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Publishers Embrace Xbox Live Arcade
With many of the high profile 'launch window' titles still coming, the Xbox Live Arcade is one of the most entertaining elements to the Xbox 360. Joystiq posts about a recent Major Nelson podcast in which he interviews the general manager of the Xbox Live Arcade. Big-name publishers are jumping on board, and they plan numerous additions to the service in the coming months. From the post: "Just one important caveat: the Xbox Live Arcade party lasts only so long as Microsoft plays the gatekeeper role well. If the company softens its standards and starts to include mediocre titles for download, gamer trust and interest in the service will decline rapidly. So far, they're on the right path. Geometry Wars--that little $5.00 Xbox Live Arcade title that has surprised and delighted the majority of those who have given it a shot--still reigns as the top Xbox 360 title in our book."
Sounds like the arguments my friends and I used to have in college about who would do the homework and let us all copy it.
But to get serious... as my roommates and I are looking to get an Xbox 360 for our living room HDTV... hearing someone say that a $5 downloadable title (even if it is sort of his baby) is the best 360 game so far is a bit discouraging.
Bury me in mashed potatoes.
There have been multiple stories lately about the rise of casual gaming. Even at $5 for geometry wars (which is the most expensive one I believe??), you can buy 12 for the price of one major "published" game.
Even being able to download a bunch of demos was really a great idea.
Microsoft is trying to take over the gaming market through online. Not just marketplace, but also the amazing online support within major games and the ability to send/recieve text and voice messages.
$5 a game is nice but there's a $400 entrance fee. When you can pay less than $100 for a system and $5 per download, then you'll see the casual gamers come out of the woodwork for console gaming.