Aquazone publisher fishing for MS Points, 5000 MS Points!
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Feb 1st 2007 at 7:55PM }
EA could learn a thing or two from Frontier Works. The publisher of Aquazone released its Japanese aquarium sim with only 480 unlockable Achievement Points. To get the rest, players need to hit Xbox Live Marketplace and start paying.Recently, an additional 400 points were made available through the purchase of 18 new fish. Anyone willing to take the bait would end up forking over an alleged 5,000 Microsoft Points ($62.50).
Suspiciously, each fish weighs a mere 108KB, suggesting that purchasers aren't actually downloading new content, but simply buying code that unlocks the relevant data on the game disc. This would explain how Frontier dodged Microsoft's requirement, which demands that all Xbox 360 titles include 1,000 Achievement Points (Xbox Live Arcade games must contain 200 points). Aquazone does offer 1,000 points to add to your Gamerscore; but it costs more than your playing time to unlock them. Scandalous.
[Via GameLife]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
launchme @ Feb 1st 2007 8:30PM
Still cant afford getting robbed by the man. I guess thats why I choose not to purchase things from the marketplace.
Chris Daykin @ Feb 1st 2007 8:27PM
Fish Armour!
dsub @ Feb 1st 2007 8:04PM
lame. this just goes to show how the Japanese gaming market varies from the US market. American's would never buy into this mess. As far as the charging to code that unlocks material already on the disc goes, EA definately does that with things like paying to play as Sunday Tiger Woods or unlock all the courses in Tiger Woods 07.
Scandalous indeed.
Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Feb 1st 2007 8:39PM
Brilliant from a sales stand point. Goes to show how addictive those acheivements are.
But that's what choice is all about. Right for some, wrong for others.
DWells55 @ Feb 1st 2007 8:31PM
This is crap - building content into the game or having it ready and not including it on the disk and then attempting to charge customers more than the already high $60 price is ridiculous. And the industry wonders why piracy is happening...
Ed @ Feb 1st 2007 8:41PM
Check out John Porcaro's response/explanation:
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/02/01/540575.aspx
umm....hello??? @ Feb 1st 2007 8:46PM
i'll bet that dude that has illegitimate 100,000 achievement points buys this crap.
welcome to microtransactions, part two...
livefromphiladelphia @ Feb 1st 2007 8:55PM
I think certain Americans would buy into this mess. They same folks that buy into power leveling services, gold farming, and those Need for Speed Unlockables. People already buy/rent/play games that aren't any fun JUST for achievement points. No doubt they'd pay directly for them as ell.
TheHostileDwarf @ Feb 1st 2007 8:58PM
#5 - I usually buy the "choice" argument when it comes to paying for items, content, etc., but this is just total crap and is indefensible.
Aside from the fact that purchasing a download is in no uncertain terms an "achievement," there has to be a line somewhere. What EA did with Tiger Woods is crappy, but at least you could get the same content inside the actual game. This is just like Lumines Live, except worse. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. You're correct on one level though, anyone who chooses to buy this crap is getting exactly what they're paying for - those achievement whores.
Abscissa @ Feb 1st 2007 10:09PM
108k sounds about right for a fish mesh + texture + fish animation, depending on the compression and how the animation system works. However 108k for an unlock code sounds insanely bloated, not remotely realistic.
Arno @ Feb 1st 2007 9:50PM
Horse Armor 2.0
Leggo @ Feb 1st 2007 10:01PM
A correction for you fine Joystiq folks:
Microsoft doesn't REQUIRE retail games to have 1000 points and Arcade titles to have 200 points, they are limited to those numbers and can reserve the points for unlocking in future downloadable content. Microsoft is the most conspicuous publisher to take advantage of this, as both Project Gotham Racing 3 and Crackdown launched / will launch with 900 points.
However, a company is expressly prohibited from directly putting Achievement points on sale via downloadable content.
e.g., if you buy all the swimsuits for the girls in DOAX2 via the in-game Crystal Boutique shop (real world MS point value is north of $900 USD), you get no achievements (the achievements in DOAX2 are all tied to collecting complete swimsuit collections).
Just a heads up.
PrincessAdora @ Feb 1st 2007 10:26PM
Anyone that pays for virtual fish is retarded.
Sorry to be so blunt, but it's just true.
PrincessAdora
Milquetoast @ Feb 2nd 2007 1:16AM
That's downright insidious.
joe smith @ Feb 2nd 2007 5:45PM
This is SOOO not the way it is supposed to work. I am amazed this was approved by MS.
Rubang B @ Feb 2nd 2007 12:37AM
Is a Virtual Fish like the new Virtual Boy? 'Cuz if so, I'll pay for it.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Feb 2nd 2007 1:33AM
Gamerscore is more a measure of how much money you've paid out (mostly to MS) than anything else.
Full price games have 1000 points to earn. XBLA and cut-rate (BK) games have only 200.
It's not a measure of skill, because if you only have one game, no matter how good you are, you can't get over 1,000 MS points, which a mediocre player with a large wallet can beat easily.
Please, don't fall for the Gamerscore stuff. You'll only be making the beast stronger.
Jake @ Feb 2nd 2007 8:27AM
LS2,
Not exactly. Each game has a bunch of Achievements in them that give you points. You can usually get a few by just beating the game on normal/easy. But a lot of the Achievements require accomplishing difficult feats that only a seasoned gamers can do.
And it isn't just buying them. It is the gamers with a lot of time, a Gamefly account and/or large wallet, and it helps to be good.
With that said, gamerscore is pointless imo. But, a lot of people get into it and it helps get them to purchase more product.
jeremy @ Feb 2nd 2007 4:18PM
This is what happens when an industry feels they can get away with murder. And this is what happens with their customers (us gamers) allow them to.
Want all this microtransaction hogwash to end? Don't buy it. Don't buy silly added content that should have been included in the actual game. Don't buy "bonus features" that should be free. Just don't do it. They are only doing it because they feel there is a market for it. If there isn't, things can begin to change.