The term "Marketplace" that was used for many of Microsoft's online downloadable storefronts in the past is now officially dead. This week, the company confirmed that the last such download store with that branding, Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360 console, has been changed and will now be called simply the Xbox Games Store.
In a statement to Joystiq, a spokesperson for Microsoft said:
That's right, [Xbox Live Marketplace] is now called the Xbox Games Store, and will sit alongside the Xbox Music Store and Xbox Video Store. This is to make it easier for consumers to find content both on Xbox 360 today and Xbox One when it launches in November.
This is not the first time that Microsoft has done away with the Marketplace branding. In 2012, the company changed the name of its Windows Phone app storefront from Windows Phone Marketplace to just Windows Phone Store; the app store for Windows 8 has been called the Windows Store since it was first announced.
Last week, Microsoft shut down two more of its "Marketplaces" completely: the Zune Marketplace and Games For Windows Live Marketplace. It would appear that the company feels the term is one that confused people and that simply calling a downloadable store front a "store" eliminated that issue.
Source: Joystiq | Image via Microsoft
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