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Xbox 360 Emulation on the PC with Xenia takes a huge step forward

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Xbox 360 Emulation on the PC just got a while lot better in April 2021 thanks to recent GPU updates made to the Xenia emulator. In this episode we take a look at these latest updates and how they really improve the emulation experience overall.
 
Gamezone said:
How come Xbox 360 is doing so great, while we have yet to see a decent Xbox emulator?
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NV chip in Xbox is some form of hybrid, which uses non-standard calls and many of it's features hasn't been leaked/discovered, so basically games does not work. Also probably not that many people are interested in this, probably combination of these two variables....
 
I'm gonna try Gears 2, Fable 2 and RDR I. If I don't forget I'll do a quick update about how it work now.
 
After this update, Condemned 2: Bloodshot is finally PERFECTLY emulated. Perfect visuals and audio. Finished the game at a locked 720p60 (game can be ran at any framerate, yesss). I dreamt about playing this game for the past 13 years.

On RPCS3, visuals are still glitchy.
 
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Cryio said:
After this update, Condemned 2: Bloodshot is finally PERFECTLY emulated. Perfect visuals and audio. Finished the game at a locked 720p60 (game can be ran at any framerate, yesss). I dreamt about playing this game for the past 13 years.

On RPCS3, visuals are still glitchy.
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What about condemned 1?
 
You can play Condemned 1 in 8K60 or 4K120 with 8xMSAA on 5700 XT/2070S GPU class + A.I. enhanced textures to make the game look better + proper widescreen menus.

No point in trying on an emulator IMO.
 
01011001 said:
the PC version is absolutely awful from what I experienced. I tried playing it once and it ran at an unsteady ~40fps with an uncountable amount of bugs.
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Hmm strange, due to this game, I am now console gamer, because second one wasn't on PC. One of my all time favorite. Let say that OG retail version worked fine for me, but it was a long time ago.
 
M1chl said:
Hmm strange, due to this game, I am now console gamer, because second one wasn't on PC. One of my all time favorite. Let say that OG retail version worked fine for me, but it was a long time ago.
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maybe it was an issue with drivers or Windows 10. it was like 2 years ago, maybe 3... Sega gave it away on Steam and I tried it.

for me it was basically unplayable
 
Always happy to see emulation doing well. I can never get too excited for Xbox emulation though.

I think a large part is bacause the library has generally being ported to PC by now or is on Gamepass. I guess that's a testimony to how well Microsoft has treated their legacy content.

Now I wonder why Nintendo emulators are the most popular ... Hmmmm
 
mcjmetroid said:
Always happy to see emulation doing well. I can never get too excited for Xbox emulation though.

I think a large part is bacause the library has generally being ported to PC by now or is on Gamepass. I guess that's a testimony to how well Microsoft has treated their legacy content.

Now I wonder why Nintendo emulators are the most popular ... Hmmmm
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Most of their 360 games aren't on PC though.

Every so often I load up forza 4 again to see how it runs on the emulator and unfortunately it's still terrible. Missing sky, shadows are all giant rectangles, tyres don't render, frame rate is terrible, etc. They're doing amazing work though so slowly but surely hopefully they'll get there.

I just wish MS would release their Xbox and 360 emulators :(
 
mcjmetroid said:
Always happy to see emulation doing well. I can never get too excited for Xbox emulation though.

I think a large part is bacause the library has generally being ported to PC by now or is on Gamepass. I guess that's a testimony to how well Microsoft has treated their legacy content.

Now I wonder why Nintendo emulators are the most popular ... Hmmmm
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There's quite a few games that are exclusive to the original Xbox that never got ported, and there's the games that were available on both Xbox and PS2/GameCube but the Xbox having the better version of the game.
Also the Xbox 360 BC's only supports half of the original Xbox's library's, with the Xbox One supporting even less than that.
 
