As some of you might know I am not only a large fan of gaming original systems but also want to dabble in the dark art of emulation. Yes, I understand many purists will soon be hitting the back button at disgust — however I am of the view that emulation has a place in every retro player’s life. Emulation allows you to experience games in close pixel-perfection which you might never be able to afford or find and from a historical standpoint it’s an excellent way to record and catalogue titles that would otherwise evaporate.

My pick of emulation instrument is a self-modded original (some call it’classic’ today ) Microsoft XBox. I’ve been asked on several occasions on the way to mod an XBox and what kind of modded XBox is, therefore in this series of articles I will show you the capabilities of my 2 units and show you just how you can go about getting your own.you can find more here xbox 360 roms from Our Articles

I chose to use this particular hardware after stumbling across websites run by fans and finding just how large the XBox mod landscape still is and what a competent machine they’re for emulation purposes. Nearly every emulator ever made has been ported to XBox and in the majority of instances has been improved still further by enthusiasts with the addition of video collections and art. A lot of you may have already heard of use XBMC on other hardware (Apple TV etc.), well it all began about the humble XBox therefore it’s title (XBox Media Center). Obviously it is possible to use an XBox as a terrific networked Media Centre plus it does a lot more things apart from but since this can be RGC I’ll focus on the subject of retro console and computer emulation.

A modded Xbox is my own pick over PC/Mac emulation for the next 6 reasons:

1. The XBox is relatively simple to unleash your self (soft-modding a Typical 8gb XBox takes minutes when You know the way to have the tools/software)
2. The unit fits beneath your telly, unlike a PC
3. A timeless XBox is cheap, I found them being sold with a controller for #14.99 lately at my local GameStation. EBay is another good source of inexpensive XBoxes.
5. Unlike a Xbox 360, the first Xbox is quite dependable — nearly bombproof.
6. The programmer scene is still going strong and fresh versions of popular emulators are released weekly

A modded XBox also has the following benefits:

1. Area free games and DVD
2. Ability to run in HD (720p and even 1080p)
3. You can upgrade your HDD into something bigger
4. You can save your DVD movies and matches to a HDD and play from there (faster loading times)
5. Capability to use a mouse and keyboard (good for those point and click adventure names )
6. Tremendous development scene resulting in hundreds of flashed emulators and utilities
7. Fully networkable more than LAN with every other devices you have
8. Good alternative to a PC at a House arcade cabinet installation
9. When the HDD is upgraded they create adequate Network Media Centres (XBMC)