Backwards Compatibility

Official Links

Xbox on Xbox 360 official BC list

Sony Europe no longer maintain a backwards compatibility list (from August 2008). While the European PS3 doesn’t work in quite the same way as the US PS3, their BC database is still online.

Introduction

As an owner of both Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles and many games for each, the pre-release news that both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would be backwards compatible was good news indeed.

Note that an Xbox 360 without an hard drive and 40GB, some later 80GB and all Slim PS3′s are not backwards compatible with Xbox or PlayStation 2 titles respectively.

As a rule of thumb, the Xbox version of a game will usually look better on 360 than the PlayStation 2 version on PS3 and will always sound better.

Key

• The game is new to this list because I have purchased or borrowed it or it has been added to the Xbox 360 BC list.
• The game was already on my list but its status has changed.

Where available, the game titles link to my review and report widescreen support. Note that I have only played some of these games to completion and so problems may occur later on which I am not aware of.

My consoles are connected to an Onkyo SR674 via HDMI which is connected to a Epson projector via HDMI. The 360 is run in 720p and the PS3 in 720p. If possible, I run games in 60hz and widescreen or progressive scan (PS).

Backwards Compatibility Lists

Xbox 360 Elite 120Gb PAL, 75 games:

• 26 no known issues
• 14 minor issues
• 10 noticeable issues
• 25 not compatible

No known issues

Title	Widescreen	Tested
Alias		2.0.5766.0
Black		2.0.5766.0
BLiNX 2: Matters of Time & Space		Sep 2008
Breakdown		Nov 2007
Burnout 2: Point of Impact		Dec 2007
Burnout 3: Takedown		2.0.5766.0
Brute Force		2.0.5766.0
Call of Duty: Finest Hour		2.0.5766.0
Call of Duty: The Big Red One Audio, bass aside, is very quiet.		2.0.5766.0
Constantine		Dec 2007
Hulk		July 2008
James Cameron’s Dark Angel		2.0.5766.0
Mechassault 2: LoneWolf		2.0.5766.0
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction Other sources indicate the game becomes unplayable later on but I haven’t got that far myself.		2.0.5766.0
Panzer Dragoon Orta		2.0.5766.0
Quantum Redshift		Sep 2008
Richard Burns Rally There is a spectacularly ugly font used throughout but, astonishingly, that was clearly deliberate.		July 2008
Sega GT 2002		2.0.5766.0
Sega GT Online		2.0.5766.0
Speed Kings		2.0.5766.0
Spider-Man 2		2.0.5766.0
Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith		2.0.5766.0
Star Wars Jedi Starfighter		July 2008
Test Drive Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed Minor frame rate problems are present on original Xbox as is poor sound quality. Initial race loading took forever.		Nov 2007
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction		July 2008
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King		Sep 2008

Plays on Xbox 360 with some minor issues

Title	Widescreen	Tested
BLiNX: The Time Sweeper Ironically, seems to run a little slowly.		Sep 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Game plays fine but audio is extremely quiet and balanced incorrectly in surround sound. For example, all voices come out of the centre and rear-left speakers!		2.0.5766.0
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge Minor frame rate problems not present on original Xbox.		2.0.5766.0
Forza Motorsport Minor frame rate problems worse than original Xbox which can be significantly reduced by turning the rear-view mirror off.		2.0.5766.0
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent Menu screens are shown and pre-rendered movies play at incorrect aspect ratio on HD displays. Neither issues affect gameplay.		Nov 2007
Halo Minor frame rate problems not present on original Xbox.		2.0.5766.0
Jet Set Radio Future Some mild flickering and corrupt graphics on map and when using boost.		2.0.5766.0
Project Gotham Racing Minor frame rate problems not present on original Xbox which can be significantly reduced by turning the rear-view mirror off.		2.0.5766.0
Medal of Honor: European Assault Movies stutter distractingly as levels are loaded in background. Sometimes, most music is distorted which is particularly noticeable on the title screen. Oddly, quitting a game from the pause menu seems to fix this. It’s also pig-ugly unlike most Xbox games which look really nice on the 360.		July 2008
Racing Evoluzione aka Apex Game plays fine and looks fantastic (despite lack of widescreen) but there are some audio drop-outs on certain track / car combinations. While only mildly distracting during the race itself, it can be almost unbearable during replays. Again, please note, this only happens on certain track / car combinations and doesn’t affect gameplay.		Nov 2007
Rogue Ops Game plays fine but videos play with occasional jerky sound and video (disc looks clean).		2.0.5766.0
SSX 3 Game plays fine but videos are extremely jerky.		2.0.5766.0
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age Coming across treasures chests makes the whole screen flash white.		Sep 2008
Van Helsing Some audio stuttering in opening movie. Flickering black bar on main menu but it doesn’t obscure anything important. Game plays fine and looks really nice.		Dec 2007

