Changes to Xbox LIVE Arcade It looks as if Microsoft are planning to spice up the Xbox LIVE Arcade scene a little with a few minor changes to their current policy. As most of you are probably aware, all XBLA titles are limited to 200 Gamerscore consisting of up to 20 achievements upon release. Apparently this isn’t appealing enough to all of the “gamerwhores” out there and such Microsoft have decided to make a change. From 1st April 2012 all new arcade releases will be entitled to a raised cap of 400GS which can be attained through a maximum of 30 achievements. MS will raise the standard gamerscore cap on XBLA titles from the current 200 to 400 from April 1. To help displace the gamerscore more evenly between achievements, the maximum number allowed will increase from 20 to 30. Adhering to the new system will be largely voluntary on the developer’s behalf until 1st of June, whereon following the change will be mandatory. Along with an impending GamerScore increase upon release there will also be a change with regards to DLC. As the current system stands, developers are allowed to release 3 expansions per year, each consisting of 50 additional GamerScore. When the new policy is implemented each DLC will yield a potential 100GS to be spread over a maximum of 8 achievements. Additional content releases will also be allowed to be more frequent. Instead of 3, 4 DLCs will be potentially available for release per year. The end result of these changes will see arcade titles which may total up to 800GS per piece. It’s a pretty interesting prospect if you’re one of those who loves adding digits to their GamerScore. Overall, I feel this is nothing more than a further grasp at marketing by MS. The arcade market obviously isn’t doing as well as they’d like so they decide to double the gamerscore in hope some customers will buy more.
