XBox Live Arcade Questions

[gkarris]

Just some quick questions and concerns.

I downloaded Wing Commander Arcade Demo and Battlestar Galactica Demo. They are not real 3D games? Seems like just updated Asteriod games. Lots of fun though. I'm thinking of actually unlocking them.

More Questions:

1. How do they fit these games so compactly? The demos are only about 40Megs. Are the unlocked versions larger? I guess they are only $10 each, so not worth putting them on disc.

2. How do you back these up? To a memory card? Can you re-download them for free? Can you transfer them to a different XBox? What if I get a replacement XBox in the future?

3. I'm a videogame collector. It's sort of strange not getting something to "hold". I was just at Best Buy and bought the PC version of Battlestar Galactica. Yes, it costs twice as much ($20) and I have to try to make it work on a PC, but at least I can hold it and have it be a part of my videogame collection...

What do people plan on doing when you want to keep these games indefinitely and play them well in the future when the XB360 becomes a "classic system"?

 

[Mackilroy]

Just some quick questions and concerns.

I downloaded Wing Commander Arcade Demo and Battlestar Galactica Demo. They are not real 3D games? Seems like just updated Asteriod games. Lots of fun though. I'm thinking of actually unlocking them.

More Questions:

1. How do they fit these games so compactly? The demos are only about 40Megs. Are the unlocked versions larger? I guess they are only $10 each, so not worth putting them on disc.

2. How do you back these up? To a memory card? Can you re-download them for free? Can you transfer them to a different XBox? What if I get a replacement XBox in the future?

3. I'm a videogame collector. It's sort of strange not getting something to "hold". I was just at Best Buy and bought the PC version of Battlestar Galactica. Yes, it costs twice as much ($20) and I have to try to make it work on a PC, but at least I can hold it and have it be a part of my videogame collection...

What do people plan on doing when you want to keep these games indefinitely and play them well in the future when the XB360 becomes a "classic system"?

a. Never played either of them so I don't know.

1. Nope, from what I recall most XBL Arcade games are smaller than 50 megabytes. So 40 would be about right.

2. You don't need to back them up. Once you purchase them you can redownload them at your leisure, provided you have an XBL account on a particular Xbox 360. I switched from the initial run model to one equipped with HDMI, and I was able to redownload everything without any issues.

3. Is this really a question?

 

[Foxglove9]

I'm a game collector as well so I feel your pain as not having something physical to store as backup. I also was wondering what will happen somewhere down the line when 360 / XBLA are obsolete and your Hard Drive is dead. I guess you just loose out on the games. Or better yet, by time that happens you might see them emulated if you want to play them. Of course another question is: Will any 360's still operate by time it becomes a classic system.

I believe you can back them up to a memory card, but in order to play them on a new or different machine you'll need to login to your gametag in order for them to work. Kinda like how iTunes works.

The demo is pretty much the game, when you buy it that just unlocks the game.

I was disappointed by Battlestar Gallatica. And I love Asteroids. Wing Commander is different than the original huh?

 

[thegreatunknown]

welcome to the digital age. Just think, now you don't have to have all that clutter everywhere.

I'm guessing some variant of XBLA will continue to exist while MS survives in the console market so you will probably always be able to download them again. However, if MS falls off the face of the earth, then your arcade games will probably be lost in no mans land if you lose them.

 

[zero2dash]

1. How do they fit these games so compactly? The demos are only about 40Megs. Are the unlocked versions larger? I guess they are only $10 each, so not worth putting them on disc.

It's cheaper for developers because they don't have to pay for packaging, disc pressing, printed materials, etc.

The demo is the size of the game. From what I can tell, when you pay for the full version, it just downloads a small file (like a product key or code, probably) that unlocks the full game.

2. How do you back these up? To a memory card? Can you re-download them for free? Can you transfer them to a different XBox? What if I get a replacement XBox in the future?

Your gamertag account is tied into all purchases and you can redownload the items again with no trouble at all. No need to back the games up, you can always re-download them back. Hell you can delete the games if you need to free up space and still come back later and redownload them. Except for Hexic [1]. Yep...no downloads for Hexic [1] (for some reason).

3. I'm a videogame collector. It's sort of strange not getting something to "hold". I was just at Best Buy and bought the PC version of Battlestar Galactica. Yes, it costs twice as much ($20) and I have to try to make it work on a PC, but at least I can hold it and have it be a part of my videogame collection...

Doesn't bother me, I'd rather have a digital copy which is less likely to be stepped on and broken or scratched by pets or kids.

What do people plan on doing when you want to keep these games indefinitely and play them well in the future when the XB360 becomes a "classic system"?

Keep the 360 and keep playing them or download them on the successor system (if that's possible which it should be in all practicality).

However, if MS falls off the face of the earth

Elvis, John Gotti, and John Lennon are more likely to be found playing texas hold'em in a hotel room somewhere moreso than Microsoft falling off the face of the earth. They're too entrenched in the PC market.