Modern Vintage Gamer just posted a video that demonstrates how to enable the latest Xbox console’s “dev mode” and install RetroArch software emulation for older consoles. No “hacking” is needed and switching to dev mode won’t affect the console’s standard mode, so people can feel free to do this without worry.
Using the latest Xbox consoles as emulation boxes open up a lot of possibilities. If they’re powerful enough to use RetroArch’s “runahead” modes, while also rendering the games at a higher resolution than native, this could potentially offer an experience that’s better than the original.
I’ve also found that the overall emulation experience tends to be better when focused on one hardware platform. While that’s not always the case, devices like the original Xbox and Raspberry Pi have amazing emulation experiences, simply because a large group of people are all working with the same set of hardware. As more people start to get their new Xboxes, we could potentially see specific versions of RetroArc that automatically download the best settings for each game on each core, just based on user-submitted feedback. While there will always be some tinkering required when using software emulation, with a powerful platform like the “Series” Xboxes and a dev mode that doesn’t require any hacking, these consoles might quickly become one of the best, and easiest to use emulation platforms out there.
