Survey shows Xbox Avatar 'RetroCade'

by Christopher Grant on Oct 7th 2009 11:58AM

If a consumer survey sent over to us by a tipster is to be believed, Microsoft is looking to bring a virtual Avatar arcade to the Xbox 360. Some of the potential names listed in the survey are "Game Room," "RetroCade," "Tower of ROM," and "Classics LIVE." Yeah, we're partial to "Tower of ROM" also.

If the proposed service sounds familiar, that's because it's nearly identical to PlayStation Home's arcade spaces – like Namco's virtual arcade – just replace the dead-eyed dopplegangers of Home with the scrunchable avatars of Xbox 360. The second survey question sent to us asks, "Which of the following names would most compel you to purchase the product?" indicating that the "Tower of ROM" might not be a free space but could instead have a fee associated with it.

While the survey doesn't give us much more to go on (besides a sinking feeling that we're not interested), we thought we'd ask you, Joystiq Biomass, to weigh in on the product's name. Let the fat cats in Redmond know what you think!

What's the best title for a virtual Avatar arcade?
Game Room	823 (13.6%)
RetroCade	1363 (22.6%)
AvatArcade	491 (8.1%)
RetroGame	116 (1.9%)
Game Preserve	123 (2.0%)
Game Gallery	88 (1.5%)
Tower of ROM	1944 (32.2%)
Tower of Game(s)	55 (0.9%)
Classics	77 (1.3%)
Classics LIVE	960 (15.9%)

Tags: Avatars, Game-Room, Microsoft, retro, Rumor, Xbox-360, Xbox-Game-Room, Xbox-Live

Reader Comments (92)

Avatardcade!

Hopefully you have to wait in line to play a game like in Home. That is Home's most innovative feature.

I never used PS home so I don't quite follow here. Does this means instead of just playing a retro game from XBLA, you need to pretend you play at a screen in you TV screen via your avatar? How is it neccessary?

This is not intended to be a flame statement, but do you still have to wait in lines for the arcade games in Home?

I really hope that's not in this Avatar Arcade. I would be unlikely to mess with it if that was the case.

Reads: "Some of the potential names listed in the survey are...Tower of ROM."
Says to self, "Oooo, I like that one."
Reads: "Yeah, we're partial to "Tower of ROM" also."
Proceeds to LoL.

I'd be more inclined to go in there if it was named "Tower of Moms." I find women are very much like wine.

And they're probably reaching their sexual peak right around the same time as you will be. Congratulations, teenager.

Your conclusions are as crudely drawn as your avatar.

[banned]

Go ask your English teacher.

no u

how does this work in home? would/do you only get to play the games that you've paid for?

in the main arcade you can play any of the games in there for free....there are games you can win and unlock by buying the Namco Museum tho

In Home, you don't have to pay for any games you want to play.

In Home, all you have to pay for is clothing.

Just dumb.

More games, less screwing with avatars. Why copy Home? It's boring and useless, this, with even less to do, will likely manage to be even more useless.

if it's going to be free, lets try to pick a cool name and if we're going to have to pay for this upfront (or with a fee), lets pick the worst name, so no one will want it. Just my two cents.

Someone violated their NDA giving you that!!! OMG!!! I just took a survey that I recieved in my email that lets put it this way, made me have deja vu reading this article.

Yea this happens all the time....thats why they don't give away sources

ROM = Read-Only Memory

What does the acronym have to do with not paying money for it?

(as Admiral Ackbar) IT'S A TRAP!!!

They should call it "Avatar Arcade" That way there is no confusion about what it is and they aren't limited to retro games should they decide to add more.

On October 1st, they released update 1.3 for Home. Since then, there are only a handful of glitches available to do in Home. Most of them were removed due to the corrections made to how you stand up. No more bench or popup glitches. Redbull glitch was also corrected. That was a real shame BTW...

People look at home and see a big chat room. Glitchers look at home and it was a huge forbidden playground. Some of those glitches took real skill. There were some that I practiced for hours. All just to stand on top of a rock that no one else could. :::sigh:::

Long live the Homelings, Praise Mother!

Oh, I've wasted my life.

NXE does not need more bloat; in fact it could stand to lose a few hundred calories.

Please, whatever you do - don't make this mandatory. I don't use Home and I don't want to use this either. I'd rather have a speedy GUI with my consoles, not one that's prettied up and slower than a blue hair in a Buick.

How about "Flynn's Arcade?"

No "Starcade" option? :(

I dunno, can't pull myself to remotely like tower of rom.

All those names are terrible.

And this service would only be worth it if it were free. Especially if someone already owns the Sonic Classic 40game pack disc whatever it's called.

