Here are the Xbox One backwards compatible titles available in South Africa

On 12 November, Microsoft released the New Xbox One Experience system update along with 104 backwards compatible Xbox 360 titles. There was much celebration as the Xbox One became a far more robust system and started one-upping Sony by supporting titles from the previous generation. I hadn’t had a chance to check out the backwards compatible titles until this past weekend, and I discovered something upsetting.

It’s no secret that South Africans have been shafted when it comes to video game releases, pricing, special editions, and more. This latest issue is a bit of a slap in the face. What I discovered was that not all of the 104 Xbox 360 compatible titles were available in the South African Xbox store.

If you previously purchased a game and it wasn’t now available  for download — like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — you could change your console’s region and download from the US. Certain titles that aren’t available to purchase on their own are available through collections, such as Viva Pinata in the Rare Retro Replay. If you have a physical copy of the title you’ll be able to play it.

Read more: Xbox One backward compatible titles unveiled, still no Alan Wake

That isn’t the point, though. The point is that not everyone will know how to change their region and won’t understand why these games aren’t available.

I decided to go through all of the titles to see what is and isn’t available in South Africa. Much like the overall list itself, some of the available games don’t make a lot of sense. For example, Mass Effect isn’t available for purchase, yet EA punts the game and series everywhere. Why is Doom available, but not Doom II? Why are so many of these titles not available to purchase digitally?

There are currently 53 available and 51 unavailable titles.

The games that aren’t available:

• Asteroids & Deluxe
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Banjo-Tooie
• Bejeweled 2
• Blood of the Werewolf
• Centipede & Millipede
• Crazy Taxi
• Defense Grid
• Discs of Tron
• Doom II
• Earthworm Jim HD
• Feeding Frenzy 2
• Golden Axe
• Hardwood Backgammon
• Hardwood Hearts
• Hardwood Spades
• Heavy Weapon
• Hexic HD
• Ikaruga
• Jetpac Refuelled
• Kameo
• LEGO Star Wars: TCS
• Lode Runner
• LUMINES LIVE!
• Mass Effect
• Metal Slug 3
• Metal Slug XX
• Mirror’s Edge
• Missile Command
• Monkey Island 2: SE
• Monkey Island: SE
• Mutant Blobs Attack
• N+
• Pac-Man C.E.
• PAC-MAN CE DX+
• Perfect Dark
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
• Pinball FX
• Prince of Persia
• Putty Squad
• R-Type Dimensions
• Sonic The Hedgehog
• Sonic The Hedgehog 2
• Sonic The Hedgehog 3
• Supreme Commander 2
• Toy Soldiers
• Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
• Viva Piñata
• Wolfenstein 3D
• Zuma

Read more: New Xbox One Experience won’t have Kinect gestures

The games that are available:

• A Kingdom for Keflings
• A World of Keflings
• Alien Hominid HD
• Assassin’s Creed II
• Banjo Kazooie: N n B
• BattleBlock Theater
• Bellator: MMA Onslaught
• Beyond Good & Evil HD
• BloodRayne: Betrayal
• Borderlands
• Call of Juarez Gunslinger
• Castle Crashers
• Castlestorm
• Condemned
• Deadliest Warrior: Legends
• DiRT 3
• DiRT Showdown
• Doom
• Dungeon Siege III
• Fable II
• Fallout 3
• Feeding Frenzy
• Gears of War
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Halo: Spartan Assault
• Joy Ride Turbo
• Just Cause 2
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
• Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
• Monday Night Combat
• Ms. Splosion Man
• NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
• NiGHTS into dreams…
• OF: Dragon Rising
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Rayman 3 HD
• Sacred Citadel
• Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
• Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe
• Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
• Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
• Shadow Complex
• Sonic CD
• Super Meat Boy
• The Stick of Truth
• Tom Clancy’s RainbowSix Vegas
• Tom Clancy’s RainbowSix Vegas 2
• Torchlight
• Toy Soldiers: Cold War
• Tron: Evolution
• Viva Piñata: TIP

The titles that aren’t available could be due to a number of reasons and perhaps they’ll show up in the future.