Amazon Discontinues Sales of Xbox Live Arcade Games

According to a notice on the Amazon.com website, Xbox Live Arcade game codes for specific Xbox 360 downloads will no longer be sold through the online retailer. The notice further informs users that Xbox Live points can still be purchased on Amazon.com, and that these can be used with your Xbox 360 console to purchase any of the games that were previously available. Microsoft partnered with Amazon last year to offer Xbox Live Arcade and Games on Demand titles via the website, and other companies such as GameStop are now offering game downloads via in-store terminals. Microsoft spokesperson David Dennis responded to an inquiry from news blog Techflash on the change, saying, "Amazon is a great partner and we continue to work with them to sell LIVE subscription cards and Microsoft Points cards. Retailers make decisions about what products they wish to merchandise and we respect those decisions." The Amazon store offered consumers the advantage of buying games using exact money -- and sometimes at Amazon-specific discounts -- rather than purchasing them using a Point system as in the Live Arcade interface. A 400 Point purchase increment was made available earlier this year to make it easier for gamers to purchase games without having to pay for extra Points.