Date: Monday, January 11 @ 09:52:19 UTC Topic: Live Arcade
Announced at CES 2010, Microsoft will be bringing classic game emulation to the Xbox 360 and Windows PCs in Game Room. The service, which will be released this Spring, will initially have around 30 games available to purchase or play. At this point, Microsoft hopes to release 7 games a week with the final goal being over 1000 games available. The Game Room is an actual 3D space for your avatar that can be customized and decorated. Your friends can even visit your personal arcade. If you don’t care for the virtual space, the entire experience can be navigated by menus.
Initially, games will range from classic arcade titles to consoles titles from the Intellivision and Atari 2600. For a full list of the launch titles, skip to the end of this story. For pricing, the model is a bit different from anything Microsoft has done before on Live. For 40 MS Points or 50 cents, you’ll be able to play a game once. That’s right, just like dropping two quarters into an arcade machine, Microsoft will allow gamers to insert credits into these classic titles. It makes sense if you want to try a bunch of games before buying, in order to find something you like, but 50 cents a pop could add up before long.
If you want to purchase a game, it’s going to run you $3. This enables unlimited play and placement of the game in your arcade space. It won’t, however, allow you to play that same game on your Xbox 360 and PC. If you want cross-platform play, the price will kick up to $5, but will allow you play the game on any supported platform according to Microsoft’s Frank Pape, senior director on the project, which might not be limited to the 360 and PC, though no new platforms were announced at CES. If I had to speculate, I would look to Windows Mobile as a possible platform. Live was just announced for Windows handsets and it would give Microsoft some ground against Apple’s iPhone and its growing game library.