Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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The pricing is right. I am pleased. It's worth paying $5 for a classic arcade game when you can play it online with friends. GW for $5 and Mutant Storm for $10 are bargains. The games that are PC ports/upgrades are actually cheaper to buy on the 360.

The street value of the Live Premium Pack components (including Billiards) is $87.50, $107.50 if you include the rebate. I'll buy that at Best Buy for $65.
 
Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 games that will be available on November 22nd include:

* Bankshot Billiards 2™ (1200 points) – pixelStorm, Inc.
* Bejeweled 2 (800 points) – Popcap Games
* Gauntlet (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Geometry Wars Retro Evolved (400 points) – Bizzare Creations
* Hardwood Backgammon (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
* Hardwood Hearts (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
* Hardwood Spades (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
* Hexic® HD (full version included free with Xbox 360 System) – Microsoft Game Studios
* Joust (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Mutant Storm Reloaded (800 points) – PomPom Games
* Outpost Kaloki (800 points) – Wahoo Studios
* Robotron 2084 (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Smash TV (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Wik: Fable of Souls (800 points) – Reflexive Entertainment
* Zuma (800 points) – Popcap Games

I think it was a typo cause I noticed they edited it now. So here's the deal 1600 points is $20, what I'm wondering is if I can just buy the stuff outright without having to buy any fucking points. Honestly it's such a stupid abstraction to the cost of goods and the only merit I see is it works globally.

So 80 points is the equivalent of a dollar, here's some really choice stuff you can buy with it. So there are gamer pictures which are $0.25 a piece, and there are themes which are just shy of $2 at the tune 150 points. How fucking stupid is this? It's like paying for buddy icons and avatars, granted the price is insignificant but are people stupid enough to do it? I mean at one point people paid for screen savers. Does MS allow people to create their own and upload it or do we just have to abide by their fucking limited and lame choices? Depending on how elaborate the themes are I may look into that but I think they're just background images. Hopefully devs will start shipping this content on the games cause so far other than the Live arcade games microtransactions are bullshit. Good article though.
 
D3VI0US said:
So 80 points is the equivalent of a dollar, here's some really choice stuff you can buy with it. So there are gamer pictures which are $0.25 a piece, and there are themes which are just shy of $2 at the tune 150 points. How fucking stupid is this? It's like paying for buddy icons and avatars, granted the price is insignificant but are people stupid enough to do it? I mean at one point people paid for screen savers. Does MS allow people to create their own and upload it or do we just have to abide by their fucking limited and lame choices? Depending on how elaborate the themes are I may look into that but I think they're just background images. Hopefully devs will start shipping this content on the games cause so far other than the Live arcade games microtransactions are bullshit. Good article though.
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People pay through the nose for ringtones/phone wallpapers all the time. This will do well. :)
 
krypt0nian said:
People pay through the nose for ringtones/phone wallpapers all the time. This will do well. :)
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Yeah meanwhile I transfer that shit over from my computer, it's like what a bunch of chumps. Sad.
 
Whether you want every aspect of it for yourself, the new Live community/achievements/Arcade/Marketplace is just fucking brilliant. I am stunned at just how well thought out and designed this is, and it's only release 1.0. Arcade and Achievements are the real deal, and it looks like DLC is really going to grow. I'm having a freakin' blast playing Guitar Hero on my PS2, but I'd like it even more if I could buy new songs over Live, and compare my performance achievements to my friends, on-screen. Nintendo and Sony need to copy the shit out of this.
 
I'm glad pricing has finally been announced. $5 for online Smash / Joust / Gauntlet rocks. Mutant Storm, Bankshot Billiards and Geometry Wars are priced perfectly in my mind :).

The reason you have to buy points is because of credit card fees. If we let you buy a $5 game directly, we'd end up paying something like $0.25 to the credit card company. If we make you buy $20 worth of points, we only pay something like $0.30 to the credit card company. This way there is more money going to the game developer (to encourage them to make more games) and to us (so we can afford to make more games). This is even more true for things like $0.99 song downloads.