Drew1440 said:
There's quite a few games that are exclusive to the original Xbox that never got ported, and there's the games that were available on both Xbox and PS2/GameCube but the Xbox having the better version of the game.
Also the Xbox 360 BC's only supports half of the original Xbox's library's, with the Xbox One supporting even less than that.
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This is true. Anyway I don't want to knock the emulation scene on this. Plenty of effort will have been made here.

Everything should be emulated at some point or another.
 
Drew1440 said:
Also the Xbox 360 BC's only supports half of the original Xbox's library's
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For me personally they did hit 99% of my most wanted games and they did listen to the community about what games they wanted to see on back compat. Microsoft took the same approach on Xbox One although as the games were not running off the disc it limited what they could release.
 
I'm fucking impressed

xenia202107171740494.png
 
Shmunter said:
Don't know why MS doesn't include a 360 emu in windows and open the tap on gamepass
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This would actually make a lot of sense. But I'm wondering if it's a legal issue, probably most of the contracts for games maybe included it for console only? Might be an issue just taking that code out of the console ecosystem.
 
Yeah, Microsoft should do an official Xbox emulator at once.

Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2
Gears of War 2 and 3
Lost Odyssey
Guardian Heroes

Anyone knows if the new Xboxes or Xbox One play these games well?
 
Belmonte said:
Yeah, Microsoft should do an official Xbox emulator at once.

Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2
Gears of War 2 and 3
Lost Odyssey
Guardian Heroes

Anyone knows if the new Xboxes or Xbox One play these games well?
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All of the games you have listed are BC on Xbox one and Xbox Series consoles.
 
Drew1440 said:
There's quite a few games that are exclusive to the original Xbox that never got ported, and there's the games that were available on both Xbox and PS2/GameCube but the Xbox having the better version of the game.
Also the Xbox 360 BC's only supports half of the original Xbox's library's, with the Xbox One supporting even less than that.
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Time for a little self-promotion.
I made this list two years ago. I don't recall if there was a final update to the BC program after this, but I don't think any of these games were added. This is a list of every game from the Original Xbox that is not compatible on either the 360's BC system or the current one. These games also don't have another version on any other platform. The only way to play any of these games is on an Original Xbox, or through emulation. And Xbox emulation still has problems. (Genma Onimusha is a special case. It was heavily enhanced over Onimush: Warlords and included additional content as well as changes to the original game.)

 
01011001 said:
the PC version is absolutely awful from what I experienced. I tried playing it once and it ran at an unsteady ~40fps with an uncountable amount of bugs.
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No? The PC version is perfect? I've never had ANY issues with it. I think I had ... 1 scene where I was CPU bound so my game wasn't 4K120 on a R5 3600, but other than that, smooth sailing.
 
Cryio said:
No? The PC version is perfect? I've never had ANY issues with it. I think I had ... 1 scene where I was CPU bound so my game wasn't 4K120 on a R5 3600, but other than that, smooth sailing.
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weird, like I said, maybe there was some weird driver issue or something back when I tried it
 
Uh, I saw this thread and hought this was something brand new and got excited for a second to try Tony Hawk's Project 8 again, but then I saw it was from May and I already tried it again a month ago :messenger_loudly_crying:

Tony Hawk's Project 8 is the game I'm the most interested in with Xenia, because on rpcs3 it's impossible to get 60 fps unless you have some specific series of older intel cpus with TSX instructions.
The game on Xenia always crash after a few secondes, minutes at best, but it's been like this for a very long time. I hope one day it will run correctly, Proving Ground does run decently without crash.

