The Xbox Live Arcade was a staple of the Xbox brand for years. It began on the original Xbox with strictly arcade style and coin-op titles. When the Xbox 360 launched, these same types of games were front and center, but downloadable only titles were also grouped under the Xbox Live Arcade label. Classics such as Ms. Pac-man and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to beloved games like Castle Crashers and Braid were all games within the XBLA.
When the Xbox One was released in 2013, the Xbox Live Arcade was taken away and the Games Store was established. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the arcade was something special. Not only was it a place to find some truly awesome games (both popular and hidden gems), it was a brand that gamers knew and loved. In fact, there was a yearly event called “The Summer Of Arcade” which featured highly anticipated games that were not only great for the most part, but also highlighted these new experiences. Through the years of this event, gamers were introduced to titles such as Limbo, Trials HD, ‘Splosion Man, Monday Night Combat, Shadow Complex, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.
While these games could have been released at any time for the Xbox 360, having them launch during a notable event meant that the titles would receive maximum exposure. Every year, my social circle always looked forward to the titles included in The Summer Of Arcade. In fact, Charlie Murder, one of my favorite indie games on the Xbox 360 was released during the final year of event.
The Xbox Games Store serves its purpose to display games, DLC, and demos that players can download, but it lacks substance. The Xbox Live Arcade featured filters that separated games by genre, and even alphabetized them if you wanted. It was a nifty feature that made navigating the store a lot better. What it did best though was that it kept full retail games apart from arcade games. Unless there is a big sale going on, my collection of retail games are strictly physical. I enjoy searching for digital only titles, but with the Xbox Games Store, it’s a little more complicated to do so. Titles are split up by date, but are also unified. Through this method, digital, indie, and full retail titles are all on the same list and it often becomes confusing to find the game that you’re looking for.
Not only that, the games that the store recommends the player doesn’t always match up with your preference and that is really annoying. Even though Microsoft wants an all-in-one experience, the Xbox Games Store isn’t really serving its purpose. There isn’t a connection between the service and the player. Xbox Live Arcade was inviting and often fun to explore. Unlike the Games Store, the Live Arcade featured a trial for every game which helped determine if a purchased was justified.
As an Xbox fan, I want a console and online ecosystem that is convenient, reliable, and beneficial to my needs. The Xbox Games Store has not been like this since the launch of the Xbox One and with the new dashboard that launched a few months ago, this issue still persists. It is trying to do something different that ultimately doesn’t really work. There is a saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This perfectly describes the current Xbox Marketplace dilemma. I’ve been an Xbox owner since the beginning of the first console’s lifecycle. I have seen changes both good and bad. The Xbox 360 had the absolute best ecosystem that benefited both consumers and developers.
Microsoft should reconsider disbanding the Xbox Games Store and re-instating the Xbox Live Arcade. It was a simpler, yet more effective environment, but it felt like a more personal experience. A player’s time on the Xbox One should be spent playing games and searching for the next best game with ease, but the current setup is a jumbled mess. Since Phil Spencer took the helm at Xbox, he has listened to fans and implemented many requested features. If there is any person who could bring back the Xbox Live Arcade or the Summer of Arcade event, it would be him. While technology gets more advanced as time moves on, reverting back to a simpler time may be just what Xbox needs.
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