Our Xbox-toting brethren at 360 Fanboy recently came across a list of Xbox Live Arcade titles which may be up for expungement in Microsoft's spring cleaning of their online store. The list (available after the break) includes all titles that fulfill the first and second criteria of Microsoft's new standards -- that is, they've been available for six months, and currently hold a 65 percent or lower average score on Metacritic. A steady conversion rate (the number of people who purchase the complete title after downloading the demo, a figure only Microsoft has access to) is the only thing standing between these games and a date with the delete button -- so if you've been holding out on downloading Shrek-N-Roll, you may want to pick it up in an expedient manner.

With the news that the 70 percent royalties cut for independent developers of Xbox Live Arcade titles had been cut in half, the indie gaming community was irrevocably up in arms, with some XBLA devs even threatening to switch platforms. However, the reasoning behind the cut is not as cut-and-dry as "M$ jus wants moar money" -- according to a recent GameSetWatch report, a number of factors led to the royalty shrinkage.

It appears that a sincere apology and the promise of a free arcade game aren't enough to satisfy the unbridled rage of some Xbox Live users suffering from frequent outages -- three Texas residents slapped Microsoft with a class action lawsuit yesterday, claiming that the disruption of the service over the holidays is a breach of the Xbox Live Terms of Use contract. The suit claims the damages suffered from the outages exceed $5 million.

While we usually scoff at class action lawsuits for seemingly petty reasons, the plaintiffs have an excellent point -- Microsoft must have expected an influx of server-taxing Xbox Live subscribers around the holidays, yet they "failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers." The ball appears to be in your court, Microsoft -- that better be one hell of a free arcade game.

Microsoft offers two free Xbox Live Arcade games if you bought a 360 and Live account over the past year. Fill out a short registration form and enter code "XBX0807" to qualify. However, the site is cagey about which games you'll get. The terms and conditions state that you'll receive an email code by September 30 to download the titles, but the offer "will be for games selected by Microsoft."

360 fence-sitters still have until September 15 to buy the console and net the games. And the promotion includes buyers as far back as August 8, 2006. The wording sounds like Live account renewals don't qualify, but we still registered. We've contacted Microsoft for clarification but hadn't heard specifics when this post went live. We'll update you when we learn more.

[Update: Microsoft told us it hasn't announced which games you'll get and also stated that the promotion is for new Live accounts only. So officially at least, Live renewals get no love.]

[Via Dealnews]

Proponents of digital distribution have long argued that cutting out the retail middleman would allow more money to go directly to a game's developer, letting lower-budget games thrive. Now that Xbox Live Arcade is approaching its first anniversary, how are developers of top-selling games like Marble Blast Ultra making out?

Not horribly, but not amazingly either, according to GarageGames' Jeff Tunnel In a post on his Making It Big in Games blog, Tunnel breaks down the publicly available information on game budgets, Microsoft's distribution fees and game sales to come up with a rough estimate of a $780,000 net for a game like Marble Blast Ultra. As Tunnel puts it "if you are a starving Indie developer this sounds like an infinite amount of money. But, in the world of publishers, this is not considered a big hit."

Tunnel also mentions that XBLA development budgets are expanding quickly, following a trend in traditionally distributed games. Soon, Tunnel predicts, a $300,000 budget will be considered cheap for a Live Arcade game -- food for thought for anyone hoping to jump into 360 development with nothing but a $99 XNA license and a dream.

[Via Edge Online]

Thanks to the folks at the Gamerscore Blog, we've learned that the next Xbox back compat update "should be out in the next few weeks."

In his earlier blast against BC, Peter Moore proclaimed that nobody is concerned about it anymore, but thankfully the gentler Gamerscore peeps have set the record straight, stating: "We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the 'Emulation Ninjas' who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you."

We suppose quarterly updates to the BC list aren't TOO bad (hey, they sure beat semiannual dashboard updates), but getting more than a dozen titles to work each time would definitely help a lot more for those with original Xbox favorites they'd prefer to play on their new machines. Personally, this blogger would like to see the following titles added to the list: Dead or Alive Ultimate, Doom 3, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, LEGO Star Wars, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Soul Calibur II, and Capcom Classics Collection. It may not be realistic to expect Street Fighter support when Hyper Fighting is set to hit Live Arcade sometime in the near future, but one can (vainly) hope.

[Via Major Nelson's blog]

See also:

• Xbox BC not a priority, says Moore
• No Black on 360 till MS makes it so... or a sequel comes out
• US 360 backward-compatibility list shrinks
• A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update
• SFII on Xbox Live: what's taking so long?

Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.

Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.

Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.

Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below:

• 360 wireless gaming receiver (which enables wireless 360 controllers, headsets, and wheels on your PC): $20
• Wireless racing wheel: $130
• Wireless headset: $60
• Xbox Live Vision Camera (with headset, one month of Live Gold, and one arcade -- presumably Xbox Live Arcade -- game): $40
• New faceplates for Halo (with the Master Chief on 'em, but not Halo 3 specific) and Forza (no word on connections to the sequel): $20 each
• 256 MB portable memory unit (MU): no official price yet, but definitely not four times the cost of the older 64MB MU
  

Besides acknowledging that the PC is "the biggest gaming device of all," MS appears to be setting an agressive price for its most relevant new PC accessory, the wireless gaming receiver (at least in comparison to the outrageously priced 360 wireless networking adapter). Unfortunately, no price was revealed as of yet for the USB-based HD-DVD add-on.

We've speculated in our recent podcasts as to what would happen to the various 360 SKUs when price drops inevitably occur. An interesting theory bandied about by prolific Joystiq Contributor epobirs (on our earlier bump-to-256MB-MU post) was that a $20 price drop for the Core system, coupled with a $20 price drop on the 64MB MU, would finally allow folks to pick up a capable non-Premium bundle for the original $300 Core price point. (Not a bad way to undercut PS2 memory card prices, too.) We hope to get official confirmation on this info in the not-too-distant future.

[Update: Sorry, had the camera price wrong in the headline; it now matches the price of the bundle listed in the body of the text below.]

See also:

• 360's Mem Unit getting a bump to 256MB? (Comment from epobirs)
  
• Use 360 wireless peripherals with a PC
• Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Microsoft's Xbox 360 E3 event
• Joystiq / Engadget podcasts from Day One and Day Two of E3 2006
  

Microsoft had a little trouble getting the sound working on their Lumines kiosk, but once they got it up and running, I was immediatley struck not by the gameplay, which is familiar to anyone who played thisTetris-like game on the PSP, but by the Madonna video blaring in the background. That's because skin support for the Xbox Live Arcade version  includes the ability to run videos behind the puzzle grid. Interestingly, Microsoft told me they have yet to make a decision as whether we'll be able to use any content for this feature, or if it will only work with specific videos downloaded off XBLM. I'm guessing the latter, because positioning little squares with anime porn running in the background would just be too distracting. Lumines hits XBLA around the holidays.

I was pretty eager to get my hands, or rather my flapping arms, on Totem Balls, the first  Xbox Live Arcade title to make use of the 360 camera for gesture-based gameplay. Totem Balls has a tropical island theme. You control a little a totem pole-looking character by moving your arms up and down at your sides (a motion that resembles the funky chicken) as he collect balls that balance on his head. Unfortunately, it turns out the still-unpriced Xbox 360 camera has the same studio-like light requirements as the Sony EyeToy, making the game basically unplayable in the dim, romantic glow of the Xbox Live Arcade booth -- much to the chagrin of the Microsoft staff on hand. Despite keeping the gaming press in the dark until the emergency floodlights arrive, they claim it's a superior product.