With 212 games confirmed as backwards compatible on the stateside, we today learn the European tally: 156 games. Of course this list may expand in the months following launch, no doubt according to demand, but it's a pretty good start even if it isn't quite as extensive as the American roster. Most gamers won't care about the titles which demark the difference between the two lists, with all the biggies still included, and quite a few welcome exclusions, such as Catwoman, notable. Kill.Switch is perhaps the only one some people might miss, and European's are in a far better position than Microsoft's five or so Japanese fans, who only get a woeful 12 titles working from the Xbox on launch day.

That said, the Japanese do get the premium 360 pack for quite a bit cheaper than us continentals, so it's swings and round-abouts I guess. Redmond has previously stated that it hopes to make all Xbox games compatible on the 360 eventually, so presumably the gap will be closed between regions in the end. The new console, lest we forget, launches stateside on November 22nd, and will be out in on the 2nd of December and in come December 10th. This Sunday a massive gaming party celebrating the launch will also kick-off in the Mojave desert, running from sunset until the 360's launch. We wish were going. But we're not... we're washing our hair, instead.

By Luke Guttridge