Spartan 117:
Can you use USB drives and alternate hard drives as memory units? The Xbox ones are pricey... ...
OXM SAYS:
An Xbox 360 won't recognize a USB flash drive or another external hard drive as a memory unit, so you can't save...MORE
Posted on: Jun 08, 2009
Coin Opps
WORDS BY: Corey Cohen, Paul Curthoys, and Dan Amrich
(4) Retro Doesn't Mean Ancient
Enough ’80s retro; now we want ’90s retro. Duke Nukem 3D should be the first of many. How about Descent, Myst, and The 7th Guest next? Or Bungie’s groundbreaking Myth RTS games? Or Thief or X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter or…crap, this list could go on longer than the phone book. Which, honestly, is the point — there’s some seriously ripe, low-hanging fruit out there in the recent past that y’all need to start picking!
(5) Screw The Size Cap
Watchmen: The End Is Nigh was a hefty 1GB download, and it was nowhere near the greatest new XBLA game. Still, plenty of people waited while it dribbled down to their 360. We’ll take massive downloads for top-notch product. Quality matters more than download time, especially when you can queue up your downloads from the web at work, flick on your 360 when you get home, and do other things while the boring part takes care of itself.
(6) Market XBLA More...Lots More
This is probably one of the most important points, but we suck at math, so that’s why it’s last in our list. If you tell people about XBLA only on the dashboard and in the occasional press release, you’re reaching only hardcore gamers like us. We’re flattered and all, but there are way more folks out there playing games, and roping them in only means better things for all of us. Tell people about Arcade with an actual ad campaign; trumpet it as something you can get only on 360. You don’t even have to slam Sony — XBLA is solid and deserves more marketing love for everything it does right.
And, um, thanks. That’s all we got. But we’d love to hear your ideas on how to make Arcade be all it can be. Send your missives to letters@officialxboxmagazine.com with the subject line “What XBLA Can Do Better,” and we’ll print the best stuff in an upcoming issue.
PREV
Sat, 10/17/2009 - 21:21
Posted by wickland
Great games. Aces of the Galaxy reminds me a little bit of Homeworld from the old days.
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 19:21
Posted by Spybreak
I really liked the Aces of Galaxy trial but the constant mashing of the A button made my thumb retreat with its tail behind its butt, ouch. I also liked the Commanders: Attack of the Genos trial but sadly I’ve been burnt too many times with unknown titles and online matchmaking. I think saying XBLA is Steam for your 360 is a huge understatement. Steam has evolved the “digital distribution” outlet with weekend sales, game discounts, bundles and packs that would never see the light of day with Microsoft’s business plan. Really more arcade titles are getting more expensive as XBLA matures. It’s like Wits and Wagers, I’ll stick with my $30 dollar Scene it/Remote Bundle. I agree games at retail do decrease in price and having arcade games stuck on a set price is stupid. I bought Penny Arcade but only when it Microsoft offered it to me with the weekly sale. I thought that was the price we should have paid for the game in the first place. I could go on and on but ultimately XBLA is great, I have 56 arcade games, however it’s nothing like Steam and the fact that more trials haven’t included multiplayer trials just baffles me, (that’s one reason I picked up Age of Booty). Allow popular community games to upgrade into the XBLA arena, agreed ten fold there.
Tue, 06/09/2009 - 10:09
Posted by Corey OXM
Fixed, Hustlin. Thanks.
Tue, 06/09/2009 - 08:00
Posted by Av0cad0
Improvement? Multiplayer. All of the most popular xbla games have great multiplayer. I rarely buy them unless I can have 4 players on the same console and can take guests online. This is why I did not buy Commanders: Attack of the Genos (no guests). The addition of multiplayer is what distinguishes Feeding Frenzy 2 and Geometry Wars 2 from their predecessors. Catan would much better if you could play 4 offline (yes, you could see each others' cards but that's minor when considering the fun gained by playing with HUMANS). Because arcade games cost $10-20, they are competing with used games and platinum hits. You can find so many great full games under $20 now that the only way I'll buy an arcade game for $15 over something like Mass Effect is if it has simple and very fun multiplayer modes that I can enjoy with the family. That is why the most consistently top selling games on marketplace are games like Castle Crashers, UNO, Worms, UMK3, Bomberman, TMNT, Peggle, Doom, Small Arms, etc., while good single player games like Braid, the Maw, and Banjo-Kazooie tend to lag behind a little.
Mon, 06/08/2009 - 21:06
Posted by Hustlinonradio
should i just say that World of Goo is actually for the wii only and not from sony