First UK 360 Classics, Games For Windows Titles Revealed

Officials from Microsoft UK have revealed the first wave of re-released budget titles for the Xbox 360, forming the first of the format’s “Classics” range of titles. The Classics range for the original Xbox console was the equivalent of the Platinum Hits range in North America, where titles which had sold over 400,000 units on the platform in nine months were repackaged and dropped in price to $19.99. It is unclear if exactly the same requirement is being made of the UK Xbox 360 Classics range but the first wave of titles includes Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Games Studios), Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios), Condemned (Sega) and Peter Jackson’s King Kong (Ubisoft). Each game will be priced at £24.99 ($47) from October 13, which is significantly less than the original retail price of £44.99 ($85) but not as low as the original price of the Xbox Classics at £19.99 ($38). The difference is in keeping with the £10 ($19) increase in next generation console games pioneered by the Xbox 360. A second wave of Xbox 360 Classics titles are promised for spring 2007, with similar schemes promised before the end of the year in North America, Asia, Latin America, Japan and Australia. Each Classics program will apparently feature a line-up tailored specifically to the tastes of local gamers. In related news, Microsoft also announced that the first two games to be branded with the Games for Windows packaging and features in the UK would be LucasArts’ Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and THQ’s Company of Heroes. As previously reported, the Games for Windows brand is a mark meant to ensure easier game installation, improved reliability, and support for key Windows Vista features such as the Games Explorer and Parental Controls. Titles will also support widescreen monitors, can be launched from within Windows Media Center, will be compatible with 64-bit consumer versions of Windows and support the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows where relevant. The next wave of Games for Windows games, due to be released in October, will include Flight Sim X, Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs, Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania and Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection.