Xbox's long-awaited new Chromium-based Edge browser finally released last week, and we knew it wouldn't be long until Xbox users found new ways to utilise its capabilities to play different types of games on their consoles.
Popular YouTuber MVG (Modern Vintage Gamer) is the first to highlight the new emulation capabilities with the browser, pointing out that lots of PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64, SEGA Genesis and other games work really well on the new Edge. The downside? You can't play them legally, as there's no way of loading your own games via browser.
Instead, you have to rely on sites that already host those games (which we're not going to link to here), but the video is a fascinating watch nonetheless, showcasing that the likes of F-Zero and Tekken 3 run at almost full speed.
It's not just emulation, of course, as there are plenty of other web-based games that work just fine with the new browser, and thanks to the addition of mouse and keyboard support, the likes of Quake JS work perfectly on the Xbox Series X and Series S as well. That's not to mention something like Google Stadia, which is also supported.
What have you been using the new Xbox browser for so far? Let us know down in the comments below.
Comments 24
So, wait, if Stadia works, surely XCloud would also work?
Which means, if you want to be incredibly redundant about it, you can now play Xbox games on your Xbox.
@tudsworth We've tried that - it loads the games just fine, but we couldn't get the controller support to work with any of them.
@tudsworth That's sort of the point. MS even advertised it as giving the ability to play XCloud Series X|S games through the browser to XBO owners that have GP Ultimate.
@FraserG I mean, the native XCloud app is coming to all of the consoles soon, so it’s not a huge deal that it doesn’t work, I guess?
The Super Mario 64 website was taken down so how long will these be accesible? Nintendo is obsessed with unofficial emulation.
@BlueOcean Nothing like companies making it impossible to play games you pretty much cannot ever find any more. Let alone game so old, they're making no money off of them.
@Shigurui they haven't mentioned something like that in the news for the new edge. even in the support page they don't mention Xbox consoles supporting cloud gaming.
and it doesnt seem like its even working based on @fraserg
@InterceptorAlpha
And most people who have tried that website had already purchased Super Mario 64 on N64, DS, Wii, Wii U...Still, Nintendo took it down.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/08/no_joke_theres_now_a_way_to_play_super_mario_64_on_xbox
But like you said, unofficial emulation is the only way to play some old games lost in IP and property nightmares. Perhaps one day these websites will be allowed to exist freely if the property owner is not making the games available on modern platforms, considering games art legacy that should be accesible.
@demian I'm sure the option for xCloud via browser will be implemented in the future - Microsoft will publicise it in a big way when it finally happens.
@demian https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/24/22639221/xbox-xcloud-cloud-gaming-integration-try-download-feature-holiday-2021
Hey, @FraserG, does this mean we can actually run Stadia or Steam on our Xboxes? And would that have controller support (where the game supports it)?
i love the new Microsoft Edge browser, it's 10 times better than the old browser.
@Bmartin001 I agree. It's as fast, compatible and reliable as the Windows 10 PC version. I didn't use the old version on Series X much but the new version is the best console browser ever and with mouse and keyboard support!
@Fiendish-Beaver Stadia? Yes. Steam? Not at the moment, as the best way to do this is via GeForce Now which currently isn't choosing to support the browser. There might be another way, I'm not sure.
@InterceptorAlpha "Nothing like companies making it impossible to play games you pretty much cannot ever find any more. Let alone game so old, they're making no money off of them."
While I agree in general, Super Mario 64 does NOT fit into that category, you can buy still buy it in the 3D collection (but not digitally) or pay for it in the upcoming N64 expansion.
@BlueOcean "And most people who have tried that website had already purchased Super Mario 64 on N64, DS, Wii, Wii U..."
Perhaps but owning a game on one system sadly doesn't give you rights to play it on another. Much as I wish it did!
@themightyant By my very comment, any game that can still be purchased would not be subject to this argument. So I'm not sure the purpose of your response.
@themightyant "Perhaps but owning a game on one system sadly doesn't give you rights to play it on another. "
Oh I didn't know that.
@InterceptorAlpha I don't understand the purpose of his comments either. I mean, we are saying our opinions about this article that is about unofficial emulation. He comes and replies to both of us saying that we don't have the right to play games that we already own on other platforms and that Nintendo offers Super Mario 64 on Super Mario 3D-All Stars and Nintendo Switch Online and therefore shouldn't be played anywhere else. What's the point? Don't we already know Nintendo's stance, if we are complaining about it? Or is just a sermon because we are "naughty"?
In between, I own Super Mario 64 on N64, Wii, Wii U, DS and Switch and it's not my favourite Mario game nor my favourite platformer but yes, I have it on five Nintendo platforms, not sure why. What I know is that the best version I've played is the unofficial PC port that was ported to New Nintendo 3DS. Wide-screen and more responsive than any official release.
@InterceptorAlpha @BlueOcean Unless I got the wrong end of the stick (which is entirely possible, long day and it's late here, in which case mea culpa) you seemed to be discussing Mario 64 emulation in #5 & #8 which is what I was replying to. I understand why Nintendo shuts that down. Even if I don't like it.
Definitely not a sermon. I've been emulating since VSMC and LandyNES. Sadly it's the only way to play many games that are just not available anymore. Until devs and publishers do a better job of game preservation, this will always rightly exist.
Love my Vita for this reason, almost the perfect emulation system, the smaller screen is far more forgiving to older, lower resolution titles, than a large 4k screen and it's pocketable.
Maybe I finally get to try King's Field. I know I could do it on a desktop pc but I want to sit on the couch and do it properly.
@themightyant @JohannVanDerSmut Okay, fine but I didn't say that I have the right to play unofficially emulated games even though I do so I didn't understand the reply that I quoted. I provided the Super Mario 64 example. I own a physical cartridge (I do own this cartridge, right?) and several digital versions but the best version is the PC port that I played on New Nintendo 3DS (because it was ported to that platform, too). No problem, anyway 😁.
I like this, but it will very likely lead to Sony, Nintendo and others to clamp down on emulator sites even more frantically.
@JohannVanDerSmut Yeah, no problem and it was meant to the other user anyway but I think he explained what he meant and it's fine.
The New Nintendo 3DS version is the one that I've enjoyed the most, excluding the N64 version when I was a kid, obviously 😂.
I took a photo comparing the New Nintendo 3DS version with the Switch version:
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/mario_3d_remasters?start=3120#reply-3128
@JohannVanDerSmut My favourite 3D platformer is Banjo-Kazooie, by the way! 😁
Has anyone here actually got the games to work in the edge browser? Yes, you can get them to play, technically, but the second you press B in full screen the browser pulls you out. Secondly, the binding for almost every game I tried was way off. This was the case with four different sites tried...
Does anyone have a workaround or solution to these issues? What could be an amazing addition the console seems to be unplayable in its current form.
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