![\"Best](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784913200_67_0x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
398408 02: Microsoft’s Xbox video game console is on display in an undated photo. The Xbox advertises with better graphics and audio, and the most intense, action-packed gaming experiences available. Xbox is expected to be one of the best selling toys for the 2001 holiday season. (Photo by Microsoft\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been no shortage of rough news coming out of the gaming industry as of late. <\/p>\n
The AI rush on RAM<\/a> is sending hardware prices catapulting into the stratosphere, pushing products like the new and arguably underpowered Steam Machine<\/a> over the $1,000 threshold. Also, to enthusiast dismay, PlayStation recently announced the end of physical media production<\/a> for PS5, which is slated for a rapidly approaching 2028. The disruptive announcement resulted in a level of social media backlash I\u2019ve rarely seen in the console space, and I lived through TV TV TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n To top things off, Xbox laid off 1,600 employees several weeks ago amid its attempt to \u2018reset\u2019<\/a> the lagging brand, with another 1,600 lay-offs allegedly coming through the end of 2027\u2019s fiscal year. Even storied and acclaimed Doom studio id Software was affected<\/a>, which is insane, considering just how good The Dark Ages: Revelations is.<\/p>\n As bleak as 2026\u2019s industry news has shown itself to be, it\u2019s been comforting (in a sort of cognitively dissonant way) to confront another, yet infinitely more hopeful, truth: From the standpoint of general fun and entertainment and creativity, I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s been a better time to be a gamer. The number of great titles releasing every week, from stuff like the amazing indie Denshattack! to the AAA Saros, is staggering\u2014an absolute glut of excellent software to enjoy. And now we add some retro goodness to the mix, as if we have time to play old games, as well.<\/p>\n 385461 02: Microsoft’s new Xbox video game February 12, 2001 in New York. The game will be available to the public in Fall 2001. (Photo Handout\/Newsmakers)<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Xbox, despite its increasingly haggard reputation, has announced backwards compatibility for PC<\/a>. They\u2019re rolling out the program with four classic Xbox titles: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Fuzion Frenzy, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Conker: Live and Reloaded. If you have a Game Pass subscription, you have access to all of these titles now, or if you already bought them on console. They\u2019re also available to purchase separately. <\/p>\n Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes<\/p>\n Each of these gems are very much worth revisiting, by the way, except maybe Fusion Frenzy, which remains interesting to me in only an historical, museum-artifact kind of way. Still, it\u2019s cool, nonetheless. Blinx is a breezy, time manipulation 3D platformer and was Xbox\u2019s original attempt at a cute mascot, and this was long before Voodoo Vince. Oddly, I\u2019ve written making-of features for both games: Here\u2019s Blinx<\/a> and here is Vince<\/a>. <\/p>\n Crimson Skies is a first-party aerial dog-fighting experience and remains a total blast. It\u2019s a bummer the multiplayer servers are long gone, but the single player campaign is still worth a play. Conker: Live and Reloaded is a solid remake of Rare\u2019s raunchy 2001 N64 platformer, and while the Ren & Stimpy humor hasn\u2019t aged all that well, I\u2019d recommend giving it a shot.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that these aren\u2019t just straight ports, however. On PC, you can now customize upscaling and resolution (four different options, up to 2560×1920). toggle VSync, adjust full-screen and windowed options, plus anti-aliasing and filtering. Best of all, there are achievements coming at some point, although the classic Xbox games aren\u2019t presently launching with them, unfortunately. <\/p>\n Detail shot of a video game fan holding the controls for the new Xbox console, Microsoft’s video game system, on display at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The Xbox console will be available November 8 in the United States for $299. Microsoft plans to challenge sector leaders Sony and Nintendo for dominance in the $6.5 billion industry. The show, known as the E3, is the world’s largest video game trade show. (Photo by Kim Kulish\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n Obviously, in terms of consumer goodwill, this is a drop in the bucket for Xbox, but at least they\u2019re making an effort in the direction of games preservation. It\u2019s an especially big deal in light of PlayStation\u2019s recent physical media news, and I really hope PlayStation takes note of what Microsoft is doing here. There are tons of classic PS1, PS2 and PS3 games locked on Sony\u2019s consoles, physically and digitally, if you don\u2019t count emulation. Why not officially bring them over to PC via an app? If we can\u2019t have the discs anymore, can we at least have a consistent catalog across hardware? I\u2019m sure the demand isn\u2019t all that high, though.<\/p>\n In the all-digital future we\u2019re barreling toward, it would go such a long way if all of these gaming companies, from PlayStation to Nintendo to Xbox, started thoroughly archiving their retro catalogs and making them available to the masses. Can you imagine what that would do for public sentiment, especially at the current moment? I know we\u2019ve got services like NSO and PS Plus already, which offer select old games from platforms like SNES and Game Boy and PS1, but it doesn\u2019t feel like enough. Honestly, we want full preservation of these vast gaming histories, and we want to be able to play these works of art in perpetuity, without being tied to failing, dusty hardware.<\/p>\n