With Xbox subtly revealing that backwards compatibility is going to make some kind of revival later this year (not necessarily new console additions, but we're hoping so!), there's been a lot of talk about which titles could still realistically get re-licensed from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras. In particular, many people have highlighted that Xbox owns Activision now, and therefore could hopefully bring a few of their classic games back to modern platforms.
True Crime: New York City is one of those games that could fit the bill, although we're certainly not getting our hopes up. The 2005 action-adventure game was published by Activision as the final entry in the series following 2003's True Crime: Streets of LA, but it's always remained locked to the original Xbox, PS2, GameCube and PC.
The PC version has actually just received a fan-made Widescreen Fix update courtesy of a modder called Fusion Fix, who has also updated the game to feature "fully working 60FPS" gameplay, improved aiming and various visual effects.
As part of this, they've highlighted that they'd love to work with Xbox on an official re-release of the game, pointing out that "with proper modern support, it could reach a much wider audience today". Here's a look:
"Widescreen Fix for True Crime: NYC improves the experience for those who still own the game, but more importantly, it highlights the value of game preservation. With proper modern support, it could reach a much wider audience today. @Xbox @Activision @Microsoft or any other party that might be involved: I’d be happy to collaborate on an official re-release, patch, or digital preservation effort. Fully open to sharing the technical work I’ve done. Email: [email protected]."
Now, to be honest, we don't think this is going to happen. There's clearly a reason that True Crime: New York City never got the backwards compatibility treatment a few years ago, and we're assuming it's to do with the game's soundtrack - there are loads of major licensed tunes on it, and those would probably prove too much of a stumbling block.
Then again, we've seen games with great soundtracks getting relicensed for Xbox backwards compatibility, so you never know! If it were to happen, it feels like collaborating with this modder is a no-brainer - they've clearly done excellent work on the PC version, which feels like ideal timing considering there are rumours of Xbox backwards compatibility making its PC debut later this year. Perhaps there's a scenario where they could re-release the game without certain parts of the soundtrack... it's surely worth exploring all avenues, at least.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but we congratulate Fusion Fix on their work (we're now eyeing up the PC version on Amazon), and here's hoping True Crime: New York City might get an Xbox and PC re-release at some point in the future.