MS laments Lumines confusion; new packs in 2007

John Porcaro, Senior Group Manager in Microsoft's Global Games Marketing Team, has responded to the Lumines Live fallout on the official Gamerscore Blog. Porcaro admits that "when we said 'full version,' we didn't make what that meant clear enough." He also reveals that the VS CPU and Mission / Puzzle packs will be released in 2007, as well as an Artist Pack that features music video skins (pictured).

For those just tuning in, Lumines Live has been released on Xbox Live, but there's a catch. For 1200 MS points (that's $15 in old money), you receive 12 skins for the the basic version of the game, multiplayer, time attack mode, and samplers of VS CPU, Mission and Puzzle modes. Many of those who purchased the game (self included) were outraged by what was marketed as the "full version" of Q Entertainment's puzzler. Ultimately, it appears the full version of the game (Artist Pack notwithstanding) will cost gamers 3000 MS Points ($37.50), more than the cost of any retail version of Lumines.

Here's a query: how much more content was added by upgrading the demo to the $15 basic pack? We don't have a problem with the business model, but perhaps a lot of fury could have been avoided had Q Entertainment not charged (or charged much less) for the base pack and instead released that as the free sampler.

Despite our temperament, it is assuring to know that Microsoft is listening to the community.

[Via 1UP]