Xbox's Games On Demand Release Titles

[VA1N]

While a bunch of us have made it into the beta for the summer dashboard update for the 360, most have not. Well, come this Tuesday, you'll be able to see the same dashboard that we have been using for about a week now as it is released to the public. One such feature available in this latest update is the "Games on Demand" service. If you haven't been following what exactly games on demand is, it's basically a way to pay for a retail game and have it downloaded directly to your hard drive. No more waiting in line at Target for that 16 year old girl to get off her cell phone so she can ring you up...you can buy the game straight from your couch.

Be forewarned though, there have been rumors that no new titles will be available on the service. By new, I mean you won't be able to buy Modern Warfare 2 via a download the day it's released in stores. Instead, you are given the option to buy older games that have been out in stores for a while. Regardless, this is still a much welcome feature and hopefully Microsoft will let users buy games the day they release in stores.

Microsoft released the launch titles that will be available when Games on Demand goes live this upcoming Tuesday. Previously during the beta, the old Xbox games have been posing as "Games on Demand", but they are getting put in their proper place as the new list of 360 games below are made available for digital download:

• Assassin's Creed
• Burnout Paradise
• Call of Duty 2
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Right Night Round 3
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
• Mass Effect
• Meet The Robinsons
• MX vs ATV Untamed
• Need for Speed Carbon
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Prey
• Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
• Sega Rally
• TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
• Tomb Raider Legend
• Viva Pinata
• Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise

Not too shabby for older games most of us already have. I already see a couple on that list I'm thinking of picking up. This looks like a great way to spark some life into the older games people may have forgotten about. But come on Microsoft, we need that day one download option release pronto!

...One other benefit of this release list. JP now has no excuse not to pick up Mass Effect!

Update: Some prices have been announced on the NeoGaf forums. They are:

$20
Mass Effect
Need for Speed
Sonic the Hedgehog
Viva Pinata


$30
Lego Star Wars
Oblivion
Call of Duty 2
BioShock
Assassin's Creed

[UPDATE 8/18]
Saints Row 2 added for 3000 MS Points

[VA1N]

Some additional news to come out about the games on demand, the price. Microsoft announced yesterday that the initial prices of all games on demand will be between 20 and 30 bucks (1600 - 2400)

[JPetrillo]

Ahhh I new it wouldnt be long before they would bring current retail 360 games to the new Games on Demand feature! Only a matter of time now before games are available on the same day of release date. I bet that'll happen before this time next year. I wouldn't be surprised to see it done before the end of Q1 2010.

And yeah, I'll have to think of some other excuse now... haha

[VA1N]

Yeah, I knew the retail games were coming with the live update, but I want those retail games. Although, I was thinking about it...I don't know if I would buy a brand new game off xbox marketplace. A brand new retail game that is. I'm big on buying a game, playing it, and if it's a game like mass effect, I keep it...but if it's, let say, Halo Wars, or something forgettable like that, I'll sell it. Can't sell something you don't have in your possession. I don't know what I'll do if they make that feature available.

It's an easy choice for PC games because they usually have DRM on them and you can't sell 'em, but 360 games are fair game.

[JPetrillo]

Good point for those of you who sell your copies when you're done with them. I keep all mine

[VA1N]

I used to, and wish I still did. More than once I've found myself looking to play a game I sold (read: Modern Warfare). But, in order to buy the amount of new games I buy on day one, I need that extra income. If you sell a game pretty soon after it's released, you can get almost 90% back.

Case in point: I bought Fallout 3 for the PS3. I beat it, realized there was no DLC for that system (this was before the announcement was made) and sold it on ebay for 52 bucks used. I then went to Amazon.com and bought the 360 version for $49.99. Not too shabby.

[VA1N]

Added prices to the main thread thanks to the neogaf forums...

$20
Mass Effect
Need for Speed
Sonic the Hedgehog
Viva Pinata


$30
Lego Star Wars
Oblivion
Call of Duty 2
BioShock
Assassin's Creed

Apparently, in Australia, there are some problems with the pricing. Mass Effect for example is showing as 6000 MS Points. Whoa. Call of Duty 2 is also showing as somewhere right below 5000. Looks like it could be an error or just a placeholder price.

[JPetrillo]

WOW I feel sorry for whoever ends up buying COD2 for 5000MS accidentally! Hopefully that's not live and it wont let you buy it if you try...

[VA1N]

If they did do that, that's just plain stupid. If you want to put something up and have a placeholder amount, make it something so high no one would ever have it, like 999999 MS Points...not something they could have and may accidentally buy.

[VA1N]

Oh wow,

So, in a crazy change of pace, Microsoft came out on record to address those crazy prices on video games. Apparently, it's not a mistake. Let me repeat that... IT'S NOT A MISTAKE!

See below for Press release exerpt from Xbox Australia...

No one retailer has the lowest pricing for every product, and our program is about giving people 24 x 7 convenience and selection when shopping for Xbox 360 games.
We're incredibly excited about what Games on Demand means for digital distribution, and will continue to evaluate and evolve the service to meet market and consumer demands.

So basically, they released a statement that beat around the bush so much that people forgot what question was asked. They are basically saying, via my rough translation...

We are now offering people the chance to buy games without ever having to leave their house. Due to this convenience, we can charge whatever the hell we want and you people will buy it. We'll keep looking into the games on demand feature to see how this pricing works, but if people buy it, we're not going to change it. ...suckers

Ok, so I threw in the suckers part, but this is crazy. I can't believe they are saying that a game (Mass Effect) costs 1600 points in America, but in Australia it's 6000 MS Points. 20 bucks in the US, ~75 in Australia. What the hell? If any Aussies out there read this, don't buy that crap. Throw it back in their face. That is just plain ridiculous.