Xbox 360 , The Xbox Live Arcade Experience

Michael Gartenberg | November 22, 2005, 08:16 AM

One of the design goals of the Xbox 360 team was to make a system that was accessible to more family members beyond the core gamers. That means titles that are aren't just about going around and blowing things up. Problem is, it's hard to produce casual titles in the old console model. They just don't work economically. What if you could create casual game titles, sell them for between $5-$20 and make it really easy to access that content? That's what Microsoft did with Live Arcade. Unlike prior efforts that required separate boot disks and the like, Arcade is integrated directly into the 360 experience. All you need to access it is a free silver membership. The bundle console comes with one title, Hexic (created by famed Tetris creator, Alexey Pajitnov) which is wickedly addictive. Other titles are Geometry Wars 2 (from the hidden title in PGR2) and classic games like Bejeweled 2 from Popcap Games. Old arcade titles live one with stuff like Joust, Gauntlet and Smash TV. There's even a great rendition of an old Macintosh title called Crystal Quest. Microsoft has also made it really easy for consumers to get into the content. Each title must have a demo version with playable content. That means several levels of games to enjoy before you need to unlock it. It's a smart move that makes the content more exposed to a wider audience. We've been playing Geometry Wars and Bejeweled 2 a lot. My daughter, who has no particular of video games, has absolutely fallen in love with Bejeweled 2. It's exactly the model that Microsoft had in mind with Arcade.

What's interesting is that when I was at several pre launch events, I saw more than one hard core gamer get lost in the arcade stuff. It's not just for the casual gamers but rather extends the value proposition of the core gaming platform. The other big value add is that it lets smaller publishers who don't have the budgets for something like a PGR3 get into the action. There's a lot of profitability in casual and retro games, especially now that there's a market for the tier one titles beyond the core PC platform that has traditionally been the mainstay for these smaller developers. Combined with the core gaming platform, you now have the first console experience that can actually bridge the gap between the hardcore gamers in the family and everyone else. That's likely to go a long way to making the 360 a successful platform.