XBox Ultimate Game Sales, Summer of Arcade

[AzBat]

Let it go. How many people are complaining about you wanting to spend $100 on a Batarang edition? You don't see value in the time someone put into making the games and the costs involved, fine, you wouldn't be the first and you certainly won't be the last, but every year? Every time a 1200 point game is released...really?

Before I let it go here, let me first explain where I'm coming from. I see tangible value add from the Batman special edition. I feel like I'm getting $100 worth of stuff, not just the game. I've had to save all year & not buy a lot XBLA games. Anyway, with Live Arcade titles I see that they are becoming more like disc-based games: bigger, prettier & more expensive. But they're not adding anything that's tangible like you get with a disc-based game. I want the Arcade to continue to be bite-size games with low-prices. But at their current rate their will be no difference between them and Games On Demand in a years time. Maybe they're finally settling in a pricing tier ($10, 15 & $20) & won't be going up anymore. But I'll miss the $5 titles. Fortunately it looks like Indie Games have settled in the range I'm more comfortable with ($1, $3 & $5). Just wished they had achievements & real leaderboards.

BTW, NavNuc, it's not that I'm not supportive of developers & their hard work. In fact, I used to pirate games in the 90's for the PC, but since the Xbox I've bought every one. And in the 360 generation I've had even more appreciation for them since I've purchased 2 to 3 times download titles than bought disc games. All thanks to knowing you. It's greatly appreciated!

Off the soap box I promise!

Tommy McClain

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I'd expect prices for all things games included to start trending up over the new few years. Then again I'm also expecting the dollar to hit Carter era inflation numbers or higher as the US starts to print money to fund stuff the gov. is doing now.

And the devs are caught between a rock and a hardplace. Raise prices and face an outcry and possibly increased piracy. Or keep it the same and possibly have to cut people.

That's one nice benefit from XBLA, its piracy immune.

Regards,
SB

 

[liolio]

I've tried S'plosion man demo. At first I wasn't sold but yesterday I tried with my wife and it changed my mind. Two players (or more) gameplay really add a lot to the title, I'm seriously considering buying it now

 

[Rangers]

I'd expect prices for all things games included to start trending up over the new few years. Then again I'm also expecting the dollar to hit Carter era inflation numbers or higher as the US starts to print money to fund stuff the gov. is doing now.

And the devs are caught between a rock and a hardplace. Raise prices and face an outcry and possibly increased piracy. Or keep it the same and possibly have to cut people.

That's one nice benefit from XBLA, its piracy immune.

Regards,
SB

XBLA/PSN prices sometimes rise because we're hitting new levels of production values.

Theres a vast difference between Geometry Wars and BF 1943.

While some people will moan and complain like always, I'm a lot more interested in the big budget stuff. Shadow Complex is one of my most anticipated titles this year for example.

 

[sebbbi]

Theres a vast difference between Geometry Wars and BF 1943.

While some people will moan and complain like always, I'm a lot more interested in the big budget stuff. Shadow Complex is one of my most anticipated titles this year for example.

Agreed. There is no point in comparing old 20-30 megabyte downloadable 400 point Xbox Live Arcade titles (with only slightly increased quality compared to flash/java browser games) to Shadow Complex and other newest Xbox Live releases that rival the quality of many retail box games (200-800 megabytes game size, over year development time, over 10x higher budget compared to old arcade games, high end retail game technology such as Unreal Engine 3, etc).

Online distribution is the future of gaming. More and more full retail quality games will be released exclusively on online services (Steam, PSN and Xbox Live). Increased quality and development cost naturally reflects to a higher price tag compared to old small budget online releases. 1200 microsoft points is only 15$. It's still nowhere near the price point of brand new box retail console games.

 

[ban25]

Agreed. There is no point in comparing old 20-30 megabyte downloadable 400 point Xbox Live Arcade titles (with only slightly increased quality compared to flash/java browser games) to Shadow Complex and other newest Xbox Live releases that rival the quality of many retail box games (200-800 megabytes game size, over year development time, over 10x higher budget compared to old arcade games, high end retail game technology such as Unreal Engine 3, etc).

Online distribution is the future of gaming. More and more full retail quality games will be released exclusively on online services (Steam, PSN and Xbox Live). Increased quality and development cost naturally reflects to a higher price tag compared to old small budget online releases. 1200 microsoft points is only 15$. It's still nowhere near the price point of brand new box retail console games.

I suspect some of these games are actually under-priced, to be honest. What would Shadow Complex cost if it were say a PSP release? $30? N+ on PSP sold for $20.

