A few exerpts: (interview with Greg C. who heads the Live Arcade division)
more here:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154621
more here:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154621
MS Answers to Lumines Live "mess"
- Thread starter 22psi
- Start date
The biggest problem with the Lumines Live pricing is consumer confusion which will lead to anger. Unfortunately for MS, they will get poor feedback if they attempt to extrapolate sales of Lumines Live and it's add-ons as a referendum on their pricing model. That is to say, if sales are brisk, consumers may still feel hoodwinked and avoid Arcade Live titles in the future due to mistrust.
I agree in general with the concept; I'm a big fan of creating a game in the impulse purchase range of under $20 and being able to expand it with add-ons. But I think they messed this one up on the delivery.
I also agree that this is all new so missteps are expected; but the bottom line is there isn't much room for error, not with Sony's online offering a few weeks away.
I believe Sony's online offerings will have the same problems. You might see the actual $ amount rather than points but since its still up to the individual publishers to set the prices there will still be companies that charge "too much" for items. It isn't a Microsoft problem but a "new market" problem for the publishers.
edit: Blaming MS for the pricing of arcade games is like blaming Best Buy for the price of the PS3 or Xbox360.
Sorry but what exactly is the problem? In short... 
True, but at least in the offering from Sony you will be able to see exactly how much they are charging in a real world currency.
If you can see game a is going to cost you $35 as opposed to 2100 marketplace points you will know if you are getting the shaft or not.
I dont think the problem was that it was 1200 pts... it was that is being sold in parts, and that 1200 pts gets you the base game... which is not that bad at that price anyway, but if you want more skins, or more puzzles you have to buy more packs.. and they didnt specify that in the game description. If they had said it, then it wouldnt have been such a big deal.
I think there's a good and bad thing to the points system.
Bad: Just like you said, most consumers will not be conscientious enough to determine what exactly will it cost them in terms of points per dollar.
Good: You can buy points on sale. Like for example, Best Buy has a deal right now where you buy any 360 game and you can purchase 1600 pts for $5. For gamers savvy like us, that'll give you much more purchasing power. Think of it as marketplace games/items going on sale.
Back to the topic: I think as consumers if we don't voice our opinion now (early), companies such as makers of Lumines, EA, etc will try to "test" the market and nickel and dime their way. I can forsee this happening with all three MS, Sony (GT: HD anyone), and Nintendo.
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What I'm wondering is if Microsoft isn't partly responsible for this anyway, because didn't they set the limitation that a publisher can only sell 50mb worth of game at a time through Live Arcade? The original PSP version (U.S.) was around 140mb or more. However, that was on the PSP, which runs in 272p widescreen rather than 720p widescreen.
Most of that data would go into the skins. So to get it in one pack, they would need two downloads anyway, even if they magically had been able to keep the size the same as the PSP version.
But it is also clear that the publisher itself is experimenting. With the AI and puzzle packs (or whatever they are), they are just testing the waters for what they can do with the PS3 and maybe even Wii versions. Though then again, maybe these come with comparable sets of skins and take a lot of space also.
Most of that data would go into the skins. So to get it in one pack, they would need two downloads anyway, even if they magically had been able to keep the size the same as the PSP version.
But it is also clear that the publisher itself is experimenting. With the AI and puzzle packs (or whatever they are), they are just testing the waters for what they can do with the PS3 and maybe even Wii versions. Though then again, maybe these come with comparable sets of skins and take a lot of space also.
What I'm wondering is if Microsoft isn't partly responsible for this anyway, because didn't they set the limitation that a publisher can only sell 50mb worth of game at a time through Live Arcade? The original PSP version (U.S.) was around 140mb or more. However, that was on the PSP, which runs in 272p widescreen rather than 720p widescreen.
Most of that data would go into the skins. So to get it in one pack, they would need two downloads anyway, even if they magically had been able to keep the size the same as the PSP version.
But it is also clear that the publisher itself is experimenting. With the AI and puzzle packs (or whatever they are), they are just testing the waters for what they can do with the PS3 and maybe even Wii versions. Though then again, maybe these come with comparable sets of skins and take a lot of space also.
Yeah I forgot about that 50mb limit thingy (is that confirmed?). I hope MS ups that limit (if true) to something more such as 250-500mb?
But blaming Microsoft is exactly what happens, and it would be naive to think that Microsoft exerts no pressures on publishers when it comes to pricing. So right or wrong, Microsoft is responsible to make sure consumers are happy with the service.
And yes, Sony will have the exact same problem, only they're in a position of market dominance so they can afford to make simple mistakes, since they have a large built-in base. I do not believe Microsoft is in the same position to make simple mistakes.
What I'm wondering is if Microsoft isn't partly responsible for this anyway, because didn't they set the limitation that a publisher can only sell 50mb worth of game at a time through Live Arcade? The original PSP version (U.S.) was around 140mb or more. However, that was on the PSP, which runs in 272p widescreen rather than 720p widescreen.
Most of that data would go into the skins. So to get it in one pack, they would need two downloads anyway, even if they magically had been able to keep the size the same as the PSP version.
But it is also clear that the publisher itself is experimenting. With the AI and puzzle packs (or whatever they are), they are just testing the waters for what they can do with the PS3 and maybe even Wii versions. Though then again, maybe these come with comparable sets of skins and take a lot of space also.
File size has no effect, as they could easily sell the base unit for 800 MSP and then add content on top of this.
I was going to buy it until i realised how little i got for 1200 MSP, when you pay £17 for an XBL arcade game you expect to have the whole game, well at least i do.
I'm all for additional content, but the way they have done this is not much different than releasing an unfinished game with content being added as an after thought.
Except in this case the extra content is available from the release date, it's kind of bizarre is you ask me.
£17? I thought 1200 MSPs was $15. IS the £>MSP<$ rate really greater than 2:1?
Only if you are paying too much http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-Live-2...5MD3G/ref=sr_11_1/203-5811128-1536742?ie=UTF8
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Uh. I think that's the wrong link.
scooby_dooby
Legend
These aren't too bad, since they don't give anything you don't get in the normal course of the game. Essentially paying for cheat codes, which I never really use unless I'm renting the game.
Exactly. Its just like how people pay for money in MMORPGs.
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