Microsoft to purge Xbox Live Arcade stinkers

IDG News Service — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:50:04 -0700

There are some big spring changes coming to the Xbox Live Arcade, and if you're a developer not all of them will be welcome ones.

Well, correction, if you're the developer of a game that fared poorly on Metacritic, you're in trouble, because Microsoft is ready to delist games that have poor review score ratings.

According to Marc Whitten, the general manager of Xbox Live, titles tagged for removal must have been out for more than six months, have a Metacritic score of less than 65%, and poor conversion rates (less than 6%). Whitten said Microsoft will give developers of these titles three months notice before titles are removed, possibly to plan for funeral arrangements or a going away party.

Our informal survey of the Metacritic toilet this morning turned up a few titles that fit the bill, should you want to investigate yourself to see what a game of this caliber looks like. Bomberman: Act Zero and Screwjumper rounded out the bottom with 34% and 40%, respectively, but they couldn't hold a candle to Yaris. The free "adver-game" for Toyota could only muster a measly 17%.

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Microsoft to purge Xbox Live Arcade stinkers