Remember the original Xbox from years and years ago? It seems like the console has faded out of people's memories as bigger and brighter things take its place, such as the Xbox 360 right after it, followed by the Xbox One, and now, the Xbox One X. But, if you want to still play with the original Xbox games, there is a way that you can: through an emulator. Emulators are great, because they allow you to, well, emulate the experience of the original Xbox. With an emulator, you'll be able to play all of your favorite Xbox games — Star Wars: The Old Republic, the original Battlefront games, Battlefield, you name it!
Control Your Xbox 360 With Android Phone
The Xbox 360 controller does not have Bluetooth functionality. That is only reserved for Xbox One Wireless controllers on a PC with Windows 10 operating system. Unfortunately there is no way to connect an Xbox 360 controller to an Android phone, or any phone. What the Xbox app on mobile provides was explained above by Brad. Now playing: Watch this: Control your Xbox 360 with an iPhone 1:45 Microsoft's update to the My Xbox Live app 1.5 brought along support for controlling an Xbox 360 straight from an iPhone.
Using these emulators will allow you to use your Android phones to play those Xbox games that you've missed. But, how can you get such an emulator on your Android device? Truth be told, it's extremely difficult because Microsoft has such a tight hold on digital rights, hardware rights and basically, just a bunch of red tape. That said, Xbox emulators for Android are far and few between; however, we found one that'll work just perfectly for this situation, either you want the Xbox 360 and Xbox one games.
- Xbox 360 Controller Driver for PC is a simple driver that allows you to use the Xbox 360 controller on Windows PCs. Simple, easy and completely free, simply plug in your hardware, install the driver, and your controller will automatically be detected by your PC.
- A known struggle: when you need to put your controller away, Alt+Tab and do some stuff with mouse, like block some bully in Steam. There's no need to do that anymore, reWASD steps into the breach! One of the first non-game configs that appeared in reWASD community was the preset for desktop, made to control PC with Xbox 360 controller.
- 'Xbox 360 Controller Emulator' allows your controller (gamepad, joystick, steering wheel, pedals, etc.) to function as an Xbox 360 controller. It allows you to remap buttons and axes and to drive cars with Steering Wheel and Pedals or to fly planes with Joystick and Throttle in games like 'Grand Theft Auto', 'Mafia' or 'Saints Row'.
Control Xbox 360 With Android
You can use these for Xbox 360 emulator for Android, or play Xbox one games on Android devices. Read further and see how you can get an emulator for Android Xbox if you want to play Xbox games on Android.
Installing an Xbox Emulator for Android
To even install an Xbox emulator, there are a few things you should know. First, they aren't available on the Google Play Store at all. Again, this is largely because of the red tape Microsoft has on the original Xbox. You can find emulators for different consoles a-plenty on the Google Play Store, just not the original Xbox.
That said, to get an Xbox emulator on your Android smartphone, you will need to download an APK from the Internet — this is an Android app, but not one that was approved for the Google Play Store, so proceed at your own risk.
To even download an APK from an unauthorized source, we need to change some Settings within your smartphone. If you're running Android 4.0 or higher, head into the Settings app. Scroll down to the Security tab, and then make sure 'Unknown Sources' is checked. This will allow you to download and install any APK off of the Internet onto your smartphone.
Keep in mind that you should be wary of what APKs you are downloading off of the Internet. Some can be plagued by malware and potentially infect your smartphone; however, do note that, for the most part, you are safe from stuff like this. This is because Android employs a 'sandbox' sort of mechanism to keep viruses contained — this prevents them from reaching other parts of your phone and destroying your operating system install of Android.
Downloading the APK Xbox Emulator for Android
Now, we just need to download the APK file. You can download The Original Xbox Emulator from this link right here (Mega File Sharing). Install the APK for an Android Xbox emulator to play games on your Android phone.
In some cases, you might need a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to download Xbox emulator APK. That's easily solved by an application from the Google Play Store. If you download and install FlyVPN (free), you can easily access the Mega site to start the download of the APK. You'll have to connect up to FlyVPN once the app is installed, though.
