Xbox Live Arcade games being released to the retail real world

Xbox Live Arcade Retail Surprise
>> From next-gen.biz:

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Encouraged by the success of Live Arcade, Microsoft is planning to bring some of its downloadable games to retail.

Xbox chief Peter Moore is pushing to extend the Live Arcade brands to retail, arguing internally that original games like Geometry Wars, retro hits like Smash TV and casual games like Hardwood Hearts will extend Xbox 360's appeal to non-hardcore audiences.
The company is seeking to offer the games to the 'other 50%' of gamers that have not signed up to Xbox Live, while using the titles to showcase the platform as a welcoming destination.

Makes sense to me. I like the downloadable stuff, but I also like having a case and instruction manual in addition to the ability to play the game on whatever console I want and let whoever play it that I want. I'd bet that they'll cost more if you buy them in stores though.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It makes sense really. Ever since they released those downloadable maps for Halo 2 into stores it showed they wanted to make stuff like that available to gamers offline.

If they're sensible they'll not charge too much for these. The price Nintendo thinks it can get away with for "Arcade classics" on the DS is laughable.

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I agree that this is definitely a clever move by MS. Plus, some people don't want to buy the MS point cards either and just want certain games (like me).

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

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If they're sensible they'll not charge too much for these. The price Nintendo thinks it can get away with for "Arcade classics" on the DS is laughable.

What's the cost for those downloads? And those are NES games right?

That would be interesting to see how Microsoft does this. I am sure it would have to cost less than 10 bucks. Also, does this mean you can install on to multiple consoles? Or what happens if I say logged my profile on to someone elses xbox. Could I redownload what I already paid for else where?

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Originally Posted by TonyDaTigger

What's the cost for those downloads? And those are NES games right?

That would be interesting to see how Microsoft does this. I am sure it would have to cost less than 10 bucks. Also, does this mean you can install on to multiple consoles? Or what happens if I say logged my profile on to someone elses xbox. Could I redownload what I already paid for else where?

No, I'm talking about the DS game "Nintendo classics" which is basically four old Atari games (Space invaders clone, breakout clone etc) retailing at full game price, about £30 over here. Our chocoarcade here has all those things completely gratis and yet Nintendo reckon someone will pay the same price as they would for any DS game for them. Surely nobody's that dumb?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Sounds like a great idea, but I think buying these off of retail will kind of defeat one of the main points of the game, which is to upload your high scores online and compare to the rest of the world.

Yes, you can still enjoy the games offline, but I do enjoy seeing my score when compared to the rest of the leaderboards.

Though perhaps it may be for the better, as the majority of high scores on the leaderboards are nothing but a blow to the ego, and make your score look measly by comparison =p

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

As far as uploading and comparing scores online, both the downloadable and retail-purchasable versions will be exactly the same. What the fuck are you talking about. Either you're connected to XBL or you're not; which version you buy doesn't matter.

FELIPE NO

He means that a significant amount of the charm of the games is lost when you don't have internet leaderboards. One assumes that people who buy the game in a store won't have leaderboards because if they actually had XBOX Live they'd just download it.

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Yea, that's what I was aiming at ieatjackets.

Apparently, Tube took it upon himself to just get hostile and not read what I posted thoroughly.

Thanks for further explaining it though.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I have an Xbox Live account and I'd still buy them in the store over downloading them if the option were available. So you still aren't making sense by saying it's safe to assume that you only buy them at retail if you don't have XBL.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Still, wouldn't you agree that most people that opt to buy it in a store (probably for more money) probably don't have XBL?

Yeah speaking of which, there is no way they're selling it for $5 in stores. Just not cost efficent considering they have to press discs and then distribute them.

Most likely they'll do bundles of some sort with multiple games and sell them for $20. That's my guess.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Devo

With the in store purchases you don't have to keep charging your credit card either, you can just walk into the store, throw down your cash and purchase the item. I'm sure many people would love to slow down the charges made to their card.

And here we have my reason for preferring an in-store purchase rather than a download. Especially since the card I used to set up my live account is expired.

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In this post, there is gigantic box art revealed!



I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Devo

I'd say you're full of shit. Plenty of people would buy in store arcade/360 products rather than download them because of the errors that can occur over live. Also some people might just buy them in store for nostalgia sake, since (hopefully) they might have nice cover art and such.

With the in store purchases you don't have to keep charging your credit card either, you can just walk into the store, throw down your cash and purchase the item. I'm sure many people would love to slow down the charges made to their card.

You're not looking at the big picture. I'm speaking in generalities, and in general people will prefer the easier, quicker, and probably cheaper way to get a game.

For those with XBL, it's most likely easier downloading the game from a service they already subscribe to rather than trekking all the way to the store and picking up the game, probably with a premium attached to the price due to its tangability.

