Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 27 May 2008 09:03
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
Microsoft are cleaning up the XBLA shelves, delisting ‘under performing’ games from the online shop. What does this mean for you?
I love XBLA (Xbox LIVE Arcade), the place were you can relive past arcade glories or explore new, more casual games than those that get a full release.
Unlike similar offerings on rival consoles, usually those on XBLA get a new lick of paint, giving older games a new look coupling the classic game-play.
A recent
next-gen.biz interview with Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten indicates that Microsoft believe they need to pare down the games in the XBLA catalogue. A new emphasis on quality versus quanity.
This means that ‘under performing’ games will be delisted from the service. Those titles that fall into the following description will be eligible for delisting.
Games older than six months, with a Metacritic score (broad average of reviews from around the web) of less than 65 percent and a conversion rate of less than 6 percent will be eligible. The conversion rate reflects the percentage of full game downloaded compared with demo downloads.
There will also be a three month notice of delisting for any particular title.
What will this mean for your beloved downloads. Page 2 contains an official Q & A and more information on changes to the XBLA service
