Rumor: XBLA size limit upped to 250MB
1UP reports that the Xbox Live Arcade size cap has been raised from 50MB to 250MB. The information comes from an anonymous inside source, so we'll chalk it up as a rumor for now. If true, it would open up new avenues for Xbox Live Arcade games, giving developers more freedom to create full featured games. The 50MB size limit, somewhat controversial, was initially set so that any given Xbox Live Arcade title could fit on the standard Xbox 360 memory unit, ensuring that Core system owners could get their XBLA on. While we've gone on record saying that the 50MB limit can actually force developers to think in innovative ways (RoboBlitz), there is no doubt that a higher limit will give rise to more complex and (hopefully) engaging titles. In fact, there are many who believe the current lineup would be much stronger had the limit been higher in the beginning.
Of course, this development opens up a new can of worms, given that a higher cap will prohibit many new titles from fitting on a standard memory unit. There have been rumblings of a higher capacity memory unit, and if this rumor is true, a larger memory unit is all but assured. We have to wonder though, are Core owners even downloading Xbox Live Arcade games? Considering one XBLA title will all but fill a memory unit (and that's before you get into game saves and the like), we have to question the practicality of it. Perhaps we should just ask our readers outright: do any of you (Core users especially) think that raising the cap is a bad thing?
[Via Joystiq. Thanks everyone]
