May 26, 2008 – 11:08 am
Ever since the XBox Live Arcade went online with the launch of the XBox 360, there’s been a steady flow of new games being released every week. I’ve always taken a certain satisfaction in knowing that all the games always would be there for download if I ever got an urge to give some of them a shot that I’d missed when they originally sprang onto the marketplace. And indeed, I occasionally do go back and sample the older wares, and it’s cool to see such a huge selection still available and growing by the week. Granted, a lot of it is arguably crap, but I like to think the consumers can make educated decisions on what they want to spend their hard earned Microsoft Points to purchase.
No longer! Marc Whitten, the general manager of XBox Live, has announced that Microsoft is about to start yanking poorly performing older games from the service. The criteria for a game to be pulled from the service include:
- The game is more than six months old.
- The Metacritic rating for the game is below 65%.
- The conversion rate for the game is less than 6% (meaning that less than 6% of people who download the demo end up unlocking the full game).
Metacritic is a site that collects review scores from various websites for games, movies, music, TV shows, and DVDs, and presents an overall collaborative score for easy digestion. It’s always lurking in the corner for game companies and developers, as many consider the Metacritic score the real benchmark for how good a game is and how well received it is by the general public. This is the first time I can recall hearing a major company cite it as a tool for determining their business practices, though.
Microsoft will be giving three months’ notice before removing games from the Arcade. At the end of those three months, the game will be zapped into the ether, never to be buyable again. If you already own the game after that time, you’ll still be able to play it online and off, and you’ll be able to redownload it as long as you’ve already purchased it.
Source: NextGeneration
May 20, 2008 – 11:16 am
In a recent interview, XBox Live’s David Edery revealed a plan to increase the maximum filesize for XBox Live Arcade releases. This has been a point of contention for quite a while, as some developers have felt stifled by the previous size limit for their products. The only real reason the size limit exists is for the benefit of those who have bought XBox 360s without hard drives (the original Core model and the current Arcade model). Nintendo Wii aside, it’s puzzling as to why someone would want to have a current gen console without a hard drive, but there you go. Here’s what Edery had to say about the issue:
Q: And you’re upping the size of Xbox Live Arcade games as well to 350 megabytes?
David Edery: Yeah, it’s a steady progress. We’ve been listening to our partners, listening to our customers to try and get a feel for what’s right. We don’t want the size limit to hit the roof because we think there’s some value in promoting small pick and play experiences that don’t cost USD 20 million, it’s good for the ecosystem.
Source: GamesIndustry ( via Evil Avatar )
May 13, 2008 – 9:40 pm
The guys at Penny Arcade have been working with Hothead Games to develop their own game for a while now, and it’s finally on the verge of being released. Or On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, rather, as that’s the game’s mouthy title. The game will be released episodically beginning on May 21 for the XBox 360, Windows, Mac, and Linux, for around $20 (or 1600 MS Points). That’s a pretty hefty price tag for a XBox Live Arcade release, so here’s hoping the game actually delivers the goods. With legendary developer Ron (Maniac Mansion / Monkey Island) Gilbert on the crew, though, I have a feeling it’ll be good stuff.
Source: Official Website
May 13, 2008 – 10:06 am
Following the releases of Catan, Carcassonne, and Lost Cities, another board game with a big fandom following is on the way to the XBox Live Arcade. This time it’s Days of Wonder’s Ticket To Ride, a strategy game that has players competing to build cross-country railroad routes. Here’s the official word:
It’s official: another popular board game will join the Xbox LIVE Arcade games lineup. Alan R. Moon’s award-winning railway building game “Ticket to Ride” will be rolling in to XBLA this summer.
Developed by Playful Entertainment, “Ticket to Ride” challenges players to plan cross-country rail routes across North America and visit all the city stops in-between, racking up points as they race to reach the most destinations. The game will support play with up to five people on Xbox Live or four people on the same console and supports the Xbox LIVE Vision Cam for hours of family-friendly fun.
If you want to get a jump on how to play the game, take a look at Scott Nicholson’s instructive video at his website: Link
May 12, 2008 – 1:05 pm
This week’s XBox Live Arcade release will be Sierra Online’s Assault Heroes 2, the sequel to the previous XBLA hit that recently got a price reduction. From the official press release:
“Assault Heroes 2″ reveals that the original enemy in “Assault Heroes” is merely a pawn of a more sinister force, which players must now seek out and destroy. Armed with stronger weaponry and the ability to hi-jack more powerful enemy units, players must prepare to face relentless enemies and outrageous bosses in climactic battles, including an all-out skirmish in outer space.
In the sequel, players can experience the full fury of war outside of the safety of their vehicle with even more intense on-foot gameplay, where increased firepower and the new dodge roll feature are necessary to survive. Players can choose to fight alone or battle with a friend using the enhanced two-player cooperative mode. Either way, players will travel through diverse and interactive environments on land and in space to overcome the newest enemy and save mankind.
Assault Heroes 2 rolls onto the Arcade this Wednesday for 800 MS Points ($10).
Source: Gamerscore Blog
May 5, 2008 – 12:58 pm
Last week didn’t see any new games released on the XBox Live Arcade, probably a prudent move as Micrsoft dodged the Grand Theft Auto 4 bullet. GTA4 is still crazily popular, but the Arcade is poking its head back up this week for the release of Wits & Wagers, based on the popular board game from North Star Games. Wits and Wagers is a wagering game that allows players to bet on or against other players’ abilities to answer trivia questions. The XBLA version will support up to 6 player multiplayer, features over 700 questions, and interestingly integrates the use of the Big Button Controller, last (and only) used for the XBox 360 Scene It! game.
Wits & Wagers will cost 800 MS Points ($10) and will hit the Arcade on Wednesday.
Source: Gamerscore Blog
April 30, 2008 – 8:00 am
Photo by M.J.S.
This week there are no new games to download on the XBox Live Arcade. Feel free to speculate about why this may be, but I suspect it has something to do with a fellow named Niko and his cousin’s cab company.
April 23, 2008 – 9:42 am
Sierra Online’s Lost Cities hit the XBox Live Arcade today for 800 MS Points ($10). Is it worth the investment? Read on for my review!
Read More »
April 21, 2008 – 3:17 pm
Major Nelson has announced that this week’s addition to the XBox Live Arcade will be Lost Cities, an adaptation of a popular Eurogame that’s being brought to the XBox 360 by Sierra Online. It will be selling for 800 MS Points ($10), and I think this will be a must-buy for me, given my love for odd card and board games. I linked to this video once before, when the game’s development was initially announced, but it warrants another link now that the game’s being released. Lost Cities hits on Wednesday, but you can get a jump on things by learning how to play now from board game aficionado Scott Nicholson at Board Games With Scott: Link.
Source: Major Nelson
April 16, 2008 – 9:35 pm
Battlezone hit the XBox Live Arcade today with a pricetag of 400 MS Points ($5). The game is an update of the old Atari tank-fighting game from 1980, remade by Stainless Games (Crystal Quest, etc). Battlezone was pretty revolutionary back in the day, with its wireframe vector graphics that was one of the closest things you could get to 3D gaming back then. Does the game age well, and does the new version wow as much as the original did?
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