However you might feel about the console wars (they were stupid), few can deny that the Xbox 360 was one of the best consoles of all time, with a huge selection of what would go on to become all time classic games.
Though the PS3 would eventually outsell it in Europe and Japan, it was a dominant success in North America, really putting the company on the map as one of the big three console manufacturers, after a strong start with the OG Xbox.
The advent of backwards compatibility, digital downloads and cloud streaming has done a lot to resurrect the games from that era, particularly with many of them being offered for free as part of existing Game Pass subscriptions.
The only issue with that is that it doesn't give you the chance to own the games, so if they come off the service then you lose the opportunity to play them. Happily, that might be all about to change, if recent developments are a sign of things to come.
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Xbox 360 Games Reappear For Sale In Some Regions
As first reported on by TheGamer, a post shared by JB over on Twitter/X shows some of the most important titles of the Xbox 360 era have reappeared for sale in some regions.
Those include Left 4 Dead 2 and Batman: Arkham Origins, as well as a ton of other recognisable games and other releases from major franchises. It's important to note that they can't actually be bought yet, with the listings instead labelled with "coming soon".
Arkham Origins is an interesting case because the base game was never available as a digital download and only the DLCs were delisted, so the full game being available here is actually a new step for it.
There are plenty of reasons that this might have happened. The first is that it could simply be a mistake, though the specific labelling and the fact it's all still up would point to the fact that it's not.
Equally, it could be part of Xbox's push towards streaming, possibly giving players the chance to play owned games on alternate hardware.
The third option is that it's part of Xbox's rumoured official emulator for the PC, which will supposedly allow players to play Xbox-only games, after players complained that new handheld hardware didn't allow them to do so.
We continue to live in hope that this marks a full return for a classic era of gaming, but we've been let down plenty of times before, so don't be surprised if it happens again.
Topics: Microsoft, Xbox, Retro Gaming