Microsoft Bans Gamers Using Retail Mode Emulators on Xbox
But they will still work in developer mode
Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to prevent emulators from being used by mainstream gamers on its Xbox series consoles. A few months ago, the Xbox team announced that emulators running in "retail mode" would no longer be legal, and banned all emulators from the Microsoft Store. However, the situation quickly escalated when a group of developers found a loophole in the system. As a result, Microsoft is now handing out 15-day suspensions to anyone desperate enough to run emulators outside of developer mode (due to the loophole).
Emulation is the defacto way to keep really old classic games, say from the PS1 era from going the way of the Dodo. With emulation, gamers can continue playing these really old games on modern computer hardware. However, due to the additional cost of running emulation, many gamers prefer to use hardware like the Xbox series consoles to play emulated games since these consoles have really powerful CPUs compared to other consoles (like the Nintendo Switch).
In fact, Microsoft's Xbox series consoles are so powerful that they can run emulated games at higher resolutions and extra graphical options than originally intended.
Apparently Microsoft never officially disclosed why emulators were banned, but Azure developer Alyanna McKenna on Twitter shared some insider knowledge from the Xbox QA team about the ban. According to her tweet, Microsoft banned emulators due to copyright protection issues with Nintendo. Emulators published on the Microsoft Store can come pre-bundled with Nintendo games that are not legally allowed to be played by the application.
Additionally, the tweet goes on to say that these emulators can require permissions beyond the typical use case for a game or app on an Xbox console, and banning emulators altogether can close this security loophole as well. Now, it's worth noting that this is not an official Microsoft press release, but it gives us good insight into its decision-making on the matter.
However, this did not stop developers and hackers from making a workaround to get past the ban altogether. Apparently, a few months after Microsoft put the ban in place, a group of emulation developers were able to exploit a fault in Microsoft's software that allowed their emulator to run in an Xbox console's normal mode or "retail mode" (more on that later). As a result, Microsoft has now added an additional 15-day suspension for anyone gutsy enough to try this workaround.
Thankfully this problem is not that serious, for some reason Microsoft still allows Xbox gamers to run emulation apps as long as the console is running in "development mode" instead of "retail mode". A development license only costs $20 so it's a very easy way to re-enable emulation support on an Xbox console legally. But, given how stringent Microsoft has been with its current policy, don't be surprised if this "loophole" also gets banned in the future.
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Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.
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atomicWAR You can't buy new old consoles/arcade cabinets or many of the games so this expectation by companies, like Nintendo, that gamers give up their old legally purchased games is ludicrous (or for those who get interested in retro gaming for those who are younger and want to buy/play old games). Backing up your roms/ISOs/CDIs/BINs etc to your PC then playing them via emulation when your old hardware (PC or console) dies and is discontinued should be completely legal/acceptable. I am not condoning pirating mind you. Own or be willing to buy games you find yourself playing that you download if that's the route you go. I am even fine with people 'demoing' a game to see if they want to purchase it (remember demo disks Sony/MS/Nintendo??) as long as people pay for what they play (ie more than a hour), if possible as some games devs or new disks/cartridges don't exist anymore so there is no one to pay. Honestly I think all the console makers would be wise to push for law changes allowing for emulation of discontinued hardware and if they were smart they'd continue to sell these games as long as possible. I own remasters and still sometimes play the OG for game-play or nostalgia. Our gaming history is being erased and the industries handling of the issue is tragic. Imagine a world where you could purchase roms legally, where emulation was standard on all consoles to retain backwards compatibility. I love gaming, truly. All I am asking, and a lot of other gamers are asking, is for our rich gaming history be preserved and accessible to new generations. Because as it stands right now, the exact opposite is happening.Reply -
atomicWAR
And that is why every Nintendo game I own is backed up and frequently played via emulation when possible (go TOTK, Zelda Links Awakening, Mario Kart 8 and Beach Buggy racing 1/2, etc). Partly out of my love for gaming, playing at higher resolutions and partly out of spite for how Nintendo is handling this situation. Though I am currently backing up my old MS console games after just finishing up my various Playstation platforms now that I upgraded my storage pool capacity to to the point I am able to hold all these titles. Gamers have to protect their purchases because these corporations sure won't do it for you.ezst036 said:It's always Nintendo. Good grief! -
TerryLaze
You had it right in the title, why do you screw it up in the post?Admin said:Microsoft has banned old-school gamers from running emulation applications on its Xbox consoles. Additionally, Microsoft has also implemented a 15-day suspension for anyone daring enough to work around the ban.
Microsoft Bans Gamers Using Retail Mode Emulators on Xbox : Read more
They still allow it in dev mode because that is completely cut off from the normal mode.
It's just way too high of a risk for them to allow it in retail mode because they have no idea if it is possible to launch some payload inside the emulators that could break their security. -
ezst036 atomicWAR said:Gamers have to protect their purchases because these corporations sure won't do it for you.
