Expert: Andrew Crome - 7/6/2007

Question
Hey what's up Andrew?  I bought my premium Xbox 360 one year after the console's release date here in the United States.  I absolutely do not care about "on-line gaming" at all and bought this next-gen system because I am a huge fan of the original Xbox console(I still have mine too, by the way!  ^_^).  With that said, here are the games that made me get the Xbox 360.

(1) Halo 3 (regular edition; currently reserved)
(2) Jade Empire 2 (no confirmed release date)
(3) Fable 2 (no confirmed release date)
(4) Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 (I have it; Lei Fang is HOT!)
(5) Dead Or Alive 4 (I have it; great game!  I use Bayman.)
(6) Perfect Dark Zero (I have it, regular edition; great game!)
(7) The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (I have it, regular edition; awesome game!)
(8) Rumble Roses XX (I have it; a great and fun game!)

I have more games, but this was done to make the list shorter!

My questions...

(1) Other than the fact that I absolutely do not care about on-line gaming, I am required to buy the $100.00 wireless network adaptor for me to go on-line in the first place!  The other option is for me to "constantly" move my 360 up and down to the available slot in the basement to avoid this cost; my room is upstairs and there is no way in hell that I am going to do this!  I am also not going to shell out the extra $100.00 for the Wireless Network Adaptor either because I would rather spend that money on a game!  I know that the "Xbox Live Silver Membership" is free and here is my question.  I am fully aware of all of the "updates" that "Xbox 360 Dashboard" has received and since my system has never been on-line, it is running on the "original dashboard."  Do I "need" the updated dashboard?  Will being "off-line" hinder my consoles abilities to play the new games?  Please keep in mind that I do not care about the "extra downloadable contents" like new weapons, quest, etc......

(2) I do not care about "Backwards Compatibiity" because I still own my original Xbox console.  If you can, could you please explain to me how the "Backwards Compatibility" thing works?

Thank you for your help!  ^_^

Answer
Hi "Enthusiast"!

Glad you're enjoying the 360 on a whole! In answer to your questions:

(1) No - your ability to run games will not be effected. You are missing out of some features (redesigned blades etc) but off the top of my head I can't think of any offline features that have changed significantly. If you go to the MS website you can download the update and burn it to a CD, so you can be sure you're not missing out on features anyway, though most of the updates are to do with Marketplace, Arcade etc

(2) The Backwards Compatibility system on the 360 is based on software emulation - in other words, they have to write and configure an emulator to make the original Xbox game "think" it's being played on an original XB. It works for some games and not for others - as for all emulators, it's very hard to get 100% perfect. One of the features of the new dashboard updates has been to improve support for original Xbox games - but again, this can be burnt to a CD from the MS website if you want them.

Fair play to you for not caring about online gaming. I'm in not renewing my XB Live due to the fact that I'm moving to an apartment with wireless coverage, and like you am not prepared to pay for an adapter. Halo 2 was the game that conclusively put me off online play - I have precious little recreation time as it is, and I'd rather spend it enjoying my gaming experience han being screamed at by an irate 8 year old.

Hope this helps!

Andy