I also played a bit of SSX a few months ago using Xenia, it's playable at 30 fps (original framerate), though I tried unlocking the framerate, and while it can run above 30, my GTX 1080 really can't hold the framerate since this emulator is mostly based on GPU usage. I wonder how something like a 3090 run Xenia.
 
dvdvideo said:
This would actually make a lot of sense. But I'm wondering if it's a legal issue, probably most of the contracts for games maybe included it for console only? Might be an issue just taking that code out of the console ecosystem.
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More likely as the pc is open platform, they dont want hackers to hack the emulator, and run any game on it. So we will never see ms release a xbox emulator on pc.
 
intbal said:
Time for a little self-promotion.
I made this list two years ago. I don't recall if there was a final update to the BC program after this, but I don't think any of these games were added. This is a list of every game from the Original Xbox that is not compatible on either the 360's BC system or the current one. These games also don't have another version on any other platform. The only way to play any of these games is on an Original Xbox, or through emulation. And Xbox emulation still has problems. (Genma Onimusha is a special case. It was heavily enhanced over Onimush: Warlords and included additional content as well as changes to the original game.)

Click to expand...

I know it is not really up to Microsoft entirely, but I would purchase Jet Set Radio Future for $30, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer for $20, Crazy Taxi 3 for $20, Driv3r for $20, and the bad Bruce Lee game for $15 with great expediency if they recieved ports to Series consoles.

P.S. It is always wierd to see Kabuto Chojin everywhere despite it being pulled from store shelves at the start of 2003 only a few months after release.
 
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NeverYouMind said:
I know it is not really up to Microsoft entirely, but I would purchase Jet Set Radio Future for $30, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer for $20, Crazy Taxi 3 for $20, and the bad Bruce Lee game for $15 with great expediency if they recieved ports to Series consoles.

P.S. It is always wierd to see Kabuto Chojin everywhere despite it being pulled from store shelves at the start of 2003 only a few months after release.
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fingers crossed that the next emu being potted to SX is CXBX Reloaded... that way at least JSRF will be playable on it finally
 
intbal said:
Time for a little self-promotion.
I made this list two years ago. I don't recall if there was a final update to the BC program after this, but I don't think any of these games were added. This is a list of every game from the Original Xbox that is not compatible on either the 360's BC system or the current one. These games also don't have another version on any other platform. The only way to play any of these games is on an Original Xbox, or through emulation. And Xbox emulation still has problems. (Genma Onimusha is a special case. It was heavily enhanced over Onimush: Warlords and included additional content as well as changes to the original game.)

Click to expand...

Why have I never heard of crimson sea?! This is EXACTLY the kind of obscure weebshit that makes gaming good!
 


The Xenia emulator just got a BIG upgrade with Xenia Manager 4.0, bringing a much better Xbox 360 emulation experience to everyone! Xenia Canary keeps getting better and now Xenia Manager has come along for the ride! This is why retro gaming is making a comeback...and yes the 360 is basically retro haha!
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Summary of Xbox 360 Emulation with Zenia and Zenia Manager 4.0 Update

This video covers the recent 4.0 update of Zenia Manager, a front-end application designed to streamline and improve the Xbox 360 emulation experience via Zenia Canary and other Zenia builds. The update brings multiple enhancements that simplify the process of running Xbox 360 games on PC, although emulation remains a work in progress with some limitations.

Key Insights

  • Zenia Manager is not an emulator itself, but a front end that manages Zenia builds, automating configuration and patch application for Xbox 360 games.
  • The 4.0 update provides numerous improvements that make Xbox 360 emulation more accessible and user-friendly, especially for users unfamiliar with emulator settings.
  • Emulation of Xbox 360 games is still incomplete and inconsistent, with some games running well and others exhibiting graphical glitches or performance issues.
  • The Xbox 360 hardware is complex, similar to PlayStation 3, making full emulation a long-term development challenge requiring extensive coding efforts.
  • The video strongly recommends using Zenia Manager for Xbox 360 emulation due to its ability to automatically apply per-game optimized settings from a database of 156 supported games.
  • Users are advised to have a relatively high-end PC, as Xbox 360 emulation demands powerful hardware for smooth gameplay.

