How many Xbox live arcade titles will still exist when the service is shutdown

[Jehuty]

It seems only a handful of titles will still exist, outside of Microsoft maybe letting you use all of them on its next system. Have I missed anything or are 20 titles all you can currently salvage at the moment.

Hard drive:
-Hexic HD

Memory card 512 MB:
-Geometry Wars
-Worms

Xbox Live Arcade: Unplugged vol 1
-Bejeweled 2 Deluxe
-Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
-Hardwood Backgammon
-Hardwood Hearts
-Outpost Kaloki
-Wik: The Fable of Souls

Xbox Live Arcade: Compilation disc
-Boom Boom Rocket
-Feeding Frenzy
-Luxor 2
-Pac-Man Championship Edition
-Uno

Namco Museum : Virtual Arcade
-Dig Dug
-Galaga
-Galaga Legions
-Mr. Driller Online
-Ms. Pac-Man
-New Rally-X
-Pac-Man
-Pac-Man Championship Edition
-Xevious

Edit 17/4/09- Just noticed today that some 512MB cards include Worms instead of geometry wars.

[smork]

This is why I buy very few Live titles. With a physical copy of a game I know I will still be able to play it in 10 years, or can sell it, but with a digital distribution?

Sure, digital distribution is convenient, but I am not ready to give up my consumer rights just yet.

/soapbox

I wish MS would issue a clear policy as to what your rights are when this console generation stops receiving support. Will you be able to somehow burn these digital versions to a DVD and play on newer systems? It'd be nice to know.

[Bojay1997]

This is why I buy very few Live titles. With a physical copy of a game I know I will still be able to play it in 10 years, or can sell it, but with a digital distribution?

Sure, digital distribution is convenient, but I am not ready to give up my consumer rights just yet.

/soapbox

I wish MS would issue a clear policy as to what your rights are when this console generation stops receiving support. Will you be able to somehow burn these digital versions to a DVD and play on newer systems? It'd be nice to know.

Not to be a jerk, but does anyone really expect Microsoft, or any of the other big three for that matter, to allow you to continue transferring content from generation to generation of their consoles? I have never liked the whole download only model, but I have accepted that some games will only ever be distributed that way and that once my 360 hard drive dies someday, I may lose them forever. I guess it's not really any different than a manufacturer refusing to make a console backward compatible. Does anyone get upset that you have to pay quite a bit for NES games on the VC for Wii when many of us already own them and Nintendo could have added $15 worth of parts and a cartridge slot and made the Wii compatible with the NES? Obviously, that wouldn't make business or aesthetic sense and nobody really expects them to go that far back, but it's really not too different than what's happening with download only content.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Wait a minute! If MS stops supporting Live for the 360 then your DL games no longer function? If that's the case I'm never, ever getting a 360. That's just a heap of bullshit. The XBLA games are pretty much the only stuff I want for the damned system...

This is bad. I been playing games for awhile now and this shit still confuses me.

[CDiablo]

Odds are that the games will be transferable and for sale well into the 720 era. The backwards compatible Xbox 1 games that are 5 years old still have their DLC for sale so I cant see why they would give up potential revenue.

[ProgrammingAce]

The games will still function after xbox live shuts down... which is incredably unlikely as long as microsoft stays in business. It doesn't take much hardware to run the auth servers.

[NYLatenite]

Here's one other compilation of XBLA titles that is also available from retail;

Popcap Arcade: Volume 1
Bejeweled 2
Zuma
Feeding Frenzy
AstroPop

While I'd hope MS makes XBLA titles backward compatible with whatever system comes next, the simple fact is I owned Ms Pac-Man for Xbox Live Arcade on the original Xbox and it was never made BC - wound up buying it again when the 360 version was added.

As for the 360, the authorization servers aren't needed to play XBLA titles - so long as it's the same 360 you bought the games on (or one that you have done a content transfer on) the games will work as full versions regardless of whether or not you're online. Of course, with the 360's other issues, that could get complicated as well.

[G-Boobie]

The games will still function after xbox live shuts down... which is incredably unlikely as long as microsoft stays in business. It doesn't take much hardware to run the auth servers.

That's excellent news. I have a pretty large XBLA collection, and in the back of my head I was a little bit worried about it.

[Cryomancer]

Well, I'm pretty sure they get pirated, so they will be "out there" at least. I hope no arcade titles get forever lost in time. I mean, 20 years from now, we will all make our grandkids play yaris on the 360 emulator to show them the good old days.

[videogameking26]

After seeing what is on Unplugged Vol.1....I need to pick it up because I own 40 for XBLA, was surprised to see out of that disc I only owned 1 for it.

[josekortez]

I just wish they'd put Triggerheart and Ikaruga on a cheap 360 compilation since I don't have Xbox Live.

Yes, I know Triggerheart and Ikaruga are both available on Dreamcast (and Ikaruga's on GameCube), but the operative word is "cheap."

