shame. Well, I guess I should reiterate then.

My PS3 has BC and I'll still buy HD remakes of games on the PS2 I couldn't play for one reason or another. But you know...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[TreMillz]

1. The most obvious, HD. I cant play Gow 1+2 in HD on a PS2 can I?

2. New features. Trophies, Move, 3D. Cant do that on a PS2

3. Not all PS3 owners had or have a PS2. Some do, some dont. Some were xbox owners that didnt play these games.

4. Price. C'mon now, 2-3 HD games for the price of $39.99

[panasonic23]

otogi 1,2
Phantom Dust
Jade Empire
Breakdown best game ever
Death Throw
Panzer Dragoon Orta
MechAssault
Advent Rising
Jet Set Radio Future

[ZombieAssassin]

Only 3 of those games were published by MS and that doesn't even guarantee they own the IP.

[panasonic23]

Like booing said if prince of persia and mortal combat getting ps3 and sony DON"T own them why can't MS do the samething.

[RyuStrife]

Because it's not MS's choice? It's the third party's choice and where they choose. It's not even Sony's choice either. It's Ubisoft wanting to cash in on it.

[ryuzu]

Well since the original xbox didn't sell well, and that list of games sold badly on it, there doesn't seem to be much point.

However, I'd probably pick up an improved and expanded JSRF and maybe Panzer Dragoon if it was v. cheap. Preferably on PS3 now, but I might think about 360 versions too.

Also you missed Shenmue but I guess we'd want a proper sequel rather than a re-release.

Jade Empire was good at the time - a rerelease now we have things like Dragon Age, ME and even Fallout - prolly not worth it.

Overall though, I can't see a set of (good but) poor selling games, selling all that well second time round.

r.

[fight4love]

is to limited and sony hd remix always include 2 or more games so you get your moneys worth.

[Christopher]

HD remakes would likely still only fit one game to a disc. It's likely not cost effective to put out $15 games on a DVD when you have to pay licensing fees per packaged game.

[N4Great]

"Why Microsoft is right not to allow HD remakes"

nothing great enough to makes HD remakes.

I have bc on ps3 (not important, because we have too many great games to play), but i prefer hd remake to play old games.

[Lirky]

Microsoft is right know why?

It would sealed them their grave in the console market since if every ps3 had a update that all ps3s could play ps2 games but upscaling limited and not epic-HD on blu ray that would of nailed them.

[Baka-akaB]

Seriously what kind of silly argument is "no we dont want great games remade in hd at low cost ?" .

BS or not , that argument is only made because MS said no . If MS said yes , there would be articles from the same sources claiming how it's the "greatest thing ever" .

When there is a possibility , most people are interested , period . Remakes are part of the industry , for every gen every consoles .

Actually with BC in play , it forces devs to actually add a lot of quality content and value to the original game to stand a chance of selling it .

[sackgirl]

They just can't fit 2-3 games on a DVD.

[ApocalypseShadow]

and saying that it wouldn't be a good idea to remake rallisport,crimson skies,halo,mechassault,bloodwa ke,voodoo vince and fable 1 is dumb.

all these would be great.especially crimson skies and bloodwake.it would be like twisted metal in the air or in the water.

don't have to have a 360 to know this is true.

[offdawall]

Lol this is sad.. They just don't bhave any that people would wanna buy ... Funny how every developer is trying to get an hd remake for their game .
Hmm god or war
Medal of honor front line
Dead space extraction
Team ico collectiom
Ubisoft prince of persia collection
Yea microsoft you are so right -_-

[MAJ0R]

most released and upcoming PS3 HD Remakes I have never even played, especially the Team Ico Collection. I heard those games were amazing, but I never got around to playing them

[dead_eye]

The team Ico Collection is going to be awesome. I never played Ico but Shadow of the Colossus is unreal and should be played by everyone.

[dead_eye]

Article fails totally for having Timesplitters 2 in there. I'd pay loads for a remake of this. Still I played it on ps2 so sony could always do it.