Major Features of Zenia Manager 4.0


Easy Content Installer & ManagerInstall DLC without launching Zenia, simplifying the process—important given Xbox 360's DLC-heavy library.
Patch ManagementUnified interface to add, edit, export, and remove game patches efficiently.
Per-Game Configuration ProfilesAutomatically applies game-specific settings from a database to optimize compatibility and performance.
Bulk Game OptimizationsOptimizes settings for multiple games, enhancing overall emulation quality without manual setup.
Steam Shortcuts IntegrationAllows adding Xbox 360 games to the Steam library for easy launch, with Zenia Manager running in the background.
Performance OptimizationOptimizes the entire game library for better performance, though limitations remain due to emulation complexity.


Important Notes on Usage and Performance

  • Zenia Manager automatically adjusts settings per game, removing the need for manual configuration and saving significant setup time.
  • The database includes 156 games with optimized settings, covering many major Xbox 360 titles like Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise.
  • Users can view the specific settings applied per game, though this is generally unnecessary for casual users.
  • The video highlights Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360 version) as a notable game that runs with some graphical issues but remains a beloved title.
  • The demonstrated gameplay clips were captured entirely through Xbox 360 emulation, showing practical results without real hardware.
  • Despite some glitches and occasional slowdowns, the update marks a major step forward in making Xbox 360 emulation more accessible and enjoyable.
  • High system requirements are emphasized: the host PC used for demonstration has an i9-12900K CPU, RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and 64 GB RAM.
  • Users should temper expectations given the early stage of Xbox 360 emulation compared to more mature platforms like PlayStation 3 emulation via RPCS3.

Summary Timeline of Key Points


00:00 - 00:58Introduction to Zenia Manager 4.0 update and its importance for Xbox 360 emulation.
00:59 - 02:33Explanation that Zenia Manager is a front end, not an emulator; overview of its role in automating settings.
02:34 - 04:54Detailed look at key features including per-game profiles, DLC management, and patch handling.
05:00 - 06:20Discussion of game compatibility, example of Deadly Premonition, and the balance of emulation completeness.
06:21 - 08:59Additional features like enhanced patch management, bulk optimizations, and performance requirements.
09:00 - 10:46Steam integration, overall performance notes, and hardware recommendations; closing remarks on Xbox 360 hardware.
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drotahorror said:
Naw I don't anything like that, but that's a fellow gaf member and I'm quite used to his voice, personally.
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Yeah, I know he's a fellow gaf member. Seems like a nice guy.

My opinion still stands.

No Idea Idk GIF by Muppet Wiki


Sorry it offended ya so much. If you ever need a moment to decompress, or if you just need a shoulder to cry on when puberty kicks in here soon, just let me know, I'm here for ya bud.
 
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poodaddy said:
Yeah, I know he's a fellow gaf member. Seems like a nice guy.

My opinion still stands.

No Idea Idk GIF by Muppet Wiki


Sorry it offended ya so much. If you ever need a moment to decompress, or if you just need a shoulder to cry on when puberty kicks in here soon, just let me know, I'm here for ya bud.
Click to expand...

Calm down bro, sounds like you're on the attack after i called you gay. faggot
 
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IbizaPocholo said:
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nothing too interesting. just another frontend. ever since the russian guy left the emu has been more or less abandoned with small improvements here and there. it needs so much work still. compatiblity has remained more or less the same. performance too. no solution to shader compilation either.
 
boomtimesbaby said:
nothing too interesting. just another frontend. ever since the russian guy left the emu has been more or less abandoned with small improvements here and there. it needs so much work still. compatiblity has remained more or less the same. performance too. no solution to shader compilation either.
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Yup, performance is the biggest issue, similar games like silent hill downpour runs at 4K 60 on rpcs3 vs 1440p on Xenia. Anything higher than 2X scaling has become very GPU heavy. A few games like condemned 2 work best on it because there was no progress made on rpcs3 but most UE3 base titles are far better on RPCS3
 
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