Xbox Game Room is not Xbox Live Arcade
Color me confused after Microsoft’s CES presentation last night but this Xbox Game Room sounds awfully familiar to a service called Xbox Live Arcade. I suppose there are differences in titles and pricing but a fish is still a fish no matter how big right? That’s my take on the newly announced Xbox Game Room.
The idea behind the Xbox Game Room is to capture that feeling of throwing down quarter after quarter while owning people in your local Arcade. The price is initially set to be no more than 400 Microsoft Points and as little as 40 Microsoft Points to enjoy the Xbox Game Room. Here are some more specifics from the press release:
How Do I Play?
An Xbox 360 console or Windows-based PC and an Internet connection are all you need (Xbox Live Gold needed for online play) to access “Game Room.” “Game Room” and associated games can be found on your Xbox 360 in the Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace or in the Games for Windows — LIVE client on your Windows-based PC.
How Much Does It Cost?
It is free to download “Game Room,” which you can then populate with classic arcade games available for individual purchase. Buy games once and play on both an Xbox 360 system and a Windows-based PC for 400 Microsoft Points. Or, to purchase a game for only one platform, each individual Xbox 360 or Windows-based PC title is 240 Microsoft Points. You also have the option to pay to play a single game, just like dropping two quarters in the slot in the old arcades, for 40 Microsoft Points. Visit your friends’ “game rooms” and try their games free before you buy.
“Game Room” Specifications
• One or two players
• HDTV 1080p
• In-game Dolby Digital
• Voice chat
• Avatar support
• Online multiplayer (one or two players)*
• Cross-platform leader boards
• Cross-platform Achievements
The list of titles for the game are your typical retro titles or “classic arcade” titles as they call them. Centipede, Millipede, Pitfall and various others will be available out of the gate. I like the idea of trying your friends’ game room but still…isn’t this just the Xbox Live Arcade all over again? What say you?
January 7th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Ehhh, kinda looks stupid. I’ll try it, but I doubt I’ll like it very much.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Will try it and see
July 12th, 2010 at 11:27 am
The Xbox Game Room is fun but you have to pay for the games. It is better to have a friend that has it and go to their game room because to get token/coins to play the old arcade games. Most of my friends have it and they say it’s fun.
July 12th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
good suggestion Xbox
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:09 am
Mass Mayhem 3 released…
You will also have secret areas to explore and some fun bonus material to unlock. Massive Mayhem 3 has been……
May 6th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
The main reason this will fail, is the price of games.
I absolutely will not pay 240 points for a game I buy in a bundle (or play through Mame) just because I can invite the few people I know on XBL.
One problem lies in you should have charged 120 per game, and had lobbies which allowed people to join other peoples arcades and charge per coin. Allow them 15 mins of play per coin, charge for bundles of coins.
The second problem is the licenses and dates you consider “retro”. I’m 32 years old, I remember playing Centipede 1 time when I was 5.
You should have considered the 90s. And you should have considered a better licensing contract.
Then again, I don’t work for you.