That list of games is our desired day one portfolio. If all those games pass certification, they'll all be up on Nov. 22nd. If they don't they will be released shortly after.

As far as Marble Blast - it's still slated for the "launch window". It should be out in December, but it's possible it won't launch until January.
 
* Bankshot Billiards 2™ (1200 points) – pixelStorm, Inc.
* Bejeweled 2 (800 points) – Popcap Games
* Gauntlet (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Geometry Wars Retro Evolved (400 points) – Bizzare Creations
* Hardwood Backgammon (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
* Hardwood Hearts (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
* Hardwood Spades (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
* Hexic® HD (full version included free with Xbox 360 System) – Microsoft Game Studios
* Joust (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Mutant Storm Reloaded (800 points) – PomPom Games
* Outpost Kaloki (800 points) – Wahoo Studios
* Robotron 2084 (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Smash TV (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Wik: Fable of Souls (800 points) – Reflexive Entertainment
* Zuma (800 points) – Popcap Games

I'll be buying all of the bolded titles on day one.
 
Jesiatha said:
The reason you have to buy points is because of credit card fees. If we let you buy a $5 game directly, we'd end up paying something like $0.25 to the credit card company. If we make you buy $20 worth of points, we only pay something like $0.30 to the credit card company. This way there is more money going to the game developer (to encourage them to make more games) and to us (so we can afford to make more games). This is even more true for things like $0.99 song downloads.
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That's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the points, I just feel kinda silly using points as currency. Can you do custom gamer tiles and themes yet Jes? I mean Penny Arcade will have some so I would hope eventually everyone will be able to do it perhaps in a later release.
 
Seems like MS is copying the mobile phone industry to a tee. Faceplates, prepay cards, indy games.

Brilliant!!! There are alot of microtransactions to be had and the more money made the more can be put in game development and to programmers. :D
 
SanjuroTsubaki said:
* Smash TV (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment

ARE ANY OF THESE MULTIPLAYER ON LIVE!??!
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I assume you meant to post a few more, but all of the Midway games are multiplayer on Live.

Joust is two player co-op and versus (add points together or compete for the high score)
Gauntlet is up to four player co-op
Smash TV is two player co-op
Robotron is strange - one person moves one shoots. This is the least interesting, IMHO.

Custom gamer pictures will not be available at launch, and I don't know if they're planned at all. Custom themes - you can use a picture from a Windows PC or (I think) from a digital camera as your dashboard background. If you want a "true" theme (with a different picture for each of the four blades) you need to use one from a game or downloaded from Marketplace.
 
Jesiatha said:
I assume you meant to post a few more, but all of the Midway games are multiplayer on Live.

Joust is two player co-op and versus (add points together or compete for the high score)
Gauntlet is up to four player co-op
Smash TV is two player co-op
Robotron is strange - one person moves one shoots. This is the least interesting, IMHO.

Custom gamer pictures will not be available at launch, and I don't know if they're planned at all. Custom themes - you can use a picture from a Windows PC or (I think) from a digital camera as your dashboard background. If you want a "true" theme (with a different picture for each of the four blades) you need to use one from a game or downloaded from Marketplace.
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Fan-tas-tic!

I'm still waiting for my Poker game btw :D

Are these the only XBLA games at launch, or will there be any more surprises?

Are there any Marketplace points included when you get the console?
 
123rl said:
Fan-tas-tic!

I'm still waiting for my Poker game btw :D

Are these the only XBLA games at launch, or will there be any more surprises?

Are there any Marketplace points included when you get the console?
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The list Jeff-DSA has sounds like the entire launch portfolio. Hopefully all of those games will be available on the 22nd.

After that, I think Marble Blast, Hoopworld, and the next Mutant Storm are the only announced titles. There will be a lot more stuff coming and I'm really excited about the next batch of Arcade announcements.

