Xbox Live Arcade
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Xbox Live Arcade is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners. The service was first launched in late 2004 and offers games from about $5 to $15 USD. In late 2005, Xbox Live Arcade was relaunched with the release of the Xbox 360 in which new games and features were offered. The games are generally aimed toward more casual gamers, striving for "pick up and play" appeal. Examples of some of the more popular among them are Small Arms, Lumines Live!, DOOM, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Gauntlet, UNO, and Smash TV.
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[edit] Xbox 360
The service was relaunched beginning November 22, 2005 on the Xbox 360. The Arcade service is integrated with the Dashboard user interface, allowing for distribution through the Xbox Live Marketplace using Microsoft Points. Arcade titles on the Xbox 360 support accurate and up-to-date leaderboards, with high scores linked to a player's gamertag. Players can see where they stand in the Xbox Live community, take a look at the records set by the world's top-ranked players, or see how they match up against individuals on their friends list. Each Xbox Live Arcade title has exactly 12 achievements, which have a total of exactly 200 Gamerscore points.
Consumers are given an option to download trial versions of Xbox Live Arcade titles for free. While these demos are playable, most offer only a fraction of the levels, modes, and content of the full game. A full version of the game must be purchased to allow the user to upload scores to the leaderboards, unlock achievements, play multiplayer, and download bonus content.
All Xbox 360 hard drives come with a free copy of Hexic HD preinstalled.[1]
On October 31, 2006, as part of the Xbox 360 Dashboard's fall update, the Arcade menu received a major overhaul. Included in the update is instant enumeration of arcade games present on the hard drive, more sorting options (including by recently played or by category), an auto download feature for any newly released arcade trial game, and a "tell a friend" feature, which sends a message to a friend about a given game.
[edit] Microsoft Points
Xbox Live Arcade games are purchased using Microsoft Points. Since these points are distributed by Microsoft they are not legal tender, but rather a form of scrip, sold via the Xbox Live user interface. There are multiple advantages to using scrip to facilitate software sales. First, Microsoft Points are not tied to any particular currency, allowing for international use and regional pricing. As these points are a kind of abstraction of worth, potential game buyers might not associate the point value of a product with the actual monetary value. Also, by requiring customers to purchase points in bulk quantities that differ from actual game cost, customers will always have some remaining points that they can "top up" to purchase something else.
[edit] Xbox Live Arcade games for the Xbox 360
The following is the complete list of Xbox Live Arcade titles available for the Xbox 360 console.
| Title | Developer | Release Date | Price | Live Features* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action Arcade | ||||
| Assault Heroes | Wanako Games | December 13, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play |
| Cloning Clyde | NinjaBee | July 19, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play |
| Crystal Quest | Stainless Games | February 7, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Downloadable Content |
| DOOM | id Software | September 27, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play |
| Feeding Frenzy | Sprout Games | March 15, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards |
| Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved | Bizarre Creations | November 22, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards |
| Marble Blast Ultra | GarageGames | January 25, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer |
| Mutant Storm Reloaded | PomPom Games | November 22, 2005 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| RoboBlitz | Naked Sky Entertainment | December 6, 2006 | 1200 Points | Leaderboards |
| Small Arms | Gastronaut Studios | November 22, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play |
| Wik and the Fable of Souls | Reflexive Entertainment | December 15, 2005 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer |
| Bar Sports | ||||
| Bankshot Billiards 2 | PixelStorm | November 22, 2005 | 1200 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Camera Enabled |
| Card and Board | ||||
| Hardwood Backgammon | Silver Creek | December 8, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Multplayer, Camera Enabled |
| Hardwood Hearts | Silver Creek | December 8, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play, Camera Enabled |
| Hardwood Spades | Silver Creek | December 8, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play, Camera Enabled |
| Texas Hold'em | TikGames | August 23, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer |
| TotemBall | Strange Flavour | October 4, 2006 | Free (Camera Needed) | Cooperative Play, Camera Enabled, Downloadable Content |
| UNO | Carbonated Games | May 9, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play, Camera Enabled, Downloadable Content |
| Coin-Op Classics | ||||
| Contra | Konami | November 8, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| Defender | Midway | November 15, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| Dig Dug | Namco | October 11, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards |
| Frogger | Konami | July 12, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer, Cooperative Play |
| Galaga | Namco | July 26, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards |
| Gauntlet | Midway | November 22, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| Joust | Midway | November 22, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| Pac-Man | Namco | August 9, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards |
| Robotron: 2084 | Midway | January 6, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| Scramble | Konami | September 13, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards |
| Smash TV | Midway | November 22, 2005 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Cooperative Play |
| Street Fighter II | Capcom | August 2, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Multiplayer |
| Time Pilot | Konami | August 30, 2006 | 400 Points | Leaderboards, Mulitplayer |
| Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 | Midway | October 21, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Mulitplayer |
| Puzzle and Word | ||||
| AstroPop | PopCap Games | March 22, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards |
| Bejeweled 2 | PopCap Games | November 22, 2005 | 800 Points | Leaderboards |
| Hexic HD | Microsoft Game Studios | November 22, 2005 | Free (w/Hard Drive) | Leaderboards |
| Jewel Quest | iWin Games | March 8, 2006 | 800 Points | Leaderboards |
| Lumines Live! | Q Entertainment | October 18, 2006 | 1200 Points | Leaderboards, Mulitplayer, Downloadable Content |
| Zuma | PopCap Games | November 22, 2005 | 800 Points | Leaderboards |
| Strategy and Sims | ||||
| Outpost Kaloki X | NinjaBee | November 22, 2005 | 800 Points | Leaderboards, Downloadable Content |
[edit] Upcoming games
The following list is of upcoming announced titles, sorted in rough chronological order by planned release date and by category.