 

[Squilliam]

I played that Trials game sooo many years ago its insane. It was my friends copy, not the kind of game for me but my friend had a lot of fun from it.

 

[RobertR1]

Been swamped at work the last couple of days. Should get some quality time with splosion man this weekend.

 

[RobertR1]

Add TMNT from the "too expensive" to "SOLD!!!" category.

http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/100/1009409p1.html

US, July 30, 2009 - The second Xbox Live Summer of Arcade continues next week with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled. It's one of the most anticipated games in the lineup, but some of us have raised an eyebrow over the $15 price tag. The original TMNT arcade game is available on Xbox Live Arcade for $5.

Well, looks like Microsoft and Turtles in Time's publisher Ubisoft have had a change of heart at the last minute and just told IGN they're dropping the price to $10. This is great news for people who only make $10 an hour: they just got out of a half hour of work!

Yesterday, Microsoft announced an incentive to purchase all five Summer of Arcade games ('Splosion Man, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, TMNT: Turtles in Time, Trials HD, and Shadow Complex). Download the whole batch by August 31 and you'll receive a $10 rebate applied to your Xbox Live account.

Some of the B3D crew up for some co-op action?

 

[sebbbi]

First Trials HD review is out. GameCinemaHD gave it perfect 4.0/4.0 score:
http://www.gamecinemahd.com/article/2009/07/29/trials-hd-review

I really liked the last sentence conclusion:
Trials HD is as exciting, challenging, satisfying,and rewarding as you could ever dream. In fact, this is hands down the best Xbox Live Arcade title to date, and the only real community-based counter Microsoft has against Sony's LittleBigPlanet.

I suppose 4.0 is a really good score, as they gave Street Figher 4, Dead Space and Killzone 2 a score of 3.5...

 

[Scott_Arm]

Congrats on the kind words. It's definitely on my list. I've got one Trials psycho on my friends list, so I imagine I'll be spending some time trying to get into the same league as his scores.

 

[AzBat]

Ubisoft & Microsoft has decided to drop the price of TMNT: Turtles in Time to 800 MS Points or $10USD. Wow, color me impressed!

Tommy McClain

 

[sebbbi]

Trials HD editor trailer has been released today!

Direct 720p/60fps wmv download link (67.4 MB):
http://download.eu.redlynxtrials.com/video/trialshd/TrialsHD-Editor-Teaser-FullRes.wmv

Eurogamer streaming video link:
http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/trials-hds-level-editor?size=large

YouTube video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYM39aFpWLA

Trials HD editor is exactly the same editor we developers have used to create all the game levels, and it has all the same advanced physics features present in the game. By using the physics tools, triggers and joints (hinge, slider, ballpoint, point-to-point, etc), you can create complex physics creations such as vehicles and suspension bridges. You can also share your levels to all your Xbox Live online friends.

Just one week to the release

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Trials does look beautiful! Well done Sebbi and co!

 

[Squilliam]

Im definately getting Trials! Im counting down the days... Its just such an awesome fit and it gives my Arcade collection some needed variety. Thanks Sebbi for making such an awesome looking game. It makes me want to buy it twice!

 

[jb]

Where is my Serious Sam 1 in HD damit!!!!!

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

I'm with you on that one, aren't they supposed to make it?

fake edit: I just searched and can't find a release date other than 'late summer'.

Btw.. anybody check out 'splosionman? The demo seems fun. R1 said it is good times.

 

[AlNom]

Az and Rob seem to be playin it a lot lately.

I think I'm not going to get TMNT:TiT... the demo just... didn't feel right somehow. :s

 

[RobertR1]

Rancid,

Get spolsion man if you like platformers. The demo is very easy to get through. Things pick up quickly there after. Some levels will feel down right impossible but you'll learn that they're not. Just requires good reflexes and timing. The coop is very different from the SP. The level layouts are different and thankfully pressing left trigger initiates a countdown on all players so you can sync up your jumps (VERY important).

Here's a video of the later levels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ennmNmg5lbM

 

[sebbbi]

I think I'm not going to get TMNT:TiT... the demo just... didn't feel right somehow. :s

I played the demo though yesterday too (coop with a friend). The controls are not as sharp as they used to be in the NES version, and the new graphics are not as clear as the old ones. Sometimes it's hard to see who is who (in coop) and what direction you are facing. Otherwise the graphics are nice and the game is pretty good. However the demo started slightly to repeat itself at the end, so the full game might suffer a lot of this problem. According to Metacritic: IGN gave it 59, Eurogamer 70, GameSpy 50, GameTrailers 61 and TeamXBox 88. Turtles metascore is currently 66. I expected a bit better I have to admit.