Underperforming XBLA titles to be delisted

by James Ransom-Wiley { May 22nd 2008 at 5:31PM }

We're not the only ones tired of sifting through the digital dump. Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten has made it clear that any stinkers in the Xbox Live Arcade catalog will soon be delisted, he told Next-Gen. That's a nice way of saying, Microsoft is finally taking out the trash. And what qualifies as 100% pure garbage, you ask? It's a combination of things: A title must be at least six months old, have a Metacritic score below 65 and a conversion rate below 6%. Microsoft will provide a three-month notice before delisting any game.

"Overall I think you will find this will focus the catalog more on larger, more immersive games and make it much easier to find the games you are looking for," said Whitten.

Update: Microsoft has clarified that delisted titles can be re-downloaded by previous owners.

Tags: breakingnews, xbla, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

koehler83 @ May 22nd 2008 5:37PM

Whats wrong with an archive system and a competent search function?

Nate @ May 22nd 2008 5:51PM

In theory, I agree, but I think they're trying to cull the really bad crap so XBLA doesn't get a bad rap if someone buys and downloads one of those crappy games.

Plus, who knows, maybe a large number of old games slows down or otherwise negatively impacts the system. Scaling isn't always first in developers' minds.

thesimplicity @ May 22nd 2008 6:56PM

An archive system is exactly what's needed. This essentially screws anyone who wants to make a niche title or otherwise target a small audience. Isn't that the point of digital distribution... that you can take risks? But if you're designing a game from the ground up for XBLA, you spend money designing it, squashing the bugs, getting it certified... and then MS says "Sorry, you weren't making us enough money so we're not going to allow your product to be distributed. Unless you want to switch it over to XNA and not see any return." Absolute bullshit. What would a developer more likely do: port it to another platform (spending more money) or just not make titles for XBLA?

Kujel @ May 22nd 2008 9:57PM

They aren't discontinuing just any games just the ones that are shit, that takes a little time to be decided.

Erik Johnson @ May 22nd 2008 5:38PM

Looks like some website just got a whole bunch of info from Microsoft.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 22nd 2008 5:39PM

Yeah, I'd say no need to remove em as reviews for DD games can be quite a bit more harsh than retail release outlets. Archive them, or simply label them "classics."

Demaar @ May 22nd 2008 9:28PM

Yeah, what the hell happened to half pricing old games anyway? There's a new game every week but they cut prices like twice a year or something.

Oh well, whatever they do is obviously up to them, I just hope they say "HAY, LAST CHANCE TO GET ****" when they're about to take them down.

ChooChooCharlie (MK 0430-8740-2222) @ May 22nd 2008 5:43PM

" ... conversion rate below 6%. Microsoft will provide a three-month notice before delisting any game."

Maybe that will encourage some of the devs to reduce the prices on their games. That's good news.

thesimplicity @ May 22nd 2008 7:01PM

Devs don't set the price for XBLA arcade offerings... they "suggest" them. MS has the final say.

Lekko @ May 22nd 2008 5:43PM

So when is Nintendo going to do this?

Noshino @ May 22nd 2008 6:10PM

thing is, if they do so, they'll be left with nothing on WiiWare...

xFenixKnightx @ May 22nd 2008 6:49PM

Run Noshino RUN!!!

Markez (MKWii 4339-2878-5120) @ May 22nd 2008 6:59PM

@ Noshino and Fenix

Too funny, :)

I have downloaded Lost Winds but haven't played it much yet. Between that and the FF game, aren't those palatable games? I expect plenty of garbage on WiiWare, no doubt, but those both seem decent.

Which is odd when I noticed GameSpot gave each a 5? They really seem to be dumping and pooping on WiiWare games.

Cal @ May 23rd 2008 4:33AM

It's GameSpot, does anyone really care about them anymore?

voodoo_craig @ May 22nd 2008 5:43PM

And if I've bought the game, RROD'd and want it again I'm screwed I guess?

'Congratulations! You paid for a game and we're not gonna let you download it!'

Dirk Dorkelson @ May 22nd 2008 5:48PM

No, you can use the new DRM management tool to migrate the content over to your new machine, thanks to the detatchable hard drive.

What's up with the four blog posts off of one interview, though?

CB @ May 22nd 2008 5:47PM

That's why you kept your hard drive.

Vidikron (FU) @ May 22nd 2008 5:52PM

And if it was your HDD that died?

CB @ May 22nd 2008 6:24PM

Dirk Dorkelson
May 22nd 2008
5:48PM

CB
May 22nd 2008
5:47PM

WTF? Why is my post posted later?

colin @ May 22nd 2008 7:51PM

do you use a password or click the link in ur email?