[G-Boobie]

I just wish they'd put Triggerheart and Ikaruga on a cheap 360 compilation since I don't have Xbox Live.

Yes, I know Triggerheart and Ikaruga are both available on Dreamcast (and Ikaruga's on GameCube), but the operative word is "cheap."

Warashi and Treasure games on one disc? That would be neat.

[heybtbm]

I would bet money that MS will allow 360 XBLA games to work on their next machine. They took such a bad PR hit with the RRoD, that one more fiasco could easily knock them to third place. All it would take is Nintendo or Sony saying, "See...all your PSN (or VC) games work with our new console". MS would look like money hungry fools.

I suspect our gamertags will simply transfer to the next generation Xbox and we'll have to download the games again. MS isn't going to abandon 6-7 years of XBLA titles either. They're already made and they want you to keep buying them. Will next gen's XBLA titles really be that different from today's? I doubt it.

Anyway...you have to love the doom and gloom reactionaries in this thread. "OMG!! They're going to take away our XBLA games!!!!11" Lol. Also, comparing XBLA titles to console backwards compatibility is asinine. Apples and oranges, seriously.

[geneshifter]

Worst case is that 360s everywhere all die within 5 years of the end of the 360 manufacturing and these games go dark on live. At that point, it's time to emulate.

[Jisho23]

This has sort of bugged me, digital distribution that is.

As much as I love not getting off my couch to go buy new games- and most of all these Xbla games are cheep- I sort of wonder what the legacy will be for some of these games once Xbla no longer exists.

[Bojay1997]

I would bet money that MS will allow 360 XBLA games to work on their next machine. They took such a bad PR hit with the RRoD, that one more fiasco could easily knock them to third place. All it would take is Nintendo or Sony saying, "See...all your PSN (or VC) games work with our new console". MS would look like money hungry fools.

I suspect our gamertags will simply transfer to the next generation Xbox and we'll have to download the games again. MS isn't going to abandon 6-7 years of XBLA titles either. They're already made and they want you to keep buying them. Will next gen's XBLA titles really be that different from today's? I doubt it.

Anyway...you have to love the doom and gloom reactionaries in this thread. "OMG!! They're going to take away our XBLA games!!!!11" Lol. Also, comparing XBLA titles to console backwards compatibility is asinine. Apples and oranges, seriously.

MS are money hungry fools, just like Nintendo and Sony are. Don't kid yourself, if console manufacturers think they can get away with not continuing to support certain titles or better yet, can sell you a slightly improved version of the same game you already own for more money, they are gonna do it. I'm sorry, but look at how many games can no longer be played on-line for various consoles because the servers are eventually taken down. This is no different than that situation and certainly no different than console backwards compatibility. You do understand that one reason that Sony no longer provides backwards compatibility with the PS3 is that they want to either force you to buy a PS2 or pay to download PSOne and PS2 games on PSN rather than resorting to buying the same games for far less at a swap meet or Gamestop, right?

[chrisbid]

i love how everyone assumes there will be a third generation xbox, with the economy slipping into depression, and microsoft struggling to profit from the xbox after 9 years, id say at the very least a new xbox is not a surefire bet

[Therealqtip]

Uh why are we talking about a new xbox360? It's only been out for 3 years.

[scooterb23]

Uh why are we talking about a new xbox360? It's only been out for 3 years.

It's called the cult of the new...there were people looking forward to the next XBox the day the 360 launched.

[geneshifter]

Uh why are we talking about a new xbox360? It's only been out for 3 years.

360 is old and most definitely busted. Time for new hardware that doesn't crap out on us all.

[ProgrammingAce]

Xbox.next has been in development since at least 2006...

[j_factor]

Uh why are we talking about a new xbox360? It's only been out for 3 years.

Xbox was only out for 4 years when 360 launched. If MS were to keep the same life span, a new Xbox would come out by the end of this year.

[G-Boobie]

Xbox was only out for 4 years when 360 launched. If MS were to keep the same life span, a new Xbox would come out by the end of this year.

Xbox old school never made money. Considering how much Microsoft is still spending on marketing the 360, how hard it's pushing NXE, and how many games are scheduled for release in 2009 and 2010, I'm not worried about a new Xbox anytime soon. The 360 has just started making money: I think they'll try and milk that as long as they can.

[E Nice]

Memory card 512 MB:
-Geometry Wars

I've seen some that also had Worms on it.

[Nionel]

Xbox was only out for 4 years when 360 launched. If MS were to keep the same life span, a new Xbox would come out by the end of this year.

True, but I read on Kotaku a week or two ago that MS has no plans to rush out a new system. Last estimate I heard is that they were going to wait until around 2012 to launch the next Xbox.

[heybtbm]

True, but I read on Kotaku a week or two ago that MS has no plans to rush out a new system. Last estimate I heard is that they were going to wait until around 2012 to launch the next Xbox.

I read the same article. It's due to the worldwide financial crisis and next gen tech not really that much of a jump over current tech. They also credit it to the Wii's success despite it being last gen technology. This generation will most likely go 6-7 years instead of 4-5. Fine with me.

