14 DAY TRIAL // Gaming today consists not only of high-quality fully fledged titles, but also of small arcade games that provide a different type of experience, one that you can enjoy as soon as you download the small file from either the Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Store or the WiiWare Channel.
But among those, only the Xbox 360 service had an imposed file size limit, which prohibited developers from releasing games that were larger than that. We've seen it jump from the initial 50 MB to 150 and finally to 250 MB, but that didn't mean that some titles that appeared under the Arcade section were not larger than that, as Portal: Still Alive or Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix were certainly beyond the limit.
But it wasn’t until the episodic Watchmen: The End Is Night title hit a few days ago that the file size limit was shattered, as the download weighed in at a hefty 1.2 GB. Now, a Microsoft representative talked with Ars Technica about the size limits that the Xbox Live service imposes on developers who want to bring their games to the Arcade section and how the Watchmen game received a pardon from the company.
“We have set Xbox Live Arcade game file limits as a general guideline. An important part Xbox Live Arcade is easy access, and keeping file size down is a vital part of that. Equally important is offering titles with superior gameplay. We weigh both considerations on a case-by-case basis, and will make exceptions when it makes sense to ensure the best customer experience.”
The representative said that, in order to “ensure the best customer experience and optimize overall gameplay,” the Watchmen game received a clemency from the Live team, which allowed for such a big file size. Of course, the fact that it was a tie-in for one of the biggest movies to hit at the beginning of this year didn't hurt either, as it guaranteed a big profit.
Hopefully, we will see more clemencies from Microsoft and independent developers won't be hindered by the size limit when they make their games.