Xbox Live Arcade: One Year Later

[The Continental]

With the online marketplaces of the Wii and PS3 in their infancy, GamePro (http://www.gamepro.com) has decided to take a look back at the first year (http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/features/89348.shtml) of Xbox Live Arcade. The Nintendo Wii's brilliant Virtual Console is garnering a lot of press recently, temporarily overshadowing the considerable virtues of Microsoft's competing online offering: the Xbox Live Marketplace. Launched with the 360 in late 2005, the Marketplace is a virtual potpourri of so-called premium content, ranging from classic arcade games, to more modern diversions, to retail game add-ons. And as of recently, they've slotted downloadable television shows and movies. Much like the Virtual Console's retro line-up, the Marketplace's offerings are uneven, but there's more than enough compelling content to make it an essential part of the 360 experience. Let's see how the whole deal stacks up, now that the store has a year under its belt.Thanks Slashdot (http://games.slashdot.org/).

[GrinR]

The title is misleading, because they're really talking about Xbox Live marketplace. Xbox Live Arcade was released for the original Xbox I think a year before the 360 iteration of it.

Silly Gamepro!

[The Radical Cleric]

Nintendo Wii's 'brilliant' virtual console? You've got to be kidding. How is recycling old games at higher than expected prices 'brilliant'? Because Nintendo did it? :confused:

[UglyPimp]

The article claims there's no discount when buying in bulk which is untrue. Microsoft gives you a slight discount (albeit, not much) for buying bulk points at once.

[DoubleUranium]

Nintendo Wii's 'brilliant' virtual console? You've got to be kidding. How is recycling old games at higher than expected prices 'brilliant'? Because Nintendo did it? :confused:

Don't forget, you're on the internet - everything Nintendo has done or will ever do is brilliant.

[DanAmerson]

Don't forget, you're on the internet - everything Nintendo has done or will ever do is brilliant.

Almost everything. See Odama.

dba

[Roc Ingersol]

XBLMarketplace 1 year later:
most of it is overpriced. (incl. add ons, themes, pics, etc)
most arcade titles are retro shlock done quick and dirty and overpriced.
some of the arcade titles and content are so good as to overshadow the previous two points.

tv and movies for purchase are a disappointment.
the pricing and storage options make a mockery of the service's promise.
it only makes sense if you don't really watch tv, don't really rent movies and don't really plan on taking advantage of the service.

free demos/trailers/etc are nice but the delivery pipeline needs to be ironed out.

MS really needs to add local content caches, so they can loosen up on bandwidth throttling.

Region coding Marketplace content is serious weaksauce.

EDIT: Oh, and EA are whores who demonstrate on a regular basis that XBL was better off without their lame implementations and shameless Marketplace practices.

[GrinR]

I'm dying of curiousity. How well is the marketplace actually doing? I suspect for the loudness of the grousing about microtransactions and overly expensive offerings, the actual number of non-participants doesn't correspond - vocal minority and all that.

[Serapth]

I'm dying of curiousity. How well is the marketplace actually doing? I suspect for the loudness of the grousing about microtransactions and overly expensive offerings, the actual number of non-participants doesn't correspond - vocal minority and all that.


You've just inspired a poll.

[rein]

I'm dying of curiousity. How well is the marketplace actually doing? I suspect for the loudness of the grousing about microtransactions and overly expensive offerings, the actual number of non-participants doesn't correspond - vocal minority and all that.

I was buying into the microtransaction thing for a while. Now I treat them like a real purchase. I take the time to consider spending the money instead of blowing it off as just a few bucks. It starts to add up quickly. Since doing that, I have bought nothing on Live and spent $9.00 in the Sony©Store. Now with 3 different consoles offering microtransactions, it is going to get even more expensive for people who own all three consoles.

[Serapth]

I was buying into the microtransaction thing for a while. Now I treat them like a real purchase. I take the time to consider spending the money instead of blowing it off as just a few bucks. It starts to add up quickly. Since doing that, I have bought nothing on Live and spent $9.00 in the Sony©Store. Now with 3 different consoles offering microtransactions, it is going to get even more expensive for people who own all three consoles.


If only you could get Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to agree on a common point system........


Then again, if only you could get Jews, Christians and Muslims to agree on a common way of life.....

[Dag-Sabot]

Then again, if only you could get Jews, Christians and Muslims to agree on a common way of life.....Then again, I believe they all condemn rape. So I guess we all have more in common than you previously thought.

[Serapth]

Then again, I believe they all condemn rape. So I guess we all have more in common than you previously thought.


Unless its by the husband.


Ok... not going there ;)

[KingGorilla]

Is there an official count on the number of Asteroids wannabes on the Live Arcade yet?

[Serapth]

-Unless your being pedantic.


No, I was being a shit disturber.