Microsoft Reconsiders the Delisting of Arcade Games

Before the New Xbox Experience, rumors were going around saying that Microsoft was preparing to delist and effectively delete games from their Xbox Live Arcade service. This special section of the Live Marketplace offers small games aimed at casual gamers who want to unwind and aren't keen on playing some blockbuster title like Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV. Several hit games, like the independently produced Braid or Castle Crashers, or retro games revamped for this generation, like Bomberman, popped up from this section.

But the word that Microsoft, in order to keep the XBLA simpler and less cluttered, wanted to delete games that didn't match certain benchmarks, like critic scores, downloads or poor sales, began to spread, and an official statement in this regard was necessary.

Therefore, John Schappert, corporate vice president of Microsoft, came forward and clearly denied the rumors, in a statement made at the Tokyo Game Show, where he said that the company didn't have any plans to start deleting games from the XBLA.

"We have no immediate plans to act on de-listing." he said, also mentioning that, unless the amount of games became very large and threatened the user experience, the option of deleting titles was out of the question.

The supposed parameters that were going around the Internet are just guidelines for publishers of games on the XBLA, which they need to take into consideration before releasing any title, in order to offer players only high quality experiences.

Schappert also stated that with the upcoming NXE, the very issue of deleting a game would be solved, as the update gives players new ways to sort out the content available for their console. These new ways will be a part of the much friendlier user experience that focuses on simplicity throughout the whole Live Marketplace, including the XBLA.