Xbox Live Arcade could return on Xbox One

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Xbox Live Arcade could return on Xbox One

Phil Spencer open to idea if ID@Xbox fails to "fill the gap"

Posted on Wednesday 26-Mar-2014 10:19 AM GMT   By Aoife Wilson,

 

You guys heard the talk this morning that Facebook just bought $2BN worth of Octopus? Ridiculous. Meanwhile, in more important news on Twitter, Phil Spencer has reiterated his support for the ID@Xbox program whilst hinting that the Xbox Live Arcade may one day make a triumphant return to our consoles.

 

Though Spencer is fully behind the ID@Xbox program and confident that it'll the gap left behind by the demise of XBLA, he says he'll keep an open mind about reintroducing the channel if ID@Xbox games struggle to find a following.

 

@BobFTW14 I feel like when ID@XBOX gets rolling it will fill the gap that XBLA filled on 360. If it doesn't I'm up for return of XBLA.? Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 26, 2014

 

One fan's main gripe with the loss of XBLA was that the online space had "lost its character" - there's nothing to distinguish the indie games from their big budget brethren. Could ID@Xbox titles receive special tags, like XBLA's orange banners? Spencer seems receptive to the idea.

 

@BobFTW14 I like all games equal but I also think people will want to know what's ID, having a place in store or a ID tag could make sense.? Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 26, 2014

 

I certainly think there's still room for an XBLA-style section on Xbox One's online store - how about you? If you recall, Microsoft merged the Arcade channel into the main Games section in order to prevent the formation of an XBLIG-style ghetto, buried deep in the dashboard.

 

The firm claims that Xbox Live's new discovery algorithms now publicise games that would otherwise have been lost, doing away with the need for "sponsored content" slots and the like. ID@Xbox also imposes fewer charges and restrictions on developers when it comes to publishing their work.

 

What do you think?

 

http://www.totalxbox.com/73934/xbox-live-arcade-could-return-on-xbox-one/

[neoadorable]

Sometimes i miss those days with the $5 coin-op classics...what happened to that? Oh yeah, Game Room happened. Lives and times, for good and bad.

[George P Global Moderator]

I don't think ID@Xbox is going to fail at all, it's got a solid start going for it and a large number of developers, 200+, working on games.  Later on when MS will add the feature to retail units to allow them to turn into developer kits with some unlock code then that will just boost it even more. 

[spenser.d]

I don't think ID@Xbox is going to fail at all, it's got a solid start going for it and a large number of developers, 200+, working on games.  Later on when MS will add the feature to retail units to allow them to turn into developer kits with some unlock code then that will just boost it even more.

I think what they're referring to is the visibility of these games in the store over that of AAA titles. Right now they're planning to just lump all games together it seems. We'll see how that goes.

[George P Global Moderator]

I think what they're referring to is the visibility of these games in the store over that of AAA titles. Right now they're planning to just lump all games together it seems. We'll see how that goes.

 

One of the complaints on the 360 was that the Indie titles were off on their own and not part of the main store with arcade games or GoD, that's not the case now, all titles will, or should, get equal treatment as long as they're good titles.    If they struggle then I can see MS pushing out something like XBLA which had the main difference of promotion more than anything else.

[trooper11]

Its a hard nut to crack.

 

Last gen, a big complaint was that indie games were off in their own section and did not get the attention that they needed. 

 

Now, the complaint is that indie don't have their own section to make it easier to follow those games.

 

I think the key to this is simple: filters

 

 

All MS needs to do is add filter options in the store that allow you to search for games that are part of the ID@Xbox program.  You don't even need to create an official section in the store, just a filter/search option and then those that care can find what they want.  Otherwise, keep all games together and focus on the marketing/promoting side of the store so that indie games get the attention of retail games.

[George P Global Moderator]

Its a hard nut to crack.

 

Last gen, a big complaint was that indie games were off in their own section and did not get the attention that they needed. 

 

Now, the complaint is that indie don't have their own section to make it easier to follow those games.

 

I think the key to this is simple: filters

 

 

All MS needs to do is add filter options in the store that allow you to search for games that are part of the ID@Xbox program.  You don't even need to create an official section in the store, just a filter/search option and then those that care can find what they want.  Otherwise, keep all games together and focus on the marketing/promoting side of the store so that indie games get the attention of retail games.

 

 

Another big difference here is that this time all these "indies" get full access to all the XBL services that on the 360 only arcade titles would get, so from this point of view they're no different than arcade titles from before just without a publisher.  I don't see why they need a different area in the store now, we're not getting a subpar game without any XBL bits in indies anymore.   The only advantage that XBLA has/had was that those titles got more advertisements, but MS can do the same with any indie games to, heck they've had 1 or 2 ID@Xbox shows, I think they were at GDC showing off the first batch of games coming last week.

[MikeChipshop Member]

 

 

 

I think the key to this is simple: filters

 

And it really is as simple as this. If MS don't put an easy way to filter to id@xbox then i'll be dumfounded

[neoadorable]

Its a hard nut to crack.

 

Last gen, a big complaint was that indie games were off in their own section and did not get the attention that they needed. 

 

Now, the complaint is that indie don't have their own section to make it easier to follow those games.

 

 

 

Very true, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't. A separate section? That's an indie ghetto and discriminatory. No separate section? Well how are customers supposed to notice indie games? What the hell!

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I don't think indies disliked being separate in the XBLM on 360, the problem they had is how hidden it was from view. If you put both a XBLA and XBLI panel beside each other it would help a lot with discovery while not putting them in direct "competition" with the big leagues.

 

The current iteration of the 360 dash is fine, the indie tab is right beside the on demand tab, but it wasn't always that way. For many years it was hidden layers and layers behind the scenes.

 

As for XBLA itself, I don't think they should ever have got rid of the name or brand. It's recognizable and more importantly it's liked by gamers. The issues with it are all but gone on X1 too, but they've clearly merged the retail and downloadable market to allow for higher priced games. The X1 "XBLA" prices are a joke.

[neoadorable]

There are probably many solutions to this. But then why highlight indie as different? Or is it to promote the little guy because bigger products have much more exposure as it is? Either way, the more the merrier, we always need moar gaemz. XBLA needs to return, as you said it always had a cool ring to it, and became such an integral part of the Xbox identity.

 

Prices on X1 digital are just list prices, i don't have any special problem with them...except that they could be lower heh heh. In general i mean. Still waiting for Forza 5 to blink...not eager to pay $60 for that one even though really craving it!