Plays on Xbox 360 with some noticeable issues

Title	Widescreen	Tested
Blood Omen 2: The Legacy of Kain Series Game does not run in widescreen as it should.		Sep 2008
Burnout Intermittent or no player sound and other audio distortions. Gameplay and graphics are unaffected and remains fun.		Mar 2008
Darkwatch Minor stuttering in movies not present on original Xbox. Bizarrely, this doesn’t play in widescreen on the 360 despite doing so on original Xbox. That said, even though I’ve placed this in noticeable issues, the game plays fine and looks superb.		2.0.5766.0
Indiana Jones and The Emperor’s Tomb Badly corrupted music in main menu, mildly corrupted music during game. Occasional but noticeable frame rate drops during The Streets of Hong Kong levels.		July 2008
Justice League: Heroes Intermittent sound on attract screen. Frame rate occasionally slows down a lot but it’s fine in-between and game remains playable.		May 2008
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee Almost none of the sound effects work in game including all voices of yourself (Abe or Munch) and all character’s you interact with. As there are no subtitles in the game either, this renders the game not worth playing because it is impossible-to-determine your objectives. The overall sound level is also extremely low.		2.0.5766.0
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Game does not run in widescreen as it should.		Sep 2008
Project Gotham Racing 2 Noticeable frame rate problems at specific areas of tracks, minor frame rate problems helped slightly by turning off rear view mirror, some sound drop-out, opening movie plays slightly jerkily and demonstration replays don’t work correctly after a couple of corners.		2.0.5766.0
Terminator: Dawn of Date Game doesn’t run in widescreen as it should and has the image squished into a 4:3 area in the middle of the display. Opening movie has occasional sound glitches. Frame-rate occasionally stutters. Heat-haze effects are incorrectly rendered on top of everything else including the HUD. I also wonder what the ugliest lead character in video-game history is; I vote for Kyle Reese.		August 2008
True Crime: Streets of LA Low frame rate while outdoors (ie, virtually the entire game) make the game verge on unplayable.		2.0.5766.0

Not Compatible with Xbox 360

Title	Widescreen	Tested
Area 51	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Carve	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Crash	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Crash and Burn	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Furious Karting	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Galleon	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Group S Challenge	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Headhunter Redemption	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Hunter: The Reckoning PAL	unknown	Dec 2007
Italian Job: LA Heist	unknown	2.0.5766.0
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing	unknown	2.0.5766.0
LA Rush	unknown	2.0.5766.0
The Matrix: Path of Neo		July 2008
Midnight Club 3	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Midtown Madness 3	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath		2.0.5766.0
Paris Dakar Rally 2	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Project Zero	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Rallisport Challenge 2	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions	unknown	2.0.5766.0
R:Racing	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Terminator 3: The Redemption	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Tour De France	unknown	2.0.5766.0
Wreckless		2.0.5766.0
XGRA	unknown	2.0.5766.0

PlayStation 3 (PS3) 60Gb PAL, 116 games:

• 87 no known issues
• 19 minor issues
• 9 noticeable issues
• 5 not compatible

Note: this is a list of games tested by me and is not entirely in tune with the official list which tends to be more cautious and somewhat behind the latest software version.

