Microsoft To Delist Low-Ranking XBLA Titles, Raise Size Limit

Microsoft representatives have confirmed to Gamasutra that the company plans to systematically delist underperforming Xbox Live Arcade titles, as well as to raise the size limit of Xbox Live Arcade games to 350 MB. Microsoft also intends to open its own internal development team targeting downloadable comment, and along with those plans came news that Microsoft will not be releasing a spring dashboard update for the Xbox 360 console, as it has done in the past. Instead, the company says it will focus on improving backbone server issues. Delisting of Xbox Live Arcade titles will be handled cautiously - only titles scoring below a 65 score average on Metacritic with a 6 percent or lower trial conversion rate will be delisted, and each will have a three month grace period. According to a post at web forum NeoGAF, referencing an interview on business site Next-Gen.biz where the top-line information first appeared, some 45 Live Arcade titles currently score underneath 65 on Metacritic. Microsoft has never made per-title conversation rates public. It is also unclear whether users who have previously purchased delisted games will still have access to the games to re-download. The game size limit adjustment marks the second such increase. Originally, Xbox Live Arcade launched with a 50 MB download limit; it eventually increased to 150 MB, first on a provisional basis then more broadly, after numerous developers expressed their frustration with the size constraints.