Microsoft "sort of" fixes DRM issues, no Spring update

[Luriden]

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?optio ... 0&Itemid=2

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MS to Delist XBLA Titles

In this exclusive interview with general manager of Xbox Live Marc Whitten, Next-Gen gets all the first details on big changes to the service—including that there will be no spring dashboard update, and that underperforming XBLA titles will be removed.

According to Whitten, XBLA titles that have been out for more than six months, have a Metacritic score of less than 65%, and have a conversion rate of less than 6% will be eligible for desliting. Microsoft will give three months of notice before these titles are removed.

Whitten also told us that there would be no spring dashboard update for Xbox 360 owners this year, saying that resources were instead focused on “building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service.” There will however be a change to DRM policy and a tool released next month that will allow 360 owners to re-license content to a single console—finally fixing the issue that forced gamers playing XBLA games to be connected to Xbox LIVE if their 360 broke down and was replaced.

Read on for the complete Q and A, which provides all the details on this news and more, including a new 1st party development studio and why the DRM issue took so long to resolve…

I'm beyond happy about their decision to tie DLC to one Xbox 360 console. I had $200-$300 worth of DLC and XBLA games on my old 360 that got stolen, and when I called customer support they told me they couldn't help me, and I'd have to buy everything all over again if I want to play offline. I'm really glad I didn't.

[Ex-Cyber]

Anyone know what "conversion rate" is? I'd expect it's something like percentage of people who play the demo subsequently buying the game, but it's not really clear from the article.

[Luriden]

Anyone know what "conversion rate" is? I'd expect it's something like percentage of people who play the demo subsequently buying the game, but it's not really clear from the article.

That would be my guess.

Either way, I'm hoping they'll at least make the removed titles downloadable if you've already bought it, say in case your hard drive dies or something and you need to download it again.

[Nico0020]

You may have seen the Next-Gen.biz article with Marc Whitten, and it may have left you confused.
Don't panic - we've seen your questions, and we have some answers for you.
We've upped the XBLA size limit from 150mb to 350mb.

We've stated that underperforming games on XBLA may be delisted. To be delisted, a game has to meet all three of the following criteria:
* Been on the service for at least 6 months
* Have less than a 65 Metacritic rating
* Have a conversion rate of less than 6%

Now, let's get into your delisting questions:
* Q: What's "conversion rate"?
* A: When people download a trial XBLA game, and then purchase that game, that's called a conversion. So if less than 6% of all trials downloaded lead to full game purchases - that's one of the 3 criteria we look at when deciding to delist a game.
* Q: Why are you delisting games?
* A: We have a LOT of XBLA titles onto the service. By filtering out the lower performing games, it will actually make it easier to find the games you really want.
* Q: If I bought a game, and deleted it, can I redownload it even if it's been delisted?
* A: Yes, you can. Go to Download History under the Account Management section of marketplace (far left blade).
* Q: Can I still play a game after it's been delisted? What about playing online? What about leaderboards?
* A: Yes, yes, and yes. The game will function normally even after being delisted. You can continue to play the game single and multiplayer, as well as use the leaderboards as you normally would.

Source:xbox-scene

[Lunchbox]

They should just drop the prices on those games. Let them go for $1 or $2 rather than $5 or $10, get them selling again