Sometimes one has to look beyond their own personal situation and use some educated guessing to draw generalized conclusions.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Sweet sweet, Geometry Wars...I really wanna get that game but I have no Microsoft points *harumph*

This makes me happy.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Devo

I'd say you don't have reading comprehension, plenty of people here who actually play live have said they'd purchase in store regardless of your opinions on lazyness.

As I've said before I think in-store purchases by Live users will surpass offline users. Games still have to be purchased in stores, so just how far do you think people have to trek to buy the arcade games?

It doesn't matter if buying on Live is faster, it's not always more convenient when you factor in the fact that people have to keep purchasing points in order to buy games. It's actually easier to just pick up a bunch of arcade games when you're at the store getting a game. Not all arcade games require the same amount of points, so actually a Live user probably spends more money buying blocks of points. People who don't want to keep charging their card, and really only use it for their Live account, will no longer have to dip into their credit or savings/checking accounts. Now they can just give the cash upfront.

So really it is you who isn't looking at the "bigger picture."

Then what we have here is a difference in educated guessing. Only difference is you're taking your situation and a handful of others and expanding it to everyone. I'm not taking anyone's situation and instead just logically reasoning that people are far more likely to do what is easier and quicker. Almost always, that should be downloading from XBL.

You say that it's not relevant that it is quicker, but I think it is. Which would you rather do--drive 10 miles to the next city to buy some milk or buy some for the same price down the block, although you have to use a credit card? This is pretty much the issue, here. I'm going to say the majority would just bite the minor bullet of using a credit card and just go down the block. If you dispute this there isn't much I can say that will change your mind.

I have a feeling that you're weighing your personal aversion to credit cards far too heavily in this issue. Most people have no problem using their credit cards as it is actually more convenient than cash as evidenced by the growing number of credit transactions and the decreasing number of cash ones (in the USA in general).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by ieatjackets

Then what we have here is a difference in educated guessing. Only difference is you're taking your situation and a handful of others and expanding it to everyone.

So perhaps this thread is a microcosm of the real and actual world {just an educated guess here}. Basically, there are seven people saying that they welcome this idea. There are two people saying that the idea stinks. I think that it is highly likely that your educated guess needs to spend some more time in the classroom.

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I have a feeling that you're weighing your personal aversion to credit cards far too heavily in this issue.

I have a feeling that you're weighing your agoraphobia too heavily in this issue.

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And we still haven't even gotten into the issue of having a hardware failure of some sort. Let's say your hard drive gets toasted for one reason or another. While you're sitting there re-downloading your games, I'm quickly loading mine off this handy disc I foolishly bought at the store, you know, that day when I made my customary weekly stop at my local Gamestop during my lunch break.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This thread has taught me that everybody who owns an Xbox 360 automatically has broadband. Microsoft you're so silly! Releasing games in shops. What is this, 2005?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

If you download arcade games off of XBL, you're restricted to using it on one console. If you ever want to play it on a different console, you'd have to transport your whole XBL account to it too and sign in every time anyone wants to play it. I have this feeling that eventually my 360 will die and I'll have to get a new one and deal with all the restrictions of playing my arcade games on a console other than the one they were first downloaded to, even though I paid for them.

If I buy it at retail, I can bring it to a friend's house, let someone borrow it, not waste hard drive space (20 GB is tiny, and a bunch of 50mb games will add up by time there are like 50-100 out). Plus, I enjoy having additional game cases to compliment my DVD/game library. Downloadable digital games is a good idea, but with all the restrictions it comes with to prevent Microsoft from losing a couple bucks, it's actually all a failed concept and I'd rather just have a physical disc instead.

The extra price would be worth it to me to avoid the many annoyances of downloading the games, and only a fucking moron would really just assume that the vast majority of people buying a game at retail don't have XBL. And you know the games will come with a free trial to XBL, which means even a good number of people who buy it without XBL will have it shortly after anyway.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Random posts deleted for STFU. Seriously, what the fuck is the point of arguing what you think people will or won't buy? I didn't know you guys worked for Microsoft's marketing division.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I've never once had a game disc ever had any problems due to scratches, ever since games started coming out on CDs over a decade ago. Also,

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You have encouraged me to go on a quest to find out exactly how your live downloads happens if your original Xbox goes kaput or you create a profile on a friend's machine. Though unless Microsoft is completely insane I am sure you can always redownload that content once you paid for it.

Yes, I'd be able to redownload it, but there are more restrictions in place when you have the game on a console other than the one you originally downloaded it to. So I'd be able to play it, but my friends/family would no longer to also play it, UNLESS I am signed into my XBL account while they play it. Cool as ass.

How ya doing, buddy?

I pretty much hate all kinds of digital downloads. They're just another opportunity to get screwed over by technical problems. If your account is inaccessable for whatever reason, you're basically locked out of everything you've purchased. I have yet to find a good reason to buy things online instead of getting them at a store, ironically it's often cheaper getting things through a retail store as well. On that issue, have they mentioned the price for this disc? Geometry Wars alone is $5, what else will actually be included on the disc?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?