Xbox Live Arcade: One Year Later
- December 13, 2006 10:52 AM PST
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Is the 360's Marketplace worth the plunge, now that the Wii and the PS3 are competing against it? Find out inside.
The Nintendo Wii's brilliant Virtual Console is garnering a lot of press recently, temporarily overshadowing the considerable virtues of Microsoft's competing online offering: the Xbox Live Marketplace. Launched with the 360 in late 2005, the Marketplace is a virtual potpourri of so-called premium content, ranging from classic arcade games, to more modern diversions, to retail game add-ons. And as of recently, they've slotted downloadable television shows and movies. Much like the Virtual Console's retro line-up, the Marketplace's offerings are uneven, but there's more than enough compelling content to make it an essential part of the 360 experience. Let's see how the whole deal stacks up, now that the store has a year under its belt.
Show me the Funny Money
Before you dive into this digital bazaar, you'll want to change your cash into the local currency, uncreatively dubbed Microsoft Points. The dollar-to-MSP conversion rate's a bit less than one-to-one, so 100 points will cost you about $1.25. There aren't any bonuses for buying points in bulk, so there's no need to buy more than you need at a given time.
Lumines: It's not just for Sony.
Microsoft makes it really easy to do so, too. You can purchase pre-paid point cards from retail stores or make the conversion directly through your Xbox via a major credit card. In a nice touch, Marketplace remembers your credit card info after your first point purchase, so you'll only have to tap in all that info on the unwieldy on-screen keyboard the first time out. (Are you listening, Nintendo?) If you opt for the pre-paid card route, you'll need to enter a 25-character code to receive your bounty.
Cue '50s Shopping Muzak
Now that your pockets are packed full of Microsoft Points, you can get down to the fun stuff: browsing for goods. In addition to everything mentioned above, Marketplace offers 360 dashboard themes, gamer icons, downloadable game demos, game and movie trailers, and more related bric-a-brac. Some of this stuff, particularly promotional items like demos and trailers, is free to download. Cool.
What is an arcade without a flying spaceship?
What's less cool is the online browsing interface, which is clunky and relatively low-res considering the 360's impressive capabilities. Microsoft has redesigned Marketplace's layout once so far, but it still needs work. You can only view about ten content items onscreen at once, and the interface is mostly a barebones series of menus. It gets the job done, but it sure ain't fancy.
