Why a Hacked Xbox 360 is STILL awesome in 2023.

Microsoft recently announced the Xbox 360 Store closure for all digital purchases in July 2024. And in today's episode we take an all-new look at a hacked Xbox 360 and how it's still an amazing system makes it possible to preserve and play the entire Xbox 360 game library. Please enjoy!

Social Media Links :

#Xbox360 #Hacked

[tohsaka]

For people who play Rhythm Games (Specially Guitar Hero and Rock Band) is a must buy a modded 360 due to easy installation of DLC (Official and Custom), mods like Rock Band 3 Deluxe and play with Arduino controllers instead of use exclusive controllers.

For me, it was like have a huge ocean to navigate.

[DrJams]

Xbox live for the 360 will be shutdown sooner or later. This is why online multiplayer should have decentralized servers so the players can always set one up themselves

[breaKdownINC]

The 2TB limit has been patched out.
There are so called XL patches that allow you to use (iirc) 16TB HDDs.

[Barcrest]

I didnt realise the whole library was so small. I figured it would take up 10tb or more. I need to look onto this when i get home.

[HumanGamer]

I have a devkit xbox 360. Specifically the one used to develop Marble Blast Ultra. One of the former employees was selling it on ebay. So glad I got that :D

[dedstring]

This was such a special generation of gaming, we had constant bangers of games coming out. I even remember being able to add mods to certain games by using programs like Modio & Horizon with a USB to be able to download modded saves, even had custom player homes in games like Fallout and Skyrim all on a non hacked, non jtagged xbox 360

[TomBudin]

Just wanna say I appreciate you're still making content even though you mentioned how much time you were taking and that it was getting a little bit more difficult as you got older. Appreciate everything you cover, and you keep delivering with awesome content

[Diablokiller]

Sad the One was never open like this, just for game preservation alone it's necessary I think.
I love having all games of old consoles available on my hardware when it goes EOL, since no publisher is harmed after they stop selling their games actively. It's a huge chest of inspiration for me as a developer to just fire up any game I like on my original hardware.

[chris]

I did this on an Xbox 360 Slim I was given from my old workplace when they were moving. Managed to do it over the Covid period. Did the mod myself from guides on YT, a chip board off eBay and a great modding community on Discord.
I didn’t have anything to loose and it works great. I would like to STATE that although the mod isn’t hard, it can be difficult with some of the soldering being very small and does require you to completely strip down the console to the motherboard.
If that doesn’t bother you. I can definitely recommend doing this to your console. It’s surprising how much it allows you to do.
It also allows you to clean it up and apply some new thermal paste 👍

[Kurinth]

For the ability to load older versions of games, this can be specifically really nice if you want to get into speed running for certain games, some patched versions remove specific glitches or exploits that some categories want for skips or sequence breaks in different games

[AthanImmortal]

This video inspired me to actually go and do it! I haven't modded a console since my original Xbox, something like 2003, but my memories of that console after it was modded are still some of my favourite. An 80GB hard drive, ripping my games to the console so I didn't need to swap disks. Being able to load Midtown Madness 3 and be in the game playing in 8 seconds was like having an SSD before there were SSDs.

After seeing your video on the 6th of November 2023, I didn't want to risk my own Xbox 360 (going to preserve that one), so I looked on Ebay and found a second-hand 4gb slim with no power supply or anything for about £25. But that was fine, because I have my Xbox 360 and can use it's PSU etc.

It arrived on the 29th of November, and it took me about 12 days from getting it delivered, had to assemble some items (needed to order resistors, an Rpi Pico and some solid core wire) and getting pockets of free time, but as of last night, I'm up and running!

I had a couple of set backs and moments when I thought I had possibly done something wrong or bricked the console, and at the last moment came close to putting it aside for another day. But the whole time your video was in my mind and it felt like it was worth doing and pushing through.

* Disassembly was exhausting
* Scratching off the silk screen was nerve wracking
* Soldering such small points was frustrating (Mr Mario makes it look so easy)
* Accidentally powering it on while it had all the wires hanging off it and getting a red ring of death was terrifying
* Having the Pico report back "console not found" was dis-heartening
* Taking a macro photo to see two wires that might not be connected right was encouraging
* Re-soldering those points was doubly frustrating (as now all the others are in the way)
* Seeing the pico report "Trinity 16mb found!" was relieving
* Booting up the custom dashboard for the first time and playing one of my old games from an SSD I put in, AMAZING!

It actually feels like an accomplishment to see this thing boot up, so worth the effort, and I wouldn't have even started this project if not for your video.

All of your videos on console copy protection and security have been so interesting, I've re-watched the Nintendo Wii one a few times actually. The subjects you pick and the way you present the videos, especially historical timelines of homebrew efforts etc are so interesting.

Thank you for all your hard work.

[imSUPERcereal]

The optimal custom dashboard is the original Blades!

[Jacket]

For Rock Band fans, Rock Band 3 Deluxe + Rock Band 3 Enhanced are incredible mods that make RB3 on 360 (or PS3!) the definitive plastic instrument music game.

[Shojikinaai]

Man, I didn't know about the store closure. It stung when Nintendo did it for their platforms, but man, this one hurts. I remember going back onto the 360 marketplace specifically cause it was the only way I could repurchase some stuff I couldn't on the current store, like GTA IV or old ports of games like Sonic 3.

[mazda]

I never hack my consoles, but as a huge Guitar Hero and Rock Band fan, I think I will absolutely be getting an RGH Xbox 360 in the near future due to the incredible wealth of delisted DLC songs for the games. I've already spent upwards of $1000 on Rock Band DLC alone, so I don't have any moral issue with doing this.

[ThBeowulf]

@MVG, thank you for this reminder.
I have an unmodded XBox 360 that I've kept largely because my kids like a handful of Kinect games. None of these games were included in the Xbox One compatibility layer and they require the original Kinect as well.

It's been getting harder and harder to justify keeping a 360 around for such a small selection of titles. Your video serves as an important reminder that there is so much more to modding the 360 than just being able to rip some games. I'm definitely going to add this to my projects with that shutdown deadline approaching. Most of my 360 game library is tied up in the MS Store and I had assumed and was coming to terms with the loss of access.

Thank you for pointing out a much more sensible alternative.

[NaoPb]

Hey MVG, if you turn on Automatic Scrolling in your browser and press the scroll wheel and move the mouse slightly down (the more, the faster it scrolls), it should start to scroll through the page automatically. This gives it a more pleasing effect when you use it in a video. Just my 2 cents.

[mozza]

I've done 4 rgh3 in the past couple months for friends after they realised how cool my setup was. Great video and still showing the 360 some love

[JakeM-ddtw]

360 will always be one of my favourite consoles when I think about all the games I’ve played on it over the years. During the pandemic I picked up a 360 Slim and found someone local who could RGH it for me, wow - I’ll never not have a hacked 360 👏

[greenman]

I was wondering what you meant by the title, but you clarified very quickly. It's not even about piracy, it's about being able to play stuff that you paid for. I like it.