Wing Commander Arena In Danger?

The online video game business magazine, Next-Gen, today revealed via an interview with the general manager of Xbox Live some policy changes to the service that may end up affecting the poorly received Wing Commander Arena. Microsoft has decided that underperforming Xbox Live Arcade titles will eventually be removed from the list of downloadable games altogether, in order to free up space and make browsing easier for customers.

From the interview, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten on the requirements for a game to be removed from Xbox Live Arcade:

Quote:

The way it will work is that the title will need to be at least 6 months old and have a Metacritic score below 65 and a conversion rate below 6% on the service. This way titles are not just considered if they are not selling well or not getting good reviews, but actually a combination of both. We will also give a three-month notice before delisting any title. Overall I think you will find this will focus the catalogue more on larger, more immersive games and make it much easier to find the games you are looking for.

The interview also expounds on other changes coming to the Xbox experience, such as changing the DRM on XBLA games to allow for people who have had their systems replaced under warranty to play their downloaded games without connecting to Xbox Live.

Wing Commander Arena currently has a MetaCritic score of 51, well below the cut-off of 65. Depending on the games current and continuing performance, Arena could very well be a candidate for delisting. If this is the case, according to Whitten, you can expect to see an announcement of its delisting 3 months in advance.

If anything, perhaps this will push game developers to put more time and effort into their products to make them the best that they can be, ensuring that they stay on the XBLA service.

Sources:
Next-Gen: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MS to Delist XBLA Titles

MetaCritic.com: Wing Commander Arena

Last edited by Maverick on Fri May 23, 2008 3:40 am; edited 1 time in total

I don't know enough to understand the issue, Mav. Xbox LIVE is a distribution system, right? You buy games online, there? But most people would buy a game at a local game store, anyways; no? Well, at least i always bought my games at stores. And if I was forced to buy a game online, the last place I'd choose to do that at would be an MS-controlled site...

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PU (Privateer: Parallel Universe's Home)
WCpedia --The Wing Commander Encyclopedia

Xbox Live Arcade is a digital distribution system for classic arcade/old console titles and new "low-budget" titles. It is only useable on the Xbox 360 with a broadband connection to the internet. Although many titles are not exclusive for download via XBLA, some were specifically designed for exclusive use on the Xbox 360, such as WC Arena.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Live#Xbox_Live_Arcade

Sorry, sometimes I get lost in my gamer-world and forget some people aren't aware of all the nuances of the current generation of home consoles. Smile

LOL, well, I'm still lost. Okay, let me use myself as an example: I am planning to buy WC Arena. Yes, you convinced me that the written material that comes with it is worth the purchase price Very Happy

Anyways, I've been thinking about it for a month, but every time I'm out shopping I forget.
But, if I'm reading you right, you're saying that I wouldn't be able to find it at stores, anyhow? That the only way to buy Arena is from that evil MS site, XBLA?

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PU (Privateer: Parallel Universe's Home)
WCpedia --The Wing Commander Encyclopedia

Xbox Live Arcade isn't a site, it's a section of the the Xbox Live service for the Xbox 360 home console. It is a downloadable game only, and at this time is only available for download and play on the Xbox 360.

In order to *buy* WC Arena, you would have to purchase an Xbox 360 console, and pay for the online service known as Xbox Live (about $50 dollars a year, or like... four bucks a month I believe). The Star Soldier manual/in-universe magazine isn't even available in a physical copy, unless you make it yourself or were one of the few who received some specially made for the CIC.

All everyone else has is the .pdf file for Star Soldier, which was available to download free for anyone. You can't even download/read the pdf on your Xbox, it was just a bonus for WC fans who knew about it I guess.

So looks like you don't have to worry on spending any money on a game you don't like. Smile

Ahh... Good news, for a change! But it wasn't Star Soldier I was talking about; unless it was... What about like WC history going way back, the political situation, names for priorly nameless ships, all kinds of stuff like that. That wasn't in Star Soldier, was it? Is Star Soldier like a full book full of stuff, or was all that stuff from somewhere else? I have this concept of Star Soldier being like a magazine, with semi-comical things like a wanted poster for Burrows.

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PU (Privateer: Parallel Universe's Home)
WCpedia --The Wing Commander Encyclopedia

Last edited by Monkhouse on Fri May 23, 2008 12:43 am; edited 1 time in total

That's all in Star Soldier. It doubles as a manual/in-universe magazine. I believe I sent you the .pdf. It has all the info available. (That I'm aware of.)

I'll have a look when I get home; I do remember you giving me something but I was too busy to look at it at the time, and then I forgot where I put it. What would be the name of the file? Something like StarSoldier.pdf?

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PU (Privateer: Parallel Universe's Home)
WCpedia --The Wing Commander Encyclopedia

Most likely. Either StarSoldier.pdf or WCArenaManual.pdf or something like that. Shoot me an -email if you don't find it and I can re-send it once I get home.