Amazon no longer selling Xbox Live Arcade games, as GameStop begins to offer them

by Andrew Yoon on Aug 23rd 2010 2:01PM

Just one year after launching a retail portal for Xbox Live content, Amazon is "no longer selling Xbox Live Arcade game codes," according to a statement on the site's Xbox Live page. Following a prompt on the same page to buy Castle Crashers for Xbox 360, for example, shoppers will find the item listed as "Currently unavailable," with a notice adding, "We don't know when or if this item will be available again."

It's unclear why Amazon discontinued its Xbox Live program, considering the retailer continues to sell codes for games on PlayStation Network and Nintendo's WiiWare service. "You can continue to purchase Xbox Live points on Amazon.com and those points can be redeemed through your Xbox 360 console to purchase any of the games that were previously available," Amazon notes. (Those points can also be redeemed through the Xbox.com Marketplace, which does not offer standalone content codes for sale.)

In related news, Microsoft has partnered with GameStop to sell Xbox Live content codes in stores. Following a recent trial, codes for more than 45 downloadable games and add-ons will be offered in the retailer's locations nationwide, including the XBLA Summer of Arcade selection Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. With supposedly only "15 percent" of gamers buying downloadable games, GameStop President Tony Bartel told USA Today's Game Hunters that "the marketing and selling of downloadable content in store as a meaningful way to participate and expand the sales of digital content, providing the customer with a richer gaming experience." Essentially, the brick-and-mortar exposure should make more people aware that downloadable games exist in the first place -- something Amazon.com might not do so well.

Via: VG247
Source: Amazon, USA Today

Tags: amazon, dlc, gamestop, lara-croft-and-the-guardian-of-light, microsoft, xbla, xblm, xbox, xbox-live

Reader Comments (41)

We shall survive. I only usually mess with Amazon for stuff I can't get other places.

Who says it was Amazon.com that canceled the XBL code options? Could have just as easily been Microsoft.

@FireThief

orly?

Seems odd to go to Amazon to buy games on XBLA instead of just going to the xbox marketplace in the first place. I can understand a brick and mortar store, because some prefer to buy points cards rather than share credit card info. But if you're buying from Amazon, unless you're using Paypal, you'll be using your credit card with Amazon. Just don't see the need for the middleman here.

It seems odd until you realize that the code will unlock the game, no matter how much you paid for it.

Amazon had a habit of selling $20 games for $10 - $15 sometimes, so it was a real deal.

@The Tim

Amazon was nice in the regard that I could purchase my younger brother games on the fly and just email him the code instead of giving him my credit card number.

For the next gen, I hope Sony, MS, and Nintendo decide to just go with a simple system wherein dollars can be directly exchanged for games/dlc/whatever. I'm sick of "well it's 1200 points...but I only have 500...and I can only buy a 1600 point card...." Sure I can get discounted cards and come out with a lesser priced game, but it's such a hassle.

Amazon was great in this regard because you could go in, pay the exact amount, and walk away with a download code. Why Microsoft would block them out now is beyond me, unless Gamestop is paying them or something.

@BananaBoat

Ok, this makes sense. Yeah, that bugs me too, where you are forced to buy more than you need to sometimes.

@BananaBoat

I'm sorry it bugs you, but I'll take the regular discounts on what is basically money itself over a teeny tiny minor little itty bitty inconvenience every once in a while.

@BananaBoat

But yeah, having Amazon as an option was ideal, because then you had a choice of either. You could buy MS pts if they were on sale, or if you were going to have to pay full price you could just buy on Amazon and skip MS pts.

@BananaBoat

You can do this with Sony.

Put CC details on PS3, go to the store- put what you want in the cart, then checkout. it will take out only what you need - nothing more.

Spent $100 or so now on PSN, and had ZERO extra.

360? Spent $40.. and i've had 200 pts for nearly a year :/

@Faenix - I've got exactly 200 also. It's very annoying.

But...how will Gamestop profit?

You can't resell DLC!
You can't reserve DLC!

THIS IS MADDENING! (Would you like to reserve Madden 12? Free DLC with reserve.)

@CaptainProtonX - Next up is "XBLA game, exclusive to Gamestop!" I don't see a reason why Gamestop couldn't buy exclusivity for a downloadable game; not that I want to give them any ideas.

@CaptainProtonX

Oh, it's going to happen. There WILL be blood.

They already have exclusive DLC. We've already started down this slippery slope.

@HedonisticKai

Fly, yo. Rly.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I usually buy most my stuff from Amazon too. Generally, if you spend over $25 the shipping is free, and they don't charge me sales tax. Not to mention that they offer better deals and cheaper prices than the stores around where I live.

I'm bummed to hear this. It was great to be able to buy exactly what I wanted on Amazon, without that hassle of buying MS points in chunks and then end up with some left over. An added plus was no tax (in CA, at any rate), and the occasional sale. I hope the service comes back, and would be damn curious to hear the inside story on why it ended.

@PolishMountainMan; This has ALWAYS been my philosophy. Ohh how I despise Gamestop.

I guess Microsoft didn't like their sales so they gave the license to sell the games to Gamestop.

damn...I liked that I could buy codes that way and not worry about space bucks.....smh

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi What does everyone mean? This is like the 3rd comment going "I hate having leftover points" or something similar.