I don't think you get any marketplace points with the console (there wasn't a card in the retail boxes we got a while back). I think they're only included if you get the Live kits available in stores. Those are a great deal - a free copy of either Joust or Bankshot Billiards, a coupon towards your next retail game purchase, a couple bucks on marketplace, plus a 3 or 12 month Live subscription.
 
Massive XBLA Interview

This sucker is huge and informative...

Some tidbits:
- Bundles are possible and likely
- Games over 64 MB are possible
- A lot of games from the ear 90's arcade era can fit under 64 MB now (NBA Jam anyone?)
- Peripheral support is possible (light guns)
 
SanjuroTsubaki said:
* Smash TV (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment

ARE ANY OF THESE MULTIPLAYER ON LIVE!??!
Click to expand...
I've been having a blast playing Gauntlet XBL with some friends who have devkits :D
 
PanopticBlue said:
Are the graphics for Joust, Gauntlet, Smashtv and Robotron enhanced in any way?
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Yes. Each game (except maybe Smash - I don't remember offhand) supports an "enhanced" mode with higher res sprites as well as a "classic" mode with the originals.
 
DrDogg said:
Massive XBLA Interview

This sucker is huge and informative...

Some tidbits:
- Bundles are possible and likely
- Games over 64 MB are possible
- A lot of games from the ear 90's arcade era can fit under 64 MB now (NBA Jam anyone?)
- Peripheral support is possible (light guns)
Click to expand...
thanks for the interview.

Greg Canessa: It's going to be both actually. At launch we're going to have a nice mix of the retro coin-op, classic stuff and titles that maybe have existed on other platforms and have been upgraded for 360,

i stopped reading right there. now i'm really fucking excited about the games that existed on other platforms (thank God) coming to the 360 (with upgraded gfx!!)

Castlevania IV
Shinobi's Revenge
Bonk
Contra IV

PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!
 
Jesiatha said:
Robotron is strange - one person moves one shoots. This is the least interesting, IMHO.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that sounds very awkward and pointless. But since Robotron is the greatest video game of all-time, it's worth the purchase anyway. :D
 
DrDogg said:
Massive XBLA Interview

This sucker is huge and informative...

Some tidbits:
- Bundles are possible and likely
- Games over 64 MB are possible
- A lot of games from the ear 90's arcade era can fit under 64 MB now (NBA Jam anyone?)
- Peripheral support is possible (light guns)
Click to expand...

Great interview. One of the things that adds to the whole Arcade situation, is just how enthusiastic everybody working on the Arcade system feels towards it. I sense a lot of genuine passion from the developers, not just the usual PR-speak, and that's really refreshing.
 
One of the things that adds to the whole Arcade situation, is just how enthusiastic everybody working on the Arcade system feels towards it. I sense a lot of genuine passion from the developers, not just the usual PR-speak, and that's really refreshing.
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Agreed. This has the potential to be absolutely big. I can't wait!
 
I hope Square follows Bizarre's example and releases Tetra Master as a seperate optional purchase via Live Arcade...It's the only aspect of FFXI I truly miss and it'd do so much better in a community that isn't trying to get the most of their monthly fees via doing nothing but level grind or camp rare mobs.
 
GAUNTLET OVER LIVE WITH VOICE CHAT?!?!?
Sorry...I had to let that out. That's freakin awesome!

Imagine TMNT over Live as well! NBA Jam...MK, SF...so much potential, and it looks like it may be realized!
 
Fight for Freeform said:
GAUNTLET OVER LIVE WITH VOICE CHAT?!?!?
Sorry...I had to let that out. That's freakin awesome!

Imagine TMNT over Live as well! NBA Jam...MK, SF...so much potential, and it looks like it may be realized!
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I will play you over LIVE with voice chat, in fact.