[Unicron]

If people are buying them, clearly SOMETHING is right about them.

[Trroy]

Dear fanboy magazine:

I am an Xbox 360 owner. Please don't speak for me. I would pay 1 megajillion euroyendollars for a HD remake of: Jade Empire, Morrowind, Beyond Good & Evil, & Shenmue. K... thanks.

MS fanboy magazines, and their "Microsoft can do no wrong" attitude makes me kinda ill. HD remakes are awesome. God of War collection has sold what now.. near 2 million? Gamers have spoken: HD remakes are good. Pretending they aren't is BS.

Next these fanboy sites will say stuff like "MS says we don't need classic characters like Mario, and we agree... here's why Mario sucks, and why you should hate his games".

[CimmerianDrake]

You made me laugh, which hurt my abdomen, so you get bubbles. Thank you.

[Redempteur]

Isn't beyond good and evil remade in HD , too ?

As long as they do a good job during the translation and the additions of teh new stuff it's alright

[Colossal_Red]

HD remakes/remixes are a godsend for both players who missed out on these games the first time and devs/publishers looking to soak up some extra cash.

So far we have had Medal of Honor: Frontline, the God of Wars series, the Sly Cooper series, the Prince of Persia series and the ICO collection announced, if not released already. There is not one of the those game I wouldn’t “double-dip” on.

In some cases, price may be an issue, but the way Sony are handling these remakes seems fair in terms of what you are actually buying. On average, these HD collection which are going on sale are retailing at around £20 – £25 at most gaming outlets. If I wanted to buy Shadow of the Colossus and ICO from eBay, it would easily run me past £40. Not to mention the HD remakes would include trophy support as well as the possibility of added content and 3D.

No matter how hard you try, you are never going to get God of War to look as good as God of War III, and the majority of gamers will accpet that. As long as the gameplay is still intact, who cares?

It’s true that some cult-classics wont turn out as well as did in the golden days, though take Medal of Honor: Frontline as an example. Instead of hashing in the same rustic control scheme as the original game, Danger Close modernised it, and it plays just as well as any other FPS.

At the end the day it’s not right for Microsoft to jump on the HD remake wagon because simply enough, there aren’t enough huge classic Xbox games to push the buttons of the current breed of 360 gamers

[Trroy]

I mostly agree with your comment... except...

Prince of Persia collection? Why on PS3 only? The originals were great on the XBox. Does MS have some sort of standing "no remakes" policy going or something? MS agrees to license lots of small games... I have to wonder why Ubisoft didn't choose to put this collection on the XBox 360, or why MS didn't let them.

This bothers me... a lot. Not cool, MS... not cool.

[Figboy]

The reason why no PoP on Xbox 360 is simple:

The original Xbox DVDs were dual layer 9gig discs.

The Xbox 360 DVDs are dual layer 6.8gigs.

Games like the Prince of Persia, Sands of Time, more than likely came close to pushing 9 gigs of data, in particular Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones.

if Ubisoft wanted to release an HD collection of PoP, it would more than likely exceed the 6.8gigs of space, because of the HD resolution upgrade, audio upgrade, and other bells and whistles like Achievements.

now, multiply that by THREE GAMES. you are talking about over 25gigs of data. even if you could squeeze each game on it's own disc, and keep it in HD, other sacrifices would have to be made, and more importantly, Microsoft charges high fees for each additional disc. they'd have to sell the Collection at the price of a full game just to make back costs, and that kind of defeats the point for getting these HD remakes "on the cheap."

with the PS3, Ubisoft could fit all three PoP games on a single 25gig Blu Ray disc, or a single 50gig double layer Blu Ray disc, and still charge the fair price of $39.99 for three upgraded classics. this sits well with consumers, and Ubisoft will more than likely boast a nice profit.

i'm sure other 3rd party publishers are looking very closely at this HD remake revolution, and will release their classics as they deem worthy. unfortunately, the PS3 may be the only place to get those remakes (unless some single games are able to be sold over the network, like Beyond Good and Evil HD, which will release on both the PSN and Xbox LIVE for an awesomely reduced price).