With this arcade and the Netflix couch environment there's no doubt that Microsoft intends to beat Sony at their own game and release their own version of Home. And since they're already doing avatars better than Sony their Home rip-off will probably be way better than Home because it'll probably be a lot more seamless.

u think the wii rip off avatars are way better then sony's home avatars? lol you need to stop smoking that crack. you need to give your last brain cell a chance to survive. dam kid your so brainwashed with ms tatics you can see they steal from everyone else that offers it for free and makes you pay ungodly amounts of money for it? you need to wake up and see the light.

Download it now, if you like Earthbound it is a must. Seriously one of the best games I've played this year.

Those names are all terrible. I suggest Avatard Arcade. And yes I said Avatard because anyone willing to pay real money for the lame stuff in the Avatar Marketplace is a serious 'tard.

Stupid.

I would rather MS made new avatar games I actually want to play, then xbox version of Home.

@Archon (PSN: Archonik, XBL: DarkARHN)
I will be capslocking Sony when they release a Twitter/Facebook app.
Actually, the Video Store is scheduled for November in the UK, might get a chance then in a similar post.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sorry dude but you wont be "capslocking" because TWITTER, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE AND FLICKER APP. are already on the PSN. da hell i can order Papa John's Pizza from the PSN.

I hope that one day I can be standing in the Tower of ROM playing Tower of Druaga.

i see another way for ms to rip it's customers off. they make you pay for everything for the 360. you pay to play online you pay for accessories now they are going to make you pay for this online service that looks like a nintendo game. lol i hope you like paying for wii graphics 360 fanboys. roflmfao!!!!.

I hope that this ends of really coming to the Xbox 360. I also hope that it is free. This just keeps bring more and more entertainment to the X360. There is one thing that I am actually glad about. I am glad that the Xbox 360 doesn't have a web browser because I think that when video game consoles have a web browser it seems too much like a computer. So I enjoy not having a web browser. So I guess if they release this game it will be a great place to play retro games!!!

If this is like Home I wouldn't give a damn. Like Home I could just ignore it. If the entire interface is altered in a way that effects how I do things now, I would be annoyed.

One thing I did find funny though was that some people seem to think if this is free to gold XBL members it would be another disadvantage. As far as I can see it'd be a value-add, even if not one any real gamer would give a damn about owning. Like Home!

Personally I prefer to play all the classics through emulators on my GP2X Wiz. But a homebrew PSP would give the same results. All the games in their original glory and portable too.

well i never! i'm a real gamer and i like home. been doing this for more than 20 years now, i really don't see how you can speak for 'real gamers'. i personally like to play pool and texas hold 'em in home and chess in the mall. but that could never be enough reason to load up that blasphemy that is home now could it Mr. Real Gamer?

Nice finally people will leave Home alone, because if it's on the 360 it has to be cool. Only sad part is I KNOW you'll have to pay for this.

Oh, I just prefer either loading up texas hold'em or pool from a menu or if I really want to be authentic, I go to the pub for some pool or play poker with my buddies wherever. It's impossible to simulate snacks these days I tells ya...

Perhaps I should make my stance clearer. To me, Playstation Home is ASS just as I'll probably find the 360's arcades, theaters or whatever they wish to introduce.
A real life environment on the other hand can be irreplacable.

And perhaps I should introduce a title like 'real console gamer', but then I'd have people talking about playing with prompts or bank tellers or something. Can't win...

I think we've all seen this before. Looks a lot like Playstation Home if you ask me. The only difference is that this is made for arcade only, Home is more of a social thing so I guess thats kind of a loop hole for Microsoft to come up with something for you to do with the avatars without pple getting pissed saying, "YOU RIPPED OFF PLAYSTATION HOME AND THE MII CHANNEL". I kind of like the idea of this better than Home because this is main arcade games, but then again, one of the main reasons that I got a PS3 is that online gamplay is free, lol

"Game Room" sounds too general, more like a Main-Menu-Option for all Games on the 360. therefore it just doesn't fit.

"RetroCade" would be fitting, butit just looks sliced down.

"AvatArcade" see RetroCade.

"RetroGame"- What? Only one Game?

"Game Preserve" Sounds to me like conserve.

"Game Gallery" reminds me on "The Game & Watch Gallery", possibly starting a Copyright-Conflikt.

"Tower of Game(s)" see "Game Room".

"Tower of ROM" Sounds like a ROM-Wares-Site, therefore it could be mainly associated with illegal Content.

"Classics" doesn't seem chopped, and seems to fit, plural (but isn't Copyrightable).

"Classics LIVE" doesn't seem chopped either and seems to fit too, plural.
Additionally, it could be best associated with the XBox and might also be Copyrightable as a whole, so I think, this would work the best.

Previous 50 Comments

Survey shows Xbox Avatar 'RetroCade'

Reader Comments (92)

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