An idea I had, what if somebody made an XBox os? It’d install on your computer and turn your computer into a 360. That way you could dual boot windows and XBox. If you booted XBox it would function exactly like a 360; you’d use a controller and could play splitscreen and use XBox live, but if you wanted windows you could choose to boot it.
You just envisioned an emulator… only worse because you’d have to dual boot to get into it.
Or you could just play a 360…
From my experience with emulators they’re complete shit. Also, to my knowledge no emulator could make your computer function exactly like an XBox. This, if made, wouldn’t be an emulator, it’d be an operating system.
Not worth the money.
And not as convenient.
Sorry for the for the double post, I’m using a ZuneHD.
Why would the Xbox OS be cheaper than an actual Xbox though? And how is it any less convenient than a computer, unless it’s a laptop but still.
Buying a os is a lot cheaper than buying an XBox. It’d be more convenient because I could switch back and forth between XBox and windows simply by rebooting.
Want to know what’s more convenient then rebooting? Clicking on a little red x to close a window.
To make this work, you would be creating an emulator, because you can’t just grab the firmware off an xbox and put it on a PC. Emulators are basically this, but running as a program rather then as an OS. It would probably be even harder to make it an OS to be honest.
[quote=“Level”]
Want to know what’s more convenient then rebooting? Clicking on a little red x to close a window.
To make this work, you would be creating an emulator, because you can’t just grab the firmware off an xbox and put it on a PC. Emulators are basically this, but running as a program rather then as an OS. It would probably be even harder to make it an OS to be honest.[/QUOTE
thanks for the explanation, but I’m imagining exactly that; taking XBox’s firmware and turning it into an os. This is unrealistic, but this idea is purely theoretical. Maybe Microsoft could do it.
If Microsoft did that, wouldn’t it kinda defy the point of them producing a dedicated gaming console?
I’ve thought about it too, but the reason why the xbox can’t be moved over is because it isn’t designed to be run on a computer with a gigantic number of hardware variations. There is one model with one type of hardware, and although, yes, it could be ported, it would take a huge amount of work. Right now there are two emulators in the works.
https://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/xbox/
Neither of which are really worth picking up, because they’re more tech demos then anything.
There’s a reason 360 game developers (all console developers, actually) build their software on Dev Kits - console guts in a box which interfaces with a pc - rather than some other solution. It’s because Xbox “firmware” is designed to work with (and only with) the exact hardware in an Xbox. Good luck getting MS or anyone else to write driver software that works with every one of the thousands of combinations of graphics/processer hardware that PC gamers use.
As a theoretical idea, well, who wouldn’t want to play 360 games on PC natively (emulators are SLOWWW). But there’s a very good argument to be made for it to be totally impossible.
edit - ninja’d, kind of
You couldn’t make an XBox OS. If you did, it would need the same type of internal components as an XBox. Ever wonder why XBox games can’t play on PC? Cuz they can’t. Wouldn’t change if you stuck an XBox’s cd reader into a computer, or anything short of sticking an XBox into your computer and putting a switch onto your monitor.
All that needs to be done for XBox-only games to be played on PC is for proprietary greed-bag locks to be removed by the douchy developers of those games.
You were so close to getting it, and yet so far. It’s not about anything being “proprietary,” it’s about code being written to interface with specific hardware. It literally can’t be done any other way.
Alternativly, you could install Windows onto an xbox so you don’t need to worry about the xbox firmware compatibility with hardware, and consoles have the most basic parts that a Windows system needs to run. Perhaps with a bit of modification. (I think I read somewhere in a magazine instructions to install Linux on a PS3)
Long time console modder here.
There are a couple things holding this idea and the development of emulators back. This first of which being that Xbox and 360 games are dual layered and written in such a way the your drive wouldn’t be able to read the discs at all. Both microsft consoles use this technology. The only way to get them on your pc is to rip them on the Xbox and ftp them over. Or you could just try to pirate the games.
The other reason is that both consoles are already running their own HEAVILY modified OS. Getting this to work for the original Xbox would be hard enough. Its OS locks the the tiny hard drive. Put in a new hard drive without going through the proper steps, and you’ve wasted a good amount of time. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the 360 with completely different hardware and removable hard drives.
So it could work, but it would basically be xbox parts in a computer case, since both consoles are low grade P.C. already.
Yes but the PS3 also has settings that make it EXTREMELY easy to install an OS on the platform. Xbox… not so much.
Ah, yes, I can see that being the case. PS3s are better anyways so OP just make a PS3/Windows system. 
EDIT: Although PS3s don’t get much support from valve… Eh, who cares just have a PC all the best games/mods/everything happens here on the computer. I don;t have any consoles, except an old PS2.
Well, it has nothing to do with the PS3 being “better” (Although I agree with you) and more being that it was made better for user customization
Yes, I see. On the topic of xbox/pc just throw all the hardware from an xbox and all the hardware from a PC into the same case and have 2 switches, 1 for xbox and 1 for the PC but only have one be able to go on at a time (because they share a monitor). Or, because that’s absolutely ridiculous have a PC and xbox so you can run both simultaneously.