You CAN buy a 400 amount of points for $5. 800 for $10. 12 for $15. Just go to the marketplace and look for "buy points" or whatever.

That is too bad. I do pretty much all my shopping, besides for groceries, on Amazon. It was nice being able to instantly gift a game to a friend on Amazon if they were strapped for cash and there was an arcade game we really wanted to play together. I NEVER shop at gamestop after too many bad experiences, so this is pretty crummy news for me.

@FireThief

...the hell did you just say?

I buy from Amazon.com almost exclusively. I pay $80/year for 2-day shipping, same-day for video games.

I do all my shopping on Amazon, their prices are almost always the best. Gamestop ripped me off a few too many times and has permanently lost my business. This isn't too bad, just buy xbox live points on Amazon then buy the game.

@Imperial OR if you just want one 400 point or one 800 point or two 400s, or three 400s, or one 800 and two 400s, or one 1200 then go to the marketplace on the 360 itself and buy one 400 or one 800 or one 1200 individually.

@Imperial Shame I can't just buy 15 dollars worth of points.

Selling MS Points makes more money.

I was kinda expecting this because I hadn't seen many new games in XBLA also be offered on Amazon (unless there's something I missed).

Although I dislike the points system, I understand that Microsoft is a business and using the points system helps them make more money. Even if you are forced to buy more points than you need at the moment, it's not like you can't use those points at anytime during the future.

The new 1200 standard for XBLA games makes it difficult to balance out points nowadays since points are only sold by multiples of 800 to my knowledge.

@Lerkero Uh-uh, son. (Sorry, I've been reading Fire_Thiefs comments).

MS sells them in 400s, 800s and 1200s now on the 360 itself. Really convenient.

that's pretty nice, it means I can buy a 1200 game without having extra 400 points.

@Yeah TB

That's what's up then I guess. I ain't down with shopping in stores really, because Amazon is beast enough for me.

"That sounds fine with me. I'm not really into leaving my house to shop; because Amazon is a great company!"

yeah, i figured this out the other day, i was pretty upset. amazon usually had awesome sales for arcade games it was super convenient.

BOOOO

Wow I wasn't aware this was ever a thing. Too bad I missed out on it.

@FireThief Dey hatin'.

I'm really pissed to see this go. I read through some of the comments and people are saying "meh big deal" but Amazon offered discounts every now and then and I could use promotional credit on DLC games. I could also buy a game for 15 dollars instead of having to pay for 20 dollars in points. It's a real shame this is going especially considering how much I feel XBLA titles need more advertising outside of the dashboard. Went to go buy Scott Pilgrim today only to see this. What are you doing Microsoft... what are you doing?

Good bye yet another awesome way of buying games.

@cgoodno

That's pretty sweet. I pay about... $.34 (according to my calculator) driving the five miles round-trip to GameStop to get my games the day they come out (instead of waiting until the next day, seeing how most of Amazon's stuff ships the day it's released).

That's assuming I don't pick them up on my way home, of course, considering that GameStop is literally right off the highway exit I take to get home anyway. That way I know UPS hasn't dicked with my shit, too.

It's a win-win, and it doesn't cost me eighty bucks.

Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.

Breaking News

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days

Vita 'UMD Passport' won't be offered in US 218 comments
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review: A tempting fate 151 comments
David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update] 107 comments
Don't call it a remake: Final Fantasy X is a 'remaster,' to be clear 95 comments
Battleship movie adapted into FPS by Double Helix 92 comments

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Amazon no longer selling Xbox Live Arcade games, as GameStop begins to offer them

Reader Comments (41)

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:06PM Miranda Lawson said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:54PM cgoodno said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:11PM HedonisticKai said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:12PM The Tim said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:21PM Elranzer said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:27PM Bockchoy said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:13PM BananaBoat said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:21PM The Tim said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:35PM Vcize said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:36PM Vcize said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:47PM Faenix said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 3:13PM BananaBoat said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:14PM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:20PM BananaBoat said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:22PM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:22PM Elranzer said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:14PM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:23PM MowDownJoe said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:25PM Mouthsmasher said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:26PM Mr Bungo said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:28PM Mouthsmasher said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:44PM Sogeman said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:45PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Aug 24th 2010 3:32PM rayne117 said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:46PM WMcPete said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:51PM Yeah TB said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:55PM cgoodno said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 2:57PM Imperial said

Posted: Aug 24th 2010 3:30PM rayne117 said

Posted: Aug 30th 2010 4:58PM MarkHawk said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 3:00PM einhanderkiller said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 3:28PM Lerkero said

Posted: Aug 24th 2010 3:27PM rayne117 said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 4:04PM WINterfang said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 4:28PM HedonisticKai said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 4:31PM whodatninja said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 4:48PM killer rin said

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 6:34PM Fuzunga said

Posted: Aug 24th 2010 3:25PM rayne117 said

Posted: Aug 30th 2010 4:57PM MarkHawk said

Posted: Nov 1st 2010 4:36PM Not THAT Matt said

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

Double Fine breaks Kickstarter funding records

Featured Stories

Rhythm Heaven Fever review: Crazy into you

Remedy not done with Alan Wake

The Joystiq Show - DICE 2012: David Jaffe and Kevin Dent

The most popular postsin the last 7 days

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days