The Microsoft camp has been having some backwards compatibility issues, the gaming community knows that already. In our earlier report, we have mentioned that you can now play on the 360 the Xbox1 titles DOOM 3, Lego Star Wars, and Minority Report, among many others. But there are good and critically-acclaimed Xbox games that have not been blessed with backwards compatibility -- a good example is Psychonauts, which has been pleading for compatibility in the longest time.

So, to shed more light on the issue is Albert Penello, Microsoft's Director for Global Platform Marketing. The Xbox 360's ATI GPU and IBM CPU were miles and miles different from its older brother, the Xbox, which housed a Nvidia GPU and Intel CPU, forcing Microsoft's engineers to rely on emulators. Mr. Penello talked about the intricate processes involved in backwards compatibility and why some games make it and some don't.

The interview started with Mr. Penello giving a quick overview of the process of making an Xbox game playable in the 360. He said that during the earlier days, they were aiming to make a general-purpose Xbox emulator which could be capable of playing as many different games as possible. That platform has become efficient in the last months and they are now able to focus their attention to individual games one at a time. The process involves several weeks which includes active development, test time, and the process of checking if it could be compatible to other games.

When choosing what Xbox games would make the list and what games would be left out in the cold for the time being, Mr. Penello emphasized the fact that they will first consider the top-selling titles and games with a large Xbox Live following, along with gamers' feedback. He also said that there is no conscious decision to pass over games that already has an Xbox 360 version wherein he cited Ghost Recon and Dead or Alive as an example.

When asked about the compatibility state of games likePsychonauts, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Chronicles of Riddick, and Links 2004, he gamely answered that although he can't confirm whether or not they are working on 'em, he assures the gaming community that customer feedback is both read and considered. That alone seems pretty challenging since people's Top 5 games tend to vary.

So what's your opinion about all these? What are your Top 5 Xbox games that you wish would be compatible to the Xbox 360? Do you think that the Backwards Compatibility Team is doing a good job or do you think that there is ample room for improvement? Let us know through your comments.

Seeing as how it's Independence Day, we thought it would be nifty to have a quick look at the most successful American made console in history, our beloved Xbox. What follows is a quick overview of the console, the games, and its impact on the gaming landscape.

Read the full article, after the jump!

There have been several articles on our blog about the importance of keeping your CPU's running temperature on the low side, and what applies to your PC also applies to your game console.

Koolance has developed a liquid-cooling system for your XBox 360. The unit comes in silver and black, and the complete kit includes the Extos-LT cooling system as well as CPU and GPU cooling blocks, an AC power adapter and mounting harder specially designed for the XBox.

While little alteration of the XBox itself is required, Koolance advises that the modifications should only be undertaken by experienced technicians. They also advise people that installation of the Koolance Liquid Cooling System voids the XBox warranty. Additionally, Koolance provides no "proprietary instructions" for the XBox modifications, nor how to attach the cooling components. In order for Koolance's warranty to be valid, their own special liquid coolant must be used - and incidentally, Koolance's warranty does not extend to the XBox.

At $394 SRP, it's almost as expensive as the XBox itself. When all of this is taken into consideration (not to mention the unfortunate experience of several owners of liquid-cooled Apple G5's), one wonders if it's worth it.

My feeling: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. On the other hand, if you live in a hot climate, use your XBox 360 under extreme conditions and have a high geek-quotient, you may want to consider this system.