Xbox Live arcade titles added: free to try, $5 to $15 to buy

By Vladimir Cole

Content is being added to Xbox Live all weekend leading up to launch. Overnight, 15 trailers were added, as we noted earlier. We also just found that new Xbox Live Arcade titles have been launched. Here are some details.

  • Titles available: Joust, Gauntlet, Geometry Wars, Bejeweled
    2,     Bigshot Billiards 2

  • Cost each: free to try, cost varies from 400 MP (Microsoft Points) 1200 MP to buy the
    fully-featured version of each game. Remember, $1.00 USD purchases 80 MP, so that means these games will cost $5.00
    to $15.00. (Will the Nintendo Revolution back-catalog be priced similarly?)

  • File sizes: the downloadable versions of these games are generally in the neighborhood of 18 MB
    (for Joust) to 37 MB for Bigshot Billiards 2.

  • Fun factor: awesome. Heck, you could even skip the launch lineup if there's nothing in it
    that really catches your eye. Some of these arcade titles will tide you over until, say,
    Oblivion comes out. Careful, though, you may find that
    the button-mashing nature of a game you formerly loved to be a tad much given modern design trends away from
    grueling tests of repetitive finger speed.

  • Disruptive potential: We've noted
    it before    , but we'll note it again: this is the new distribution model for games. All sorts of small-time
    developers will be clamoring to bring their titles to the Xbox Live Arcade. Initially, we'll only see
    small titles and demos of fully-fledged games. Eventually, however, this could become a major distribution
    channel for all kinds of new games.

  • New hard drive please: We've had this Xbox only a few days, but we've already filled the
    20 GB drive to half-full. We'll be looking for added capacity ASAP.

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