Microsoft opens up 360's Xbox Live Arcade

[Phantom]

From Gamespot.com

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6135798.html

Launch games for console's pay-to-play games revealed; long list of publishers on board for support.
Microsoft has finally confirmed the launch games for the Xbox 360...sort of. Speaking at the Digital Life tech show in New York City, Microsoft corporate vice president Peter Moore announced the list of games that will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade service for the Xbox 360 through the holiday season.

The Xbox Live Arcade service lets gamers purchase and download arcade-style games directly to their hard drives. The service is part of the casual games movement, aimed at a broad audience. Pricing has not yet been announced, but most games are expected to sell for fewer than $20.

The titles range from games from the days of coin-op arcades to new content from up-and-coming developers. Classics such as Joust, Robotron 2084, and Smash TV will be available, as will remakes of simple yet addictive games like Crystal Quest (a popular Mac game) and Geometry Wars 2 (originally tucked away in Project Gotham Racing 2). Hexic HD, by Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, will come preinstalled on every Xbox 360 with a hard drive.

The list of games is as follows:


Game Title – Publisher


Astropop – Popcap Games
Bankshot Billiards 2 – pixelStorm, Inc
Bejeweled 2 – Popcap Games
Crystal Quest – Stainless Games
Feeding Frenzy – Popcap Games
Gauntlet – Midway Home Entertainment
Geometry Wars 2 – Bizarre Creations
Hardwood Backgammon – Silver Creek Entertainment
Hardwood Hearts – Silver Creek Entertainment
Hardwood Spades – Silver Creek Entertainment
Hexic HD – Microsoft Game Studios
Hoopworld – Streamline Studios
Jewel Quest – iWin.com
Joust – Midway Home Entertainment
Marble Blast Ultra – GarageGames
Mutant Storm Reloaded – PomPom Games
Outpost Kaloki – Wahoo Studios
Robotron 2084 – Midway Home Entertainment
SmashTV – Midway Home Entertainment
Wik: Fable of Souls – Reflexive Entertainment
Zuma – Popcap Games


Each game will have a free playable demo for gamers to try out. Microsoft expects 35 more games to be available by next summer.

Moore also listed the publishers that will be contributing games to the Xbox Live Arcade service. They are:

Atari
Bizarre Creations
Capcom
Codemasters
CTXM
Digital Eclipse
Electronic Arts
Empire Interactive
Gaia Studios
GameHouse Studios
Garage Games
Gastronaut Studios
Hamster
Harmonix
HipSoft
Hudson Soft
iWin
Konami
Llamasoft
Load, Inc
Mad Doc Software
Majesco
Microsoft Game Studios
Midway Home Entertainment
Mumbo Jumbo (United Developers)
Naked Sky Entertainment
Namco
Oberon Media
Pick Up And Play
pixelStorm, Inc
PlayFirst
PomPom Games
Popcap Games
Q Entertainment
RealNetworks, Inc
Reflexive Entertainment
Secret Lair Studios
SEGA
Silver Creek Entertainment
SNK Playmore
Stainless Games
Streamline Studios
Tik Games
Ubisoft
uWink
Vivendi Universal Games
Wahoo Studios
Wanako Games
Wild Tangent


Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 will launch with the console on November 22. To access Xbox Live Arcade, 360 owners will need to have a working Xbox Live account.

By Tim Surette -- GameSpot
Posted Oct 14, 2005 11:50 am PT

[G4everX]

This will seriously help indi-developers out. They can create a cheap game, and sell it trhough this service, thuse avoideing packaging and distributing costs.

[Phantom]

I read on ign.com

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/656/656108p1.html

Originally Posted by Ign.com

In another interesting tack, Mass Effect is the first game in a trilogy, which, BioWare says, will cover the lifespan of the Xbox 360's five-plus year cycle. When you finish the first game, BioWare plans to upload content in between games in an episodic fashion, filling in the story between games. Thus, when the second big title arrives, fans who stick with the downloads will know exactly what's going on.

This might be a way of charging I dunno $10 for 3 or 4 more levels before Mass Effect 2 comes out. I know free would be even better.

It would have been cool to be able to play Halo from Nov. 2001 till Halo 3 comes out, with the added mission coming from the books. Would have allow Bungie to really expand the Master Cheif's universe.

[korphaeron]

They dont have chess. Thats the one game I wanted them to have.

[DeathDealer]

they've got gauntlet!!

[P Mack]

I wish they had Lode Runner

[Gspark]

so if u have a live account u get arcade free......yeppie

[Arqentus]

Kinde strange ...

No "Chess" ... No "GO" ...

The potential fanbase in Asia for GO alone is big ...

[G4everX]

I'm sure their going to release a chess game soon. It's funny, I don't see Majhong on that list. Seriously, not for Americans, but Japanese love Majhong.

Come to think of it, they should include the game on the hard drive, for Japanese gamers.

Anyway, that's a large list of developers, we should see a lot more games anounced soon. Good to see that the arcade is being used.

[Jackal]

I'm with everybody else, chess is the way to go.