Over a year since the relaunch of Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade for the 360, Gamepro assesses how the online service stacks up as Wii and PS3 attempt to get into the online game. They affirm what the masses already expect: Xbox Live is the precedent Nintendo and Sony should strive for. From the article: "While Xbox Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade aren't perfect, few things are. Microsoft is definitely leading the next-gen pack with these compelling online offerings. Great cheap games, bonus content, free demos, dozens of movies and TV shows... Marketplace and Arcade are a crucial part of the full 360 experience."Imperfections cited in the article include shoddy control of some games (think SF II), what can be an ugly graphical transition of older games optimized for SD to that of HD, and "high price" controversy of certain microtransactions. The corporation slow to embrace the online value of the web in the mid 90s sure has come a long way in leveraging the intertubes for console video games.
