MS Brings the Arcade to Your Living Room
Because what you really want for your £280 is the ability to play 20-year-old games, right?
The Xbox 360 is big and beefy and it's going to house some of the most intricate games ever made, but that's not necessarily a good thing for everyone. So to bring in people who shun normal games as too difficult, Microsoft is rejuvenating Xbox Live Arcade for the 360.
Xbox Live Arcade is a built-in part of the Xbox Live experience that lets you buy simple games and download them straight to your hard drive. (You will, obviously, need to have a hard drive attached to your Xbox 360 to use the service.) And it's not just throwaway content either. Some of the biggest names in games have recently signed on to make games for Xbox Live Arcade.
The service kicks off on 2 December, the same day the 360 hits stores across Europe. Initially, you'll be able to play games such as Bejewelled and Midway classics including Gauntlet, Joust and Robotron 2084.
Things heat up as we move into next year, with more than 40 top publishers - including EA, Capcom, Sega, Namco, Konami and Ubisoft - already working on games.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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