New Lumines Live! content out next Wednesday
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jan 18th 2007 at 8:25PM }
When Lumines Live! emerged in October of last year, it ran headlong into a pack of outraged gamers who felt that the game's fragmented content and costs introduced an unwelcome element to the Xbox Live Marketplace -- a roving pickpocket you bump into between fruit stalls. New downloadable content is a touchy subject then, but it appears that next week's Live! offerings are a bit less backward and a bit less, well ... Evil!
Three new packs will be available this coming Wednesday, the first of which contains the Heavenly Star skin. Perhaps the fact that it will be free to Gold subscribers until February 21 is to be interpreted as a sign of atonement. The other two, namely the VS CPU pack and the Puzzle/Mission pack fill up the gaping holes in the base download, each costing a not entirely outrageous 100 points ($1.25) each. That lasts until February 21, after which the price goes up to a thoroughly questionable 300 points ($3.75).
Why raise the price after a month? The Gamerscore Blog labels these as "special promotional prices," which really just comes across as a temporary and thinly-veiled apology cringed out by the marketing department. So, why retract the apology then? The quest for more money seems tied to the obvious answer, but that's only if you felt that Lumines Live! got microtransactions completely wrong in the first place. All things considered, the game makes for a balanced example of what's wrong and what's right in the world of pint-sized payments:
What Lumines Live! did right:
- Divided content: The concept of only buying the chunks of the game you're interested in is a sound one. Of course, this can be taken to extremes and games can be split into microscopic, microtransacted pieces, but working with large, clearly defined and entirely seperate parts holds clear benefits. Why bother paying for a full game if you're not going to experience every facet? If you're only concerned with the continuous Challenge mode in Lumines and not the less robust VS or Puzzle modes, you should end up saving money and time.
- Provided ease of expansion: Should you change your mind and desire more content, it's extremely simple to find and download more skins and modes. Once it's on the hard drive, it's in the game's main menu.
- Featured discernable improvement over other versions: You would expect this to be the most obvious part, but several past XBLA titles have indicated that not all developers bother to enhance their established games when shifting to the marketplace. Though newcomers to the series may not appreciate it nearly as much, 5.1 sound and HD graphics make a noticeable impact on a game so rich in presentation. There is some value to playing this game on the Xbox 360 and not the PSP.
What Lumines Live! did wrong:
- Divided content, and then advertised it badly: Not only did the game's trial version make it hideously unclear as to what content the full package would bring to the table, it constantly reminded you of what you were missing out on. Having the game grind to a halt and remind you to download the next level was undiplomatic to the extreme and is exactly what infuriated gamers. Having empty modes listed in the main menu only perpetuated the idea that players weren't getting a "full" game at all.
- It was quite obviously too expensive: Should you be unfortunate enough to shop after February 21st, you'll end up paying $30 for the complete Lumines Live! package. That's exactly the same price as Lumines II on the PSP, which contains nearly double the amount of skins in its Challenge mode -- most of them also present in Lumines Live!. The aforementioned sound and visual quality gives some leeway here, but not nearly enough.
- Succumbed to silly XBLA size limitations: The paltry base pack that started off Lumines Live! didn't feature enough content for anyone to be remotely satisfied. The 50MB XBLA limit meant that an expansion to the original download was available almost immediately. Only it wasn't an expansion at all -- it was the piece of game (meat pun!) that ended up on the wrong side of the cleaver.
Know what it is you want in a game (any game), and how much you're willing to pay for it. That makes it sound like some sort of robotic calculation, but any long-term gamer knows that it eventually becomes entirely instinctual. You know what makes you happy. Microtransactions won't be fooling you today.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
EthanRom @ Jan 18th 2007 10:35PM
Sounds like a fair enough way to make up for what was a big time screw up when the game originally came out. I specifically remember Major Nelson's post about the release being the "full" version, and XBLA online on the 360 confirming it to be the "full" version making me (and lots of people) think that they had decided to move away from the micro-costs, and only finding out after paying for it that they didn't.
Franky Digital @ Jan 18th 2007 11:06PM
I think the point you touch on about personal worth is really a key point in the whole backlash to Lumines. For many people, a puzzle game is hardly the type of game that you'd expect a boundary-pushing price tag on. For me, and a few other Lumines addicts, it was really a fair price to pay for the HD Lumines experience - especially for those of us who either don't have a PSP or have long since gotten rid of it in the stead of some other handheld.
kevolution @ Jan 19th 2007 12:21AM
Question? Can you download these new packs for free and 100points each before Jan 21st if your a gold member but don't have the full Lumines Live game?
Norm @ Jan 19th 2007 12:51AM
I'm pretty sure you need the base pack to play. Having said that, I have bought both packs and I feel like the cost has been justified. I really do like the game.
Brandon Paddock @ Jan 19th 2007 2:37AM
I found the notion that "The paltry base pack that started off Lumines Live! didn't feature enough content for anyone to be remotely satisfied, " to be a bit narrow-minded.
I personally only bought the Base Pack. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and found it quite addicting. But I didn't (yet) buy any of the additional packs. Perhaps my attention span is too short, but I'm actually happy with that purchase.
On the other hand, I do agree with the main other points. Having non-functional menu entries in the demo and Base Pack bothers me quite a lot. There is clever marketing (like "You just unlocked an achievement! But you need to buy the full game before you really get it! Press A to buy!" - which I first saw in Wik and is respectably devious and crafty), but menu options that lead to a "Buy this expansion pack!" message crosses a line in my mind.
Beyond that, I think the pricing was wrong. These packs seem more reasonable - but I think the base pack was too expensive given the fact that it obviously was designed to be pluggable with other modules available at the same time.
Saneless @ Jan 19th 2007 10:27AM
All I want to know is WTF is the hold up with the PS2 version. I don't have a 360 yet, and I don't want a damned PSP.. I just want to play some lumines. It was supposed to come in october, but now it's Feb? The game's already done for christ's sake.