Once it is downloaded in your phone, you can either click on the notification or find the file in yours Files app. Once you locate it, simply tap on the completed download, and The Original Xbox Emulator android will begin to install. Once the installation is finished, you should be ready to play the original Xbox gaming console with an emulator on your smartphone.
Concerning Games and Controls
One element that is worth keeping in mind is that the original Xbox console is from a completely different generation. It was a time when people weren't even thinking about the touch controls we come into contact with everyday now. With that in mind, many of the games you play on this emulator might feel a little wonky or even not work properly. Things might be a little easier if you pick up a Bluetooth (or wired) Xbox controller for Android phones (there are adapters that make this possible) — and make sure that is an original Xbox controller, too.
It's also worth noting that you might be hard pressed to find games for your Xbox Emulator. You can find ROMs for the Xbox Emulator here — just make sure that they are compatible with Android first (each game will tell you what platform you can use it on). Good luck on getting the Xbox game that you want.
The CXBX Project
While Microsoft has a pretty tight leash on Xbox emulation, there's at least one project in the works to get an Xbox emulator up and running. That project is called CxBx Reloaded, and it's a Windows 10-based program where Xbox emulation should work. At a minimum, you will need 64-bit based Windows 7 at least for this to work. Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows that are 32-bit will not work with CxBx Reloaded.
There are a couple of other important requirements:
- You need a GPU that at least supports Direct3D 9 (HLE) and OpenGL 3.3 (LLE).
- Visual C++ 2015 and 2017 redistributables are required for CxBx to run as well. Most people should already have these on a Windows machine, but sometimes that isn't the case. So, you can get them here for free. Make sure to install the 32-bit version of the program even if you are on a 64-bit machine, as the 64-bit build does not include both.
There's one other important thing to note — CxBx is not ready for general release. It's still in the development stages, but if you're dying for a proper Xbox emulator, you can try the development version. Keep in mind that it's a little on the buggy side, with some kinks still to be worked out. Check it out here.
Keep in mind that this is just an emulator, and you will still need ROMs of your favorite original Xbox games to try! Formatting an ssd hard drive.
Verdict
By following the steps above, you were able to successfully download and install an Xbox Emulator for Android on your phone. Once again, there are very few original Xbox emulators out on the market because of all the red tape, but this one should work for you just fine.
Or, you can try the CxBx Reloaded emulator, which is an Xbox emulator for Windows. It's not Android, but still a way you can get around Microsoft's red tape on Xbox emulation!
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There's no denying that console gaming is far more immersive than mobile gaming on an Android device, but with so many great games available for your smartphone and tablet, we wouldn't judge you if you wanted to spend the evening on your couch playing on your Android device rather than your console.
While on-screen controls work just fine, there are thousands of games that are compatible with Bluetooth controllers. You could certainly pick up one of the Best Gaming Controllers for your Smartphone or Tablet or simply use the console controller that you already have.
Just as we did in our How to connect your PS4 controller to your Android device article, here we'll walk you through the process of connecting your Xbox One wireless controller to your Android phone or tablet.
- Recommended Controller:Xbox Wireless Controller (see the best price on Amazon)
One thing to keep in mind is that this does not work on all Xbox One controllers. Microsoft added Bluetooth connectivity to its controllers when it released the Xbox One S to that the controllers could be used for Windows PC gaming as well. If you have a compatible Xbox One controller with Bluetooth built-in, follow the directions below to connect it to your Android device.
Connect Xbox One Controller to Android
- Press and hold the Xbox button on your Xbox One controller to turn it on
- Press and hold the sync button on your Xbox One controller until the Xbox button starts blinking
- On your Android device go to Settings > Bluetooth & device connection > Bluetooth > Pair new device
- Locate the Xbox Wireless Controller in the list and tap it to pair
That's all there is to it. The Blinking Xbox button on the controller should now be solid and you should see it listed on your Android phone or tablet or being connected.
You can now use your Xbox One wireless controller with any Android game with Bluetooth controller compatibility, giving you an edge over the competition.
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