No known issues

Title	Product Code	Widescreen	System
24: The Game	SCES 53358	Progressive Scan	1.9
Ace Combat: Distant Thunder aka Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies	SCES 50410		2.10
Ace Combat: Squadron Leader aka Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War	SCES 52424		2.41
Air Ranger Rescue	SLES 50953		1.82
Alter Echo	SLES 51670		1.93
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat	SLES 53729		1.9
Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer	SCES 51635		2.42
Burnout Dominator Widescreen setting is taken from PS2 configuration.	SLES 54681		2.60
Burnout 3: Takedown			1.82
Chaos Legion	SLES 51553		2.52
Conflict: Desert Storm II	SLES 51523		2.42
Crimson Tears	SLES 52534		1.93
Devil May Cry	SLES 50358		1.82
Devil May Cry 2 Special Edition	SLES 82011 SLES 82012		2.41
Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition	SLES 54186		2.41
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII	SLES 54185		2.41
Disney’s Donald Duck PK	SLES 50773		2.42
Downforce	SLES 50842		1.9
Dropship: United Peace Force	SCES 50459		1.82
Enthusia: Professional Racing	SLES 53125
Extermination	SCES 50240		1.93
Ferrari F355 Challenge	SCES 50956		1.9
Final Fantasy X	SCES 50490		1.9
Ford vs Chevy	SLES 53698		2.42
From Russia With Love	SLES 53553		3.15
Ghosthunter	SCES 51463	Progressive Scan	1.9
Global Touring Challenge: GTC Africa	SLES 50472		1.9
God of War (now available in HD)	SCES 53133		1.93
God of War II (now available in HD)	SCES 54206		1.93
GunGrave: Over Dose	SLES 52941		2.42
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	SLES 51192		2.52
Haven: Call of the King	SLES 51209		2.42
Herdy Gerdy Ugly PAL version but looks the same on PS3 as on PS2.	SLES 50751		2.0
Ico	SCES 50760		2.10
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Cut-scenes and gameplay runs smoothly in 60Hz, gameplay looks significantly better but runs slightly less smoothly in 50Hz.	SCES 50361		2.10
James Bond in… Agent Under Fire	SLES 50539		2.42
Kaido Racer	SLES 53191		1.9
Kaido Racer 2	SLES 53900		1.93
Kingdom Hearts	SCES 50967		2.42
Kingdom Hearts II	SLES 54114		1.82
Lotus Challenge	SLES 50230		1.82
Maximo	SLES 50703		1.93
Medal of Honor: Frontline	SLES 50684		2.01
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun	SLES 51873		2.01
Medal of Honor: Vanguard	SLES 54683		3.40
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix	SLES 53717		1.82
Noble Racing	SLES 53958
Okami	SLES 54439		2.42
Oni	SLES 50134
Primal	SCES 51135	Progressive Scan	1.9
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time	SLES 51918		1.9
Pro Rally 2002			1.9
R-Type Final	SLES 51952		1.82
Rally Championship			1.82
Reign of Fire	SLES 50873		1.93
Resident Evil 4	SLES 53702		1.9
Ridge Racer V			1.82
Riding Spirits 2
Road Trip Adventure	SLES 51356		1.82
Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction	SLES 50572		2.42
Rogue Galaxy	SCES 54552		2.41
Runabout 3 Neo Age	SLES 51223		1.9
SBK-07: Superbike World Championship	SLES 54705		2.41
Shadow of the Colossus	SCES 53326	Progressive Scan	2.36
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3	SLES 55018		2.42
Shox			1.9
Silpheed: The Lost Planet	SLES 50193		1.93
Sled Storm	SLES 50683		2.42
Sly Raccoon (soon available in HD)	SCES 50917		2.52
Sly 2: Band of Thieves (soon available in HD)	SCES 52529		2.41
Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves™ (soon available in HD)	SCES 53409		2.41
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy	SLES 51831		2.42
Super Trucks			1.82
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror	SCES 54794		2.41
The Fast and the Furious	SLES 54483		3.15
The Hulk	SLES 51508		1.92
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction	SLES 53430		1.92
The Mark of Kri	SCES 51164		2.42
Trapt	SLES 53284		1.93
TT Superbikes	SLES 51980		2.35
Tokyo Road Race	SLES 50954
Tourist Trophy	SCES 53372		2.35
Underworld: The Eternal War	SLES 52109		1.93
Viewtiful Joe	SLES 52678		1.93
Viewtiful Joe 2	SLES 52868		2.42
Wipeout Fusion	SCES 50005		2.01
World Super Police	SLES 54080		2.42
WRC: Rally Evolved	SCES 53247		2.10
XGIII: Extreme-G Racing aka XG3	SLES 50210		1.82

