Xbox One Poll: Bring Back the Classics

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Bring Back the Xbox Original Classics!

Every year we see a new Call of Duty, Battlefield, Madden, or other titles similarly suffering from sequel-itis, we start wondering about the lack of resourcefulness of the gaming industry. Yet we gamers keep buying the same derivative crap every year, in the name of having the latest game, or being able to experience a few added gameplay features, which by the way, often take a turn for the worse (don’t worry, Black Flag; you’ll always stay on my mantle).

So just why are we all okay with a never-ending regurgitation of yearly iterations that oft times, let’s face it, are developed just so publishers can keep a constant stream of cash flow coming in?

Yet we keep asking ourselves:

“What happened to originality?”

“Why am I suffering through the same crap again?”

“Why did I just buy the Call of Duty: Wolf Skin DLC for $3?”

Sure, original ideas can be hard to come by, and coming up with unique gameplay concepts might involve developers banging their heads against a wall to get the brain-juices flowing, but what about rejuvenating older titles?

Just like we did with our PlayStation 4: Bring Back the Classics! poll, we’re delving into some older series on the original Xbox that didn’t quite make the jump over the Xbox 360. Hey, if the gaming industry is all out of ideas, how about bringing back our classic Xbox titles and developing sequels, or better yet, rebooting the IP’s all together?

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Click for Bar Graph View

Well, our lovable Xbox fans have spoken (to the tune of 1,011 votes!) In our latest SpawnPoll, “Bring Back the Xbox Original Classics”, the fans shouted out their most favorite Xbox original series that they’d love to see re-debut (is that possible?) on the Xbox One. 24 titles and one “Other” category were offered to our rabid X-fans, and boy did they have some interesting choices! We’ll cover the top 5 choices in semi-detail below.



Note: Visitors were allowed to pick exactly 5 from the total 25 choices offered in the poll; no less and no more.

1. Star Wars: Battlefront – 128/1011 votes (13%)

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Star Wars Battlefront took the lead with over 120 votes. DICE’s somewhat disappointing Battlefield 4 aside, the fans apparently still believe that the developers can do justice to the Battlefront series (DICE/EA revealed at E3 2013 that they’re hard at work on a new Star Wars: Battlefront title). Either that, or everyone just wants a new Battlefront title, period. Either way, it’s been a long time coming.

2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – 109/1011 votes (11%)

StarWarsKoTOR1Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic took 2nd place with 109 votes. Bioware: take note. We want it back. The lightsabers, the Imperial guns, and most of all, the absolutely amazing and engaging story and plot twists of Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2. Please bring it back. And not “Disney” back. “The Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi” back.

3. Shenmue – 80/1011 votes (8%)

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Shenmue locks itself in a respectable 3rd spot placement with 80 votes on the dot. This beloved, open-world Sega Dreamcast (and Xbox original) title has the fans absolutely pining for a comeback. And with Sega recently having trademarked “Shenmue 3”, believe you me, the anticipation for this sequel is reaching fever-pitch.


4. Project Gotham Racing – 61/1011 votes (6%)

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Project Gotham Racing rolls in 4th place with 61 votes. Though this title started on the original Xbox (PGR 1 and 2), it did have enough steam to carry it onto the Xbox 360 early on in the console’s life cycle (with PGR 3 and 4). Why was it included in the poll? Well, seeing as the last game in the series came out in October of 2007, we still consider it to be a “classic” Xbox title in a sense. And considering that PGR’s strong roots started out on the original Xbox, the inclusion of the series was a no-brainer.

One other factor affecting our decision is that one of the absolute all-time favorite arcade games, Geometry Wars, was born out of this great racing series. So as you can imagine, PGR holds a special place in all of our hearts.

5. Jade Empire – 59/1011 votes (6%)

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And the number 5 spot goes to…Jade Empire, another Bioware classic! With a downright fun and engaging story, great gameplay and fighting elements, and some fairly deep RPG leveling, Jade Empire was the RPG to play. And especially considering that the title came out in 2005, a sequel or reboot of the franchise (cross your fingers) has been a very long time coming.

The next 5 titles of the top ten most wanted Xbox original reboots/sequels are:

6. Jet Set Radio – 55/1011 votes (5%)

7. Beyond Good & Evil – 53/1011 votes (5%)

8. Crimson Skies – 41/1011 votes (4%)

9. “Other” (consists of Xbox games not listed on this poll) – 38/1011 votes (4%)

10. Psychonauts/Mercenaries – 35 votes each (3% each)

And there you have it folks; the most wanted reboots/sequels that fans want to see revitalized on the Xbox One. Sound off in the comments below if you think we’ve missed your choice!