CB @ May 22nd 2008 9:34PM

password :/

born2kill @ May 22nd 2008 5:46PM

Elitist ahole policy. They can just add a filter for the hotter games, or put different games into differnt sections if they like. Removing them altogether is just mean.

Korova @ May 22nd 2008 10:54PM

Yeah, I think they can achieve differentiation through the interface. Let people check out the crap, if they want to, just have a bargain bin section or crap section. Whatever.

Morgemil @ May 22nd 2008 5:46PM

Or how about community ratings??

Chase @ May 22nd 2008 5:51PM

A community/user rating system would be a great addition to the service. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft would be willing to give the power to the people.

tmacairjordan87 @ May 22nd 2008 6:44PM

So every jackass can rate every game a 1/10?

Tiptup300 @ May 22nd 2008 7:08PM

http://creators.xna.com/ ?

LaughingTarget @ May 22nd 2008 7:08PM

Easy enough to add a control that only allows those who bought it rate the game.

kftgr @ May 22nd 2008 10:31PM

Well, in an indirect way, there is a form of community rating already: the ones the bought game gave it a +1.

This really has become an issue of voting with your wallet.

CB @ May 22nd 2008 5:49PM

For you guys complaining, I'm sure the current games that have already done well will not be going anywhere.

slacker164 @ May 22nd 2008 5:49PM

Doesn't this totally undermine one of the key features of direct download services? That is that titles have a near infinite shelf life w/out competing for retail space. I don't care how bad they suck, there's no reason to pull them. Make a games-that-suck category or something. This is a real slap in the face to XBLA developers.

Doom3killer @ May 22nd 2008 5:52PM

no its not

games under 60% shouldnt be there to begin with. this will make devs make better games

ChooChooCharlie (MK 0430-8740-2222) @ May 22nd 2008 6:05PM

I'm wondering how Microsoft can actually do this. Wouldn't the developers have signed some kind of contract to initially put their games up on XBLA?

thesimplicity @ May 22nd 2008 6:50PM

This won't make devs make better games, it will make them take less risks.

Cal @ May 23rd 2008 4:37AM

Doom, what about Haze though? =P

Doom3killer @ May 22nd 2008 5:51PM

it's not mean... yaris should NEVER have existed... me=happy it will disappear so that new xbox owners won't face the same terrible game i have

salmonmoose @ May 22nd 2008 6:06PM

It's probably worth pointing out that Yaris would not be picked up by this system. As a free game it has a conversion rate of 100% :)

I think it's a pretty dumb move - there have been retail titles that do horridly in ratings and early sale, yet become cult classics later in life.

Tiptup300 @ May 22nd 2008 7:20PM

Technically, Yaris has a conversion of undefined. It even sucks at math.

Mr Khan @ May 22nd 2008 5:52PM

I agree, it seems unnecessarily mean to remove under-performing titles. Might piss off even more devs, adding to the fuel of distaste among indie devs surrounding XBLA

That said, they've picked a fair enough system to do it. Combined low sales, a poor metacritic score, and age for a game

However, that would let at least one game i can think of (God Hand) would fall dangerously close to that criteria (metacritic average 73 and notoriously poor sales), so it would still be unfair to a dedicated corps of fans

Chase @ May 22nd 2008 5:58PM

God Hand is available in XBLA?

Superstar90 @ May 22nd 2008 11:30PM

GOD HAND CONFIRMED FOR XBLA!

SirPasta117 @ May 22nd 2008 5:54PM

I dont know......unlike retail games, you wont find theses on ebay if for some reason a game becomes popular. How do producers/developers feel about this?

Doom3killer @ May 22nd 2008 5:55PM

they r only removing BAD GAMES!

Dirt @ May 22nd 2008 5:55PM

I just hope I can redownload the games if my drive dies, or I need to make room and delete them off.

If not, Microsoft is in a lot of trouble.

PojoMofo @ May 22nd 2008 5:58PM

Typical M$ BS, If there isnt a way to redownload already purchased games that have been "delisted", This is huge mistake.

Doom3killer @ May 22nd 2008 6:00PM

why would u buy a low rated game anyway?

bouncicles @ May 22nd 2008 6:15PM

You keep making the same comment. You need to realize that "good" and "bad" aren't objective descriptors, and that ratings aren't a measurement of quality, nor are purchase rates. Ideally, a person would be able to determine for him or herself the value of a game rather than rely on loose external metrics.

LaughingTarget @ May 22nd 2008 7:02PM

There is no recourse to buying a bad game, ratings are more important when downloading. Once you drop $5 on junk, it's gone forever. With retail, you usually can exchange the game for another one. It's unreasonable to ask every consumer to just buy every game out there just to judge for themselves.