Should play on PLAYSTATION®3 with some minor issues

Title	Product Code	Widescreen	System
Driven to Destruction aka Test Drive: Eve of Destruction Minor frame rate issues.			1.7
Crimson Sea 2 De-interlacing artefacts make game look kinda blurry but it runs and plays nice and smoothly.	SLES 52556		1.93
Dragon Quest™ – The Journey of the Cursed King™ Minor sound pops when traversing menus and at other times.	SLES 53974		2.42
Driving Emotion Type-S Music is slightly but oddly corrupted, saved replays don’t seem to work properly.			1.8
Ford Street Racing Dolby ProLogic II audio option causes crackling in-game	SLES 53639		2.42
Gran Turismo 3 A-spec Minor stutter in opening movie (both end movies fine); very very occasionally game loads and stutters throughout gameplay and graphics flicker up and down (simply reload to fix).	SCES 50294		1.93
Gran Turismo 4 Video and audio issues in all movies; no 5.1 in opening movie; demonstration replays seem to only sort-of work; occasionally game loads and stutters throughout gameplay (simply reload to fix); minor graphic corruption in top left corner on Motegi oval and Suzuka East (may also occur on other tracks I haven’t raced on yet).	SCES 51719		2.42
GunGrave Audio stuttering during pre-Start movie (no obvious damage to disc) but not during in-game movies. Slowdown in game but everything remains playable and looks great.	SLES 51236		2.42
Headhunter: Redemption Very minor frame rate problems in movies and in gameplay but nothing that adversely affects the game and they probably existed on PS2.	SLES 51682		2.42
Jak X Game takes about a billion years to create a new profile. Once over that hump the game plays and saves fine.	SCES 53286	Progressive Scan	2.42
Killzone (7/10) Audio distortion during pre-rendered sequences.	SCES 52004		2.60
Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil Minor wibbling on some menus (for example, the 50Hz / 60Hz / Test menu) and dialog boxes. Has no effect on gameplay and game looks fantastic.	SCES 50354		2.42
Kya: Dark Lineage Minor sound distortion in movies.	SLES 51473		2.42
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty No 5.1 sound.	SLES 50383		2.35
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Occasional minor slowdown, most noticeable during The Fury boss battle.	SLES 82013		2.42
MotoGP 3: Official Game of MotoGP Flashing graphical corruption on upper half of screen or skybox on some cameras during replay. It doesn’t occur during gameplay.	SCES 50982		2.42
Turok: Evolution Minor frame-rate issues.	SLES 50479		2.42
WRC II Extreme Small amount of left and right of screen cut off on widescreen displays. Saved replays don’t seem to work properly (like the Gran Turismo games) but immediate post-stage replays do. Game plays fine, runs smooth and looks and sounds great. Game remains super rock hard.	SCES 50934		2.42
Xenosaga Episode II Optical digital output Dolby Digital 5.1 causes audio crackling.	SCES 82034		2.42

Should play on PLAYSTATION®3 with noticeable issues

Title	Product Code	Widescreen	System
Burnout 2: Point of Impact Cars have some areas, including all tail lights and underneath the car, drawn like white headlights though playability appears to be unaffected and it runs silky smooth.	SLES 51044		2.10
CART Fury Championship Racing All movies squished into top half of display, brilliantly. Game plays fine.	SLES 50267		2.30
Grand Prix Challenge Now plays at proper speed but massive interlacing artefacts, though diminished by the 1.8 update, make it somewhat less than pristine.			1.8
Gumball 3000 Selecting a car is a somewhat hit or miss affair and causes regular crashes. However, I have managed to get all the way into the playable part of the game on several occasions with different classes of vehicle in both Single Race and Gumball 3000. Once playing, there doesn’t seem to be any issues.	SLES 50984		2.42
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Movies are busted with audio and video breakup and then they quickly skip to the end. You see none of them. Speech during in-engine cut-scenes repeats like all the characters have really bad stutters and sometimes skips. Graphics look outstanding and game can be played.	SLES 50062		2.42
Ratchet and Clank Highly inconsistent frame rate and entire game runs slowly.  Also, running 60Hz mode disables sound.	SCES 50916		2.42
Ratchet and Clank 2 aka Ratchet and Clank: Locked and Loaded Highly inconsistent frame rate and all gameplay runs slowly.	SCES 51607		2.42
Speed Racer Sound bug affecting music and speech causes them to repeat. It doesn’t affect gameplay and, as subtitles are included, you don’t miss anything. Otherwise, the game runs and play great.	SLES 55075		3.40
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers No video (audio only) on deliberately (!) unskippable movie clips.	SLES 51252		2.42

Not Compatible with PlayStation 3

Title	Product Code	Widescreen	System
Aeon Flux Controller stops functioning inside the game after a certain time after a certain point in the first, non-training, level. PS button and menu still work.	SLES 53956		2.50
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions Game menu loads but game crashes when loading a race.	SLES 50997		3.15
Stuntman	SLES 51141		1.8
Summoner 2 Overture cut-scene plays then game crashes with first in-engine cut-scene "Entering the Tempest."	SLES 51441		2.50
TD: Overdrive (Test Drive: Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed) Intro movies and Pong loading game now work but game itself never actually loads.	SLES 50778		2.10