But I get valkyrie, k? :D
 
i just read the whole int. & it just gets better, these guys really thought this whole XBLA thing through. going in between old-school & upgraded gfx in real-time with just the pause button. this is great stuff.

So what we've done is two quick things to those games. The first thing we did is we actually tweaked the graphics a little bit; we "up-resed" them for high definition. So it's pretty cool in a minor way. If you look at Joust, the little guys are "up-resed" a little bit so they're not blocky, the little jousters. And if you don't want that, you want total old-school and you're a purist, you can actually turn that off in the options menu in real-time and go back to the original graphics
 
I hope Square follows Bizarre's example and releases Tetra Master as a seperate optional purchase via Live Arcade...It's the only aspect of FFXI I truly miss and it'd do so much better in a community that isn't trying to get the most of their monthly fees via doing nothing but level grind or camp rare mobs.
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Oh man, once Square starts developing for the 36, I'd love to see some of the FF side-games make it onto Arcade. That would be too fun.

But, yeah, XBLArcade is really turning into quite a draw.
 
Jesiatha, on the subject Texas Hold'em, whenever that's out...

Do you know if the "suits" are open to allowing gamers to gamble their Marketplace Points?

They could take the slowly, slowly approach by not allowing any points to be withdrawn to your bank account meaning you'd have to spend whatever you won at the Marketplace.

"I'm all in for 2500 points"

*doubles up* - yay

"Later guys, I'm off to the Arcade to buy Marble Blast Ultra and a few more PDZ themes"
 
Gambling in games would be even better.

We would have a new breed of hardcore gambling gaming addicts. :D

Isn't their a service similar to paypal that allows people to gamble over PC games? I came across an article not long ago but forgot to read it.
 
Spinning Plates said:
Jesiatha, on the subject Texas Hold'em, whenever that's out...

Do you know if the "suits" are open to allowing gamers to gamble their Marketplace Points?

They could take the slowly, slowly approach by not allowing any points to be withdrawn to your bank account meaning you'd have to spend whatever you won at the Marketplace.

"I'm all in for 2500 points"

*doubles up* - yay

"Later guys, I'm off to the Arcade to buy Marble Blast Ultra and a few more PDZ themes"
Click to expand...

i think there's a problem with that because of gambling laws and the fact that you can't guarantee restriction to a required age group (which normally adults are the only ones allowed to gamble)

So even though I have no clue as to the official answer, I'd say you're most likely looking at no :P
 
krypt0nian said:
I'm thinking that the looong list of different statutes across not only the US but all the countries involved will unfortunately nix that.
Click to expand...

For what reasons?

Reasons for...

No under 18's allowed to gamble.

Only people who are authenticated by a debit/credit card allowed to play.

Cash equivalent of your Marketplace points is not transferable back to your bank account.
 
Spinning Plates said:
For what reasons?

Reasons for...

No under 18's allowed to gamble.

Only people who are authenticated by a debit/credit card allowed to play.

Cash equivalent of your Marketplace points is not transferable back to your bank.
Click to expand...


You'll need a staff of lawyers to answer that defintively.
 
DopeyFish said:
i think there's a problem with that because of gambling laws and the fact that you can't guarantee restriction to a required age group (which normally adults are the only ones allowed to gamble)

So even though I have no clue as to the official answer, I'd say you're most likely looking at no :P
Click to expand...

But kids are able to access gambling sites via a PC so why should we hold that against the 360?
 
Spinning Plates said:
Do you know if the "suits" are open to allowing gamers to gamble their Marketplace Points?
Click to expand...

I'm all but certain that having "real" gambling is a no-no. We don't have it on the MSN Games website, nobody else has done it on Live, and I'm pretty sure we won't have it in Arcade.
 