[edit] Sales and downloads
Microsoft announced that as of March 10, 2006, 3 million downloads of Xbox Live Arcade games had been made, at least 600,000 of which had been purchased.[2] Also, over 60% of gamers connected to Xbox Live on the Xbox 360 had downloaded a trial version of an Xbox Live Arcade title.[2] In terms of sales, the best selling Xbox 360 titles were Uno, followed by Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Gauntlet, Smash TV, Bejeweled II, and Zuma, in that order.[2]
Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting has become the fastest selling Xbox Live Arcade game to date, with hundreds of games played an hour. [3]
On August 23, 2006, the full version of Texas Hold 'Em was available for free for 48 hours, making it the first fully functional game on the Live Arcade service that was available as free download and not as a demo. At one point during this period, the game peaked out at over 100 downloads per minute. [4]
[edit] Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays
On July 12, 2006, Microsoft launched the "Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays" program,[5] which calls for a new Arcade game to be launched every Wednesday for the rest of the summer. Microsoft also announced that it will have 50 Live Arcade games by the end of 2006.[6] From now on, Arcade games are expected to be released exclusively on Wednesdays.[7]
However, the first game since the "XBLA Wednesdays" that did not release on a Wednesday was Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 which was released on October 20, 2006. The game was accidentally released early instead of the originally intended October 25, 2006 release.[8]
It should be mentioned that as of the last couple of months of 2006, Microsoft has been breaking away from releasing a new game every Wednesday as they originally did in the Summer months. Instead opting for either add-ons or major patches to pre-existing Live Arcade games.[9]
[edit] Xbox
The Xbox Live Arcade service was launched by Microsoft on 3 November 2004 for the original Xbox game console.[10] To publicize the service Microsoft distributed a starter disc that contained the Xbox Live Arcade software and a free version of Ms. Pac Man. Once connected to Xbox Live, customers could purchase additional titles by using a credit card, or download a 30-minute limited trial version of each game.
[edit] Xbox Live Arcade games for the Xbox
The following is a list of Xbox Live Arcade games released for the original Xbox:
| Title | Price | Title | Price | Title | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alien Sky | $9.99 | AstroPop | $9.99 | Atomaders | $9.99 |
| Bankshot Billiards | $9.99 | Bejeweled | $14.99 | Bookworm | $9.99 |
| Dangerous Mines | $9.99 | Dino and Aliens | $9.99 | Feeding Frenzy | $9.99 |
| Fuzzee Fever | $9.99 | Gauntlet | $4.99 | Guardian | $9.99 |
| Hamsterball | $9.99 | Hardwood Solitaire | $9.99 | Joust | $4.99 |
| Marble Blast | $9.99 | Ms. Pac Man | Free | Mutant Storm | $9.99 |
| Namco Vintage | $14.99 | Orbz | $9.99 | Pipeline | $9.99 |
| Ricochet Lost Worlds | $9.99 | Robotron: 2084 | $4.99 | Smash TV | $4.99 |
| Super Collapse II | $9.99 | Think Tanks | $9.99 | Zuma | $14.99 |
[edit] References
- ^ Microsoft Xbox 360 Hard Drive. xbox.com. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2006-07-15.
- ^ a b c Carless, Simon. Q&A: Microsoft Discusses Xbox 360 Live Stats. Gamasutra. CMP.
- ^ Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting Becomes Fastest Selling Xbox Live Arcade Title For Xbox 360. Teamxbox. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
- ^ Texas Hold 'em Review (Xbox 360). Teamxbox. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
- ^ Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays. xbox.com. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2006-07-16.
- ^ Microsoft Launches XBLA Wednesdays. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-07-16.
- ^ Street Fighter II will sell for $10 on Xbox Live. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2006-07-16.
- ^ UMK3 was this Wednesday's Arcade game. ILoveXBLA.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
- ^ Arcade heads up. majornelson.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
- ^ Morris, Chris. "Xbox hugs Ms. Pac Man", CNN, October 14, 2004.
[edit] External links
Official
- Official Xbox Live Arcade website
- Official Japanese Xbox Live Arcade website
- Official Xbox Live Arcade Forums
Fansites
Achievement Points
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