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Publishers Embrace Xbox Live Arcade

Posted by Zonk on from the best-part-of-the-system-so-far dept.

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."

12 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. It's nice to see some classics coming back by casualsax3 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Street Fighter II is making an appearance, with some interesting new features very similar to what DOA Ultimate saw. It's a nice new take on a classic fighter. http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/06/street-fighter-i i-goin-all-out-on-360s-live-arcade/

  2. Geometry Wars? by kevin.fowler · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.
    1. Re:Geometry Wars? by wedgewu · · Score: 3, Informative
      I'd say that Geometry Wars IS one of the best games on the Xbox360 right now. The thing you're misunderstanding is that this doesn't mean that the other games are any worse than you would expect, but rather that Geometry Wars is just phenomenal.

      That is, of course, if you play games for FUN, rather than just pretty shiny graphics...

    2. Re:Geometry Wars? by tgd · · Score: 2, Informative

      Eh, there are good games for the 360, but I've played enough Geometry Wars, Hexic and Zuma to more than justify $400 just for the time I've spent on them alone.

      Add a couple Saturdays blown on Kameo, and its really a no brainer to me. These are good games. If you're a poor college student who games 50 hours a week, you'll run out of good stuff to play, but there are a LOT of people who play games who only pay an hour or two a day.

  3. Casual gaming by the+computer+guy+nex · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Casual gaming by EngineeringMarvel · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Live Arcade is something that interest me. I haven't bought a console since Super Nintendo. Reason being, the console market never really interest me since the games I mostly like to play are usually built for the computer. I really enjoyed Street Fighter II, Super Mario Brothers 3, Mario Kart, etc. I did play a lot of James Bond, FFVII, and Zelda a bunch, but that was in college on other people's consoles.

      The Arcade idea is something that might bring me to buying a console as it is something a computer does not give me, or atleast give it to me effeciently. I say that because for about every 10 demos I download to my computer, I'd say one is worth a damn. I'm gonna wait until the Revolution comes out before I really make a decision on if I want a console or not. With the severe lack of fun computer software (only WoW, BF2, and HL2 come to mind out of a 3 year span that were good games) over the last two years and this Arcade idea, I might succomb and return back to the darkside.

      --
      I couldn't think of anything witty to say, so...you're stuck with this.
    2. Re:Casual gaming by generic-man · · Score: 2, Informative

      Geometry Wars is one of the cheaper downloadable games, actually. Zuma is 800 points or $10 US. Many of the other PopCap games sell for about as much for the Xbox 360 as they do for the PC.

      (Take a page out of the Dave & Busters / Jillian's book, you can't buy EXACTLY enough points to buy just one game. To buy Geometry Wars for $5, I had to shell out for at $6.25 or $12.50 worth of points. That's not much more money, but for Microsoft it adds up quickly.)

      --
      For more information, click here.
  4. $5 a game is nice but... by hal2814 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    $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.

    1. Re:$5 a game is nice but... by Jonny_eh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I believe this is what Nintendo is hoping for in its' next system.

    2. Re:$5 a game is nice but... by jchenx · · Score: 2, Interesting

      People tend to forget that there are other games available for the system. :)

      The 360 Live Arcade is supposed a nice bonus feature to the system, not the ONLY reason to get it. Also, I've heard of many stories about guys buying the system, but their girlfriends and wives discovering the Live Arcade and getting hooked. It's a great way to get introduce your significant-other to the wonderful world of gaming, so that she doesn't automatically veto all your future game purchases. ("As long as you let me buy some Arcade games, I'm fine with you getting that new boxing game")

      The only downside is having to share the 360 with her. :)

      (Maybe she can help boost your gamerscore by unlocking Bejeweled 2 and Zuma achievements though!)

      --
      -- jchenx
  5. It's a nice feature by JunkyardCat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not only does it provide more online gaming opportunities, which continues to rise in popularity, but it may well revive a lot of older games. There are a lot of "gone but not forgotten" titles that I'd love to see make a comeback, particularly with some live competition. If the prices remain this low I expect to spend a lot of time on the 360. Umm A lot MORE time :)

  6. Re:They're $5 for a reason. by MHolmesIV · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So you're saying that unless you spend 30 million dollars on a game, it's crap? Well, that may be true if all you're going for is eyecandy, but you don't need stupendous graphics for really fun and addictive gameplay.

    Seriously, considering the "quality" of the big name games out there, I'd encourage the "independants" all I could. Some of the best games I've ever played were made by tiny independant game makers. (Popcap games, Star Control 2 and The Horde by "Toys for Bob", Starscape by Moonpod). All I see when I look at the big game makers are stupid sports games, eyecandy rich Wolfenstein 3d clones, and more and more complex Civilization and Dune 2 clones.

    I'd love to see more of the old style games that are actually fun to play come out for Arcade. For instance, I miss those great top down shooters like "Slapfight" or the really fun puzzle games like Rockford. There are limitless possibilities for revamping old titles that were actually fun, and creating new titles that don't take 300 graphic artists and 3 years to make. And I believe thats's where the XBox will win, not lose the console war.