Technically, they will, it's just in the most shady way possible. That Zelda you mentioned, you already own a copy. But what happens when your Switch breaks? Well, the game is now unusable because the game can't plug into nothing. Mind you, you already paid, you already own a copy. But Nintendo will happily sell you another copy when the Switch 3 comes out in whatever year they release it. They'll be happy to sell you a third copy for the switch 6, and a fourth copy for whatever Switch gets released in 2029. It's the same game! I don't mean these upgraded/remastered with new graphics etc. At least with a remaster, they kind of have an argument.
But when they sell you six copies of the exact same game - and these days it's nothing but a digital copy. There really aren't even cartridges much anymore(or CDs) as there used to be. So you're just paying and paying and they're raking it in.
It's borderline criminal.
The only way - the only way - I could say I would be willing to support Nintendo is if Nintendo themselves released an officially programmed emulator.
Why didn't Nintendo of America code Dolphin? Why did a bunch of fans have to do it? See if Nintendo sold the emulator that at least would be some justification. But at the end, it's nothing but bad customer service. That is all it is.
Nintendo should make an emulator. Sega should make an emulator. Sony should make an emulator. These should not be fan efforts. It is insanely frustrating.
Where they won't protect prior purchase are on lesser-known/lesser remembered games. There's just no money in it. Plenty of people enjoyed more games than just the top game of the year. -
atomicWAR
I mean that's not totally wrong and certainly something that has been done before but we are losing a lot of our gaming history to outdated hardware platforms and its sad the industry seems eager for it to happen. This is the biggest reason emulation exists in the first place to help save that bit of our gaming history/allow us to play our old games on newer platforms with increased graphical fidelity. All that said dev mode isn't exactly cost prohibitive at 20 bucks for the life of the console. So that seems fair mostly but I'd like to see the industry embrace emulation more to keep these old titles alive. Game Pass, PS Premium/Plus and Nintendo Online are making some headway in this but they are still sorely lacking in the amount of titles supported.TerryLaze said:You had it right in the title, why do you screw it up in the post?
They still allow it in dev mode because that is completely cut off from the normal mode.
It's just way too high of a risk for them to allow it in retail mode because they have no idea if it is possible to launch some payload inside the emulators that could break their security. -
atomicWAR
Yeah if they made in house emulators like nintendo use to. Say like when they coded emulators per game (Zelda 64 was amazing on GC to the point folks thought it was a remaster), not the generic ones like they do now that play many games on the same emulator. These corps/devs could easily sell you all those old titles and make old defunct ones that are mothballed worth something. Make roms/isos 1.99-9.99 depending on age/quality and I would gobble those up. I want to support the industry I really do but I want them to support me as a gamer as well. The move to digital is even worse as you don't even really own your games anymore you only lease them. Frankly its digusting. Until these console makers/devs embrace emulation or release new versions of their old hardware in perpetuity, I'll be at odds with the gaming industry as a whole on this issue. I am tired of losing titles to time...ezst036 said:Technically, they will, it's just in the most shady way possible. That Zelda you mentioned, you already own a copy. But what happens when your Switch breaks? Well, the game is now unusable because the game can't plug into nothing. Mind you, you already paid, you already own a copy. But Nintendo will happily sell you another copy when the Switch 3 comes out in whatever year they release it. They'll be happy to sell you a third copy for the switch 6, and a fourth copy for whatever Switch gets released in 2029. It's the same game! I don't mean these upgraded/remastered with new graphics etc. At least with a remaster, they kind of have an argument.
But when they sell you six copies of the exact same game - and these days it's nothing but a digital copy. There really aren't even cartridges much anymore(or CDs) as there used to be. So you're just paying and paying and they're raking it in.
It's borderline criminal.
The only way - the only way - I could say I would be willing to support Nintendo is if Nintendo themselves released an officially programmed emulator.
Why didn't Nintendo of America code Dolphin? Why did a bunch of fans have to do it? See if Nintendo sold the emulator that at least would be some justification. But at the end, it's nothing but bad customer service. That is all it is.
Nintendo should make an emulator. Sega should make an emulator. Sony should make an emulator. These should not be fan efforts. It is insanely frustrating.
Where they won't protect prior purchase are on lesser-known/lesser remembered games. There's just no money in it. Plenty of people enjoyed more games than just the top game of the year. -
nrdwka That is one of many example, there you do not own the thing you bough and manufacturer decide what you can and cannot do with it.Reply
Sadly, windows actively mowing in the same direction. Microsoft would be happy to limite intsalled apps to MS store only (as it can be activated on win 10/11 already) -
Evildead_666 As far as I'm aware, Stuff purchased on Good Old Games, you actually own.Reply
GOG.Com -
TerryLaze
That's what capcom arcade stadium does, does anybody have any numbers on how those sell?atomicWAR said:Make roms/isos 1.99-9.99 depending on age/quality and I would gobble those up.
Even then you have to download them all and make sure to not lose those installers, otherwise if the site goes so do all of your games.Evildead_666 said:As far as I'm aware, Stuff purchased on Good Old Games, you actually own.
GOG.Com
Also you still have all of the same problems with new versions of windows, if something breaks your game you don't have any support anymore if the site is gone.