Arkanoid XBLA wants extra money
800 MSP is only for first two episodes.
This week's Xbox Live Arcade offering Arkanoid Live! may include a hidden charge that users must pay in order to finish the game.
Microsoft asks for 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.60) for Arkanoid Live!, but Xbox.com forum members (as well as Eurogamer readers and posters on the Major Nelson blog) claim this only covers episodes one and two, and that a further 400 MSP (GBP 3.40 / EUR 4.80) is needed to unlock episodes three and four.
The "Full Game - Arkanoid Live!" listing on XBLA only mentions the initial 800 MSP charge.
We've contacted Microsoft to comment.
Arkanoid is based on the old retro game Breakout, where balls bounce off a Pong-style paddle into block patterns above. The DS version was appalling, although we've yet to tackle the XBLA attempt.
Thanks, Chris L.
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Comments (46) Latest comment 3 years ago
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It's all kicking off over at Major Nelson.
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And yes, I'm sure that advertising the "full game", then charging extra to unlock the actual full game is illegal
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I do prefer having pounds and pence a la PSN.
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Interesting point Fodder. I guess we'll never know until someone tests it in court. To be honest, I've always been a bit uncomfortable with MS' disclaimer that points spent on games/themes/gamerpics are non-refundable. That in itself seems like a violation of consumer rights to me.
Maybe EG should look into it - a feature perhaps on our consumer rights in this digital age of downloadable content!!!
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They need to release PSN cards so we can buy them cheaper online using things like quidco, vouchers etc
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ostensibly, its so that items on the stores across the world cost the same money, creating a unified digital currency. Better than the PS Store, where the same items cost different prices in different regional stores depending on current exchanges rates. the US PS Store still works out cheaper for a lot of titles; at least with points its all the same value.
As for this arkanoid thing, seriously, who pays that much for breakout anyway? You can play it on virtually every other system known to man for free.
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What I think it would be interesting to see if gamer spends far more on XBL and Nintendo store via 'points' rather than real money of PSN? Which would serve the real function and only relies on the actual gamers to know what they are spending!
I noticed a long time ago things are more expensive on PSN!!
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It's not un-advertised, the trial informs you of this at the end, it just negates to tell you if there is a charge.
Don't forget that the extra levels for Exit were free.
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TAITO should be ashamed of themselves. MS, sort them out!
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EDIT: Retroid is right, I think people assumed the second pack would be 400pts... I'm not sure that's actually been confirmed. Who knows, maybe they won't charge for it?
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Because M$ need money.
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With the statement of fact headline "Arkanoid XBLA wants extra money" then in the very first sentence saying "This week's Xbox Live Arcade offering Arkanoid Live! may include a hidden charge that users must pay in order to finish the game." is a complete contradiction. No better than the guy who posted a link to his 2-bob blog in the XBLA thread last night, citing comments from majornelson.com and xbox.com forums as his source!
Certainly a new low for Eurogamer, tabloid at best. Wouldn't surprise me if "Chris L" is the same guy that posted the blog post to be honest. Taito did the very same thing with EXIT and the withheld content was completely FREE, all 120 levels of it.
At the very least Eurogamer should've waited until they had confirmation from Taito / MS that it would cost money for episode 3 & 4 before posting this. Rob Purchese - you should be ashamed and I hope you're made to eat your [inflammatory] words.
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The points system is not held up as suspectible here?! Arent people missing the real point (pun intended) which is the false advertising.
Sure anyone guilty of