Xbox Is Suspending Players Caught Using Emulators - Gameranx
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It looks like Microsoft is cracking down hard for those found using emulators on the Xbox console lineup.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/2355803

For a good while, there was a bit of hype built around the Xbox Series S, in particular for the retro gaming scene. It was a cheaper device that offered a small form factor. Likewise, it allowed consumers to download emulators and enjoy various retro video games. But while this process was available, some consumers were skeptical. Of course, it didn’t take Microsoft too long before they outright banned emulators from being available in the marketplace, making it impossible to download and enjoy. That’s just the emulators being used in the Xbox Series X/S retail mode.

RETAIL MODE ON XBOX IS DEAD!

  • 15-day suspensions handed out to users of retail emulators as a warning shot from Microsoft.
  • Devs warning users to delete emulators
  • Retail Mode team disbanding and shutting down the Patreon. Sorry to bear the bad news. RT to warn others

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  • Molecular0079@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    It is so annoying how companies insist on dictating what we can or cannot do with the hardware we’ve already paid for. It’s doubly annoying when you consider how it contributes to e-waste because it limits our ability to repurpose these things for other use cases. My old PS4 is just sitting in my closet gathering dust because I don’t have an old enough firmware that let’s me put Linux on it.

    I guess the fact that consoles are usually loss leaders are a major contributing factor to why these devices are so locked down, but still…In this case, Microsoft is preventing emulation enthusiasts from running in retail mode and partaking in their game store! Maybe they just don’t want the legal repercussions of dealing with Nintendo or something.

    If emulation is your jam, I highly recommend just building a small form factor PC or going with a mini-PC instead. More expensive in the short term, but less troubles and more flexibility in the long-term.

    • dinckel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Pretty much every single console I own, with the except of the newest ones, have homebrew on them. I don’t even care about piracy, unless what i’m trying to get is purely unobtainable through normal means, or is stuck in the hands of scammers. All I want is quality of life utilities, themes and save managers, and potential backwards compatibility, like it is in the case of the PS3 (although I will admit that the video quality is very poor)

  • Lemmitor@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    It seems like this only affects people using a bypass to run emulators on retail mode, instead of developer mode which was the usual method for a good while now.

    Still annoying, but it doesn’t look like they’ve really changed their stance yet. Hope that’s not what’s to come.

  • HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    If the 360’s controllers didn’t eat batteries like something that eats a fuckton of batteries, that’d actually be a pretty good idea I haven’t turned that thing on in a while

    • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      Should’ve used a Northern Snarlvarian Batterivore for that example. (People randomly use the bigger midland ones for their examples not realizing the Northern variety eats far more through the year)

      • HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        ooo, can we get those to work with the xboxes? I have not tried. I have like 8 of them

        edit wait I’m thinking dualshock

  • Fish [Indiana]@midwest.socialEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    I bought a ps1 classic to use for emulators, back when they were on clearance. It’s only good enough for 5th-gen gaming (N64-era), but that’s good enough for me. I can use my PC for everything else.

    • simple@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Here’s the article:

      For a good while, there was a bit of hype built around the Xbox Series S, in particular for the retro gaming scene. It was a cheaper device that offered a small form factor. Likewise, it allowed consumers to download emulators and enjoy various retro video games. But while this process was available, some consumers were skeptical. Of course, it didn’t take Microsoft too long before they outright banned emulators from being available in the marketplace, making it impossible to download and enjoy. That’s just the emulators being used in the Xbox Series X/S retail mode.

      It turned out that players could pay a one-time fee to get a developer mode attached to their console. From there, you could gain access to emulators. In fact, it looks like that option is still readily available. You will lose out on features made only for retail mode, which could mean going back and forth between the modes. But while Microsoft initially took down the ability to download and play emulators on the Xbox Series X/S platforms, a new group uncovered a bypass. The information came out that this method was available through the group Patron page, which sparked excitement over again on emulators being accessible for the Xbox console lineup.

      But now, thanks to a report from HikikomoriMedia, it looks like Xbox is cracking down hard. Any account running these emulators in retail mode will get a fifteen-day suspension on their account. That’s a warning from Microsoft, and it looks like reuploading these emulators will result in a ban. As a result, the scene for emulators running on the Xbox Series X/S platforms through retail mode is considered dead. Again, it looks like developer mode still offers this feature, but it could be a matter of time before that also gets taken down.

      Emulators have always been a bit of a gray area. Some feel that through emulators, we can preserve video games and gain access to titles that are impossible to enjoy today. That could be due to limitations in hardware a consumer might need or the fact that these games have skyrocketed in price. Meanwhile, emulators, such as the Nintendo Switch Yuzu, are available today that actively work on game hardware currently being sold.

      With that said, if you enjoy emulators and playing retro games, you will have to look somewhere else besides the Xbox console platform. There are plenty of alternative retro-focused consoles available online that are dedicated to just providing players an easy means to enjoy these retro games, but then again, you would have to deal with ROMs which is another iffy subject.