It was a tough decision, but after seeing the GeoWars vid, I have to get the following 4 games on launch day (along with PD0). Grand Total $15

* Gauntlet (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Geometry Wars Retro Evolved (400 points) – Bizzare Creations
* Hexic® HD (full version included free with Xbox 360 System) – Microsoft Game Studios
* Joust (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment

I may get one or two of the following games... depending on the demos.

* Mutant Storm Reloaded (800 points) – PomPom Games
* Outpost Kaloki (800 points) – Wahoo Studios
* Wik: Fable of Souls (800 points) – Reflexive Entertainment
* Zuma (800 points) – Popcap Games

Although I have yet to get my hands on it... I certainly beleive that XBL Arcade will become a top selling point for the 360. I'm so glad that they listened to the input from gamers about XBL Arcade on Xbox.
 
jedimike said:
It was a tough decision, but after seeing the GeoWars vid, I have to get the following 4 games on launch day (along with PD0). Grand Total $15

* Gauntlet (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
* Geometry Wars Retro Evolved (400 points) – Bizzare Creations
* Hexic® HD (full version included free with Xbox 360 System) – Microsoft Game Studios
* Joust (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment

I may get one or two of the following games... depending on the demos.

* Mutant Storm Reloaded (800 points) – PomPom Games
* Outpost Kaloki (800 points) – Wahoo Studios
* Wik: Fable of Souls (800 points) – Reflexive Entertainment
* Zuma (800 points) – Popcap Games

Although I have yet to get my hands on it... I certainly beleive that XBL Arcade will become a top selling point for the 360. I'm so glad that they listened to the input from gamers about XBL Arcade on Xbox.
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That's exatcly my plan. 4 + demos.....hoping that Outpost Kaloki turns out great!
 
Jesiatha said:
I'm all but certain that having "real" gambling is a no-no. We don't have it on the MSN Games website, nobody else has done it on Live, and I'm pretty sure we won't have it in Arcade.
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that's absolutely ok, as far as I'm concerned :) .. I don't think many people feel an urge to gamble on their consoles or anything like that, anyway :lol
 
Cerebral Palsy said:
Does Joust have online play?
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Why yes it does.

Jesiatha said:
I assume you meant to post a few more, but all of the Midway games are multiplayer on Live.

Joust is two player co-op and versus (add points together or compete for the high score)
Gauntlet is up to four player co-op
Smash TV is two player co-op
Robotron is strange - one person moves one shoots. This is the least interesting, IMHO.
Click to expand...
 
Oh man this is just nuts....

puebla said:
thanks for the interview.

Greg Canessa: It's going to be both actually. At launch we're going to have a nice mix of the retro coin-op, classic stuff and titles that maybe have existed on other platforms and have been upgraded for 360,

i stopped reading right there. now i'm really fucking excited about the games that existed on other platforms (thank God) coming to the 360 (with upgraded gfx!!)

Castlevania IV
Shinobi's Revenge
Bonk
Contra IV

PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!
Click to expand...


Man, I echo your post big time!

Capcom....you need to get your beat 'em ups and puzzle fighter game on there


******************N-O-W******************


DO YOU HEAR ME CAPCOM?????!!!!!!!!

I want Puzzle Fighter II, D&D Shadow Over Mystaria, Aliens vs Predator, The Punisher and Final Fight......A-FUCKING-SAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD....DO YOU REALIZE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE PLAYING OLD SNK NEO-GEO CLASSICS LIKE METAL SLUG 2, BASEBALL STARS, TOP HUNTER, SHOCK TROOPERS, SENGUKU II, MAGICIAN LORD AND PULSTAR OVER XBOX LIVE?????????????????????????????

I WOULD MAKE LOVE TO MY XBOX 360 DAY IN AND DAY OUT!!!!!!!!

Don't for get Midway and the MK series!!!! Imagine Mortal Kombat II and UMK3 over live!!!!!!!!! I could finally play Anyankya and see if she's the resident MK expert 'round these parts that everyone thinks she is :D :D :D


Xbox Live Arcade for the WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
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