[G-Boobie]

I read the same article. It's due to the worldwide financial crisis and next gen tech not really that much of a jump over current tech. They also credit it to the Wii's success despite it being last gen technology. This generation will most likely go 6-7 years instead of 4-5. Fine with me.

Amen, and pass the wireless controller.

[j_factor]

True, but I read on Kotaku a week or two ago that MS has no plans to rush out a new system. Last estimate I heard is that they were going to wait until around 2012 to launch the next Xbox.

Maybe that will be the cause of the world ending.

Anyway, isn't MS losing money on all the warranties? I would think they would want to move on, to something more reliable. I don't actually think a new Xbox will be out this year, but next year, maybe?

[Famidrive-16]

I hope the 2012 thing is true, since I just bought a 360 less than a month ago...

[Nature Boy]

Why should I be worried again? As long as my 360 runs I can still play the game, right? So what's the fuss again?

Sure you can resell games you've bought on disc if you don't like 'em. But what would EB give you for a game that was $5 brand new anyway? A quarter? A dollar? I can see the sign now:

"Trade in 20 DLC games and get Braid 2 for free!"

I need to play the DLC I've bought more, that's for sure, but I regret buying none of it. Getting a game for $5-$15 is fantastic IMO.

[hellfire]

by the time the next gen systems come out their will be an xbox live arcade emulater

[dr101z]

"Trade in 20 DLC games and get Braid 2 for free!"


Nah, with GameStop it would be more like "Trade in 40 DLC games and get Braid 2 for 50% off, but only after purchasing two used titles at full price. (NOTE: Shredded waterlogged manual and our generic cover insert are extra.)"

[G-Boobie]

Maybe that will be the cause of the world ending.

Anyway, isn't MS losing money on all the warranties? I would think they would want to move on, to something more reliable. I don't actually think a new Xbox will be out this year, but next year, maybe?

The way I understand it, Microsoft wrote off one billion dollars for the projected cost of Xbox console repairs against their earnings for whatever quarter it was that they initiated the 'red ring warranty'. In terms of pure accounting, they don't count money spent for the warranty anymore. The Xbox division is profitable, and has been for a couple quarters now.

I'm guessing 2011 at the earliest. They've invested heavily in NXE, the Netflix streaming service, and XNA. They'd be crazy to undermine that by initiating another platform launch in the worst economic climate since the seventies while their games division has just now started making money.

[s1lence]

MS are money hungry fools, just like Nintendo and Sony are. Don't kid yourself, if console manufacturers think they can get away with not continuing to support certain titles or better yet, can sell you a slightly improved version of the same game you already own for more money, they are gonna do it. I'm sorry, but look at how many games can no longer be played on-line for various consoles because the servers are eventually taken down. This is no different than that situation and certainly no different than console backwards compatibility. You do understand that one reason that Sony no longer provides backwards compatibility with the PS3 is that they want to either force you to buy a PS2 or pay to download PSOne and PS2 games on PSN rather than resorting to buying the same games for far less at a swap meet or Gamestop, right?


Just to be clear on this "LACK OF SUPPORT" bullshit. The original Xbox 1 LIVE arcade games are still supported and still function. As long as Live is around the games will be supported and available to download.

[WhatsMyUsername]

Just pointing out that the recent xbox magazine stated that the new 360's being made are hopefully un-red-ringable. Yes i make up words. So if it is true and there newly made consoles can't get it or at least the risk is severely reduced they won't waste much money on fixing them.

[PapaStu]

Just pointing out that the recent xbox magazine stated that the new 360's being made are hopefully un-red-ringable. Yes i make up words. So if it is true and there newly made consoles can't get it or at least the risk is severely reduced they won't waste much money on fixing them.


The new heat syncs, smaller chips, and different Motherboard layouts have greatly reduced the RRoD's over the last year+. However, GPU's are still failing at an alarming rate, and the disc drives are shitting out far too often as well. Those problems are not covered by MS, do not create a 'RRoD' upon failure and if your system goes out of warranty when it shits out it's +$99 bucks for fixing.

But none of that has anything to do with a lack of XBLA support. Heck, all I could play when my disc drives died was XBLA titles while I waited for my coffins.

[SegaAges]

The games will still function after xbox live shuts down... which is incredably unlikely as long as microsoft stays in business. It doesn't take much hardware to run the auth servers.

Nah, that company is kinda small bro, we don't know.






Kidding. I am only kidding, don;t punch me.

[j_factor]

Just pointing out that the recent xbox magazine stated that the new 360's being made are hopefully un-red-ringable. Yes i make up words. So if it is true and there newly made consoles can't get it or at least the risk is severely reduced they won't waste much money on fixing them.

They've been saying this for a couple years now. I remember when the Elite came out with its chip revision, and there was hype that supposedly the new things would be reliable. They may be a bit more reliable compared to launch units, but they still red ring a lot.