In an exclusive interview with Next Generation, Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten announced the rather disappointing news that they will not be releasing a Spring update this year. This of course means that the rumored Spring update feature set that was leaked last week was complete bologna. Whitten says that instead of putting their resources into a Spring update, they decided to focus their energy into "building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service" (ahem, more reliability). But all is not lost in the land of updates, as Whitten confirmed Microsoft will be rolling out a change to their DRM policy in June that'll allow content owners to re-license XBLA and XBLM content to a single console. This move will make said content available when disconnected from Xbox Live.Finally, we learn that the Xbox Live Arcade will get a metaphorical Spring cleaning as Microsoft plans to remove under-performing Arcade titles. Games that have been on the market for over six months, have a Metacritic average lower than 65% and a conversion rate below 6% will be targeted for de-listing. A move that Microsoft hopes will streamline the service and open it up to bigger and better things.
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
5-22-2008 @ 5:29PM
Andrew said...
I would have given up on around Xbox 4. I've only had to have mine replaced once, and I'm thinking if I have to go through the experience again I might have to make the switch.
5-22-2008 @ 5:44PM
Trekster_Gamer said...
I think your 7th xbox is a bullshit statement intended to slam the XB360 in general! Either that or you are just abusive to the console. Maybe you should stop using the 360 as a footstool, that's what a Wii and PS3 are for!
5-22-2008 @ 7:23PM
Sharp said...
Come on Trekster the 360 doesn't need any help making it look like a POS system. It is doing that all by itself, this article is further proof of that.
As soon as I get the RROD it will be out of the door and MS will be out of my gaming plans.
5-22-2008 @ 10:14PM
chubytuby said...
I agree with trekster :\ You can't possible go through that many 360's without doing something wrong to them.
5-22-2008 @ 5:03PM
leo2178 said...
so now if you purchased a game that wasn't popular enough you can't delete it for space and re-download it later. way to go M$... u really want us to buy overpriced HD's don't you.
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5-23-2008 @ 5:00PM
Andrew said...
I have a feeling that you will still be able to redownload games that you have already purchased, but people won't be able to find them in the list to purchase them for the first time....
At least I hope that is what is going to happen.
5-22-2008 @ 5:04PM
Octantis said...
Throw us a frickin bone here. An update every six months was pretty poor and now it is every 12?
Hey MS how about a little something to keep that fans happy? I don't need a lot just a little something to keep the fanboy fires burning. 4 way chat how hard is that? You can find greater than that in Halo 3.
I still love ya xbox, just want to give you a new coat of paint.
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5-22-2008 @ 5:05PM
webster1990 said...
damn it, those features listed in the fake update list thing sounded awesome.
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5-22-2008 @ 5:06PM
jaferris said...
what this stupid
why ms create the spring and fall updates if they just going leave one of them out
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they say listening too what the gamers want but they never include it
and going have too wait till fall now too see if they even going add anything else
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pay £40 a year for service and they dont improve on it waste of money
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5-22-2008 @ 5:49PM
Sean said...
You should pay £40 on English lessons and quit whining.
Microsoft have no obligation to provide us with dashboard updates. They offer much more than the competition, so there really isn't a massive need to add fancy, pointless features. I'd rather they concentrated on the backbone of the service to improve reliability, and perhaps increase the likelihood of switching to partial-dedicated servers.
5-22-2008 @ 5:10PM
Darth Yoda 03 said...
That's great they are fixing the drm issues, but one think I'm concerned about where it says: "... re-license XBLA and XBLM content to a single console"
Me and my wife both are gamers. And we have 2 xbox 360's so if my wife wants to play or watch tv on the main tv I can go to the other tv and play. And i keep my account on a memory card, then sign into live in the other room, and can play the arcade games on content that i bought on my other xbox 360 since I am signed into live. But usually play on my main tv so also want the content there when i play in there. I hope it doesn't mean i won't be able to any more. I can move my game discs over from one room to the other and my xbox live account over without having to buy a second copy of the game, etc, so i don't want to have to start buying 2 arcade games and 2 of each downloadable content, etc.
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5-22-2008 @ 5:11PM
jeff said...
"Metacritic average lower than 65% and a conversion rate below 6% will be targeted for de-listing"
What, no more Yaris!! I better go re-download that great game!
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5-22-2008 @ 5:11PM
DeaconBlade 360 said...
actually, he didn't confirm there was no Spring update. all that was said was that there would be no significant changes this spring. looks, features and other cosmetic things associated with Dash updates.
there may be an update but instead of the usual, users should expect internal changes instead.
:)
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5-23-2008 @ 1:31AM
ericdrum said...
EXACTLY. Nobody read his comments. All the game websites just copied the stupid headline from that site. Total link bait.
5-22-2008 @ 5:14PM
ZEBRA NINER said...
Hmmm, weird. Well, whatever. I would like a 4 way chat. Also, removing XBLA titles doesn't really make a lot of sense. Why not discount the prices, and try to squeeze a few more pennies out of them?
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5-22-2008 @ 5:30PM
SABCA said...
The removal of games sounds like a horrible idea.
I DO see it being smart to take them off the main list, and relocate them to something like "classics", "Over a year old", or "Retired/Discounted Titles". However, you're telling me if I have a game DL'd and a new friend who just got a 360 wants to join me on it, if the general public didn't like the game (hence low reviews), he might not be able to get it at all, permanently?
Maybe they'll make it so that you can "Tell a friend" about the game, and that will allow them to Download it still, even if it's not on the main list. Because, otherwise, this sounds like a really bad idea.
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5-22-2008 @ 5:39PM
SABCA said...
Interesting note in the full article, they say they'll give a 3 month notice before the game is removed. Well, that's not as bad as it COULD be. I'm glad to see that, at least. However, this still makes me wonder...
5-22-2008 @ 5:32PM
The Beta Max said...
no spring update? BOO
pulling crappy XBLA titles? YAY
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5-22-2008 @ 5:36PM
monkeywithnoeyes said...
maybe it would of been a better move to allow those arcade games that are set fo "delete" to become free for a months period each to gold memebers.. slightly adding to a much needed reason for the additional charge of a service every other platform in existance gets for free.
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5-22-2008 @ 5:36PM
RT said...
Dammit MS, all I wanted was MKV support and 4-way chat...
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