the Xbox 360's hardware decisions are what's keeping more companies from releasing HD games on the 360. this is one of those instances where the Blu Ray drive in the PS3 is adding some nice added value to PlayStation fans, whether they are double dipping, or experiencing games like Sly Cooper, God of War, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus for the first time.

i have a fully backwards compatible PS3, and i own each of the original titles that are being made in HD, and yet i'm double dipping. i didn't spent $1500 on my HDTV back in 2007 so i could play games and watch movies in SD. i pretty much jump at the chance to experience something in HD, especially when these HD collections are truly some of the best games of the past 10+ years.

[ngecenk]

1st none of them are exclusive, either available on ps or pc at least.
2nd you can still play it with 360 (cmiiw)
3rd none of them have a special moment in gaming, except halo, but again hd-ing halo is like playing the other halo. not that much has change (in a good way of course)

[killershadow117]

If they did it would ruin how great the game is. Don't get me wrong, it would be cool to see Halo remade but it would take away from it's greatness. Plus it would just be flamebait on here.

[DelbertGrady]

I'm glad MS doesn't stoop that low to get some extra cash. They focus on the future instead of dwelling in the past and that's one of the reasons the 360 has been so succesful this gen.

Also, why do HD remakes when the console already has backwards compability?

[Lazarus69]

It's not 100% backwards compatible is it though,also they already sell xbox originals over xbl just not remastered

[gypsygib]

You haven't played many PS2/Xbox games on a HD TV have you. They look terrible! Worse than on SD TV's. I love HD remakes and would love some KOTOR, Halo and Jade Empire redone with improved framerates and 1080p. It would be awesome, not a cash in.

[jukins]

I think its more of a lack of titles that microsoft has to make hd upgrades then hd upgrades not being worthwile

[Godmars290]

One reason MS likely isn't doing it is because they can't offer them like Sony is: as single disc compilations.

Even if they did offer some single titles of a series, those might wind up on multiple discs because of space requirements.

This is really no different from them "complaining" about not needing BR or HDMI, even though they revised console design for the latter after saying that.

[Omega Zues]

A remake is when you start from scratch again and create a whole new experience. Kind of like the movie "The thing" is actually a remake from an older movie "The Thing from Another World."

A remastered is like what George Lucas is doing with Star Wars on Blu-ray.

God of War and Shadow of the Colossus are just remastered, not remakes.

A better video game example would be Metal Gear Solid on the Gamecube, that was a remake.

[danielle007]

I think it would be pretty fantastic.

[visualb]

.

[gypsygib]

There not doing it because they can't fit a collection of 1080p games onto a DVD.

[Hades1337]

I would rather have new games. You can play Xbox games on the 360 anyway.

[Neko_Mega]

I would buy in day one Halo, Halo 2, Fable and Jade Emp. if they did it in HD.

Fable is alot better then Fable 2, and Halo and Halo 2 would just be awesome.

[kagon01]

People are getting way too confused with "HD remakes" which they're not, actually they're HD REMASTERED version, if God of War collection was a true HD remake it would have the graphics of current gen games.

[littletad]

Two thing we need to look out for. But if the HD remake is well done and provides achievements/trophies, then that's all that's needed for a purchase.

[I Call 9MM]

Has anybody realized that Microsoft has re-released HD versions of Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie, as well as Perfect Dark? Sure, they are Rare's titles, but Microsoft still does do this. I'm sure we will see some more as downloads in the future.

And yeah, anybody with a half-decent PC has had HD versions of a lot of these titles for years now. A good portion of the original Xbox titles were also on PC. Played HD Spinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Brothers in Arms, KOTOR, Fable, Halo:CE/2, Jade Empire, etc... years ago.

[Master of Unlocking]

"After Microsoft’s decision not to bother with HD remixes of original Xbox games..."

After Microsoft’s decision not to bother with HD.
Fixed.