by CIO Staff

Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade to Offer ’80s Games

News
Jul 12, 20062 mins
Consumer Electronics

Microsoft on Wednesday plans to offer users of its Xbox Live Arcade service, which allows Web surfers to test and purchase a variety of video games for between $5 and $15, a wider selection of downloadable classic games from the 1980s, the Associated Press reports via WashingtonPost.com.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant plans to offer a new game every Wednesday over the coming five weeks, beginning with the gamer-favorite Frogger, and some of the games will be updated to include graphics enhancements and add-ons that allow more people to play simultaneously, the AP reports.

Greg Canessa, Xbox Live Arcade group manager, told the AP that although Microsoft launched the Live Arcade service with the idea of drawing non-traditional Xbox users—like women, children and older people—the service has proven to be extremely popular, even among Xbox loyalists. Canessa told the AP that some 5 million free trial video games have been downloaded by Xbox users, and nearly a quarter of those people went on to purchase full versions of the games.

There are already 20 arcade games available to Xbox 360 owners, and Microsoft hopes to more than double that number of offerings by the end of 2006, according to the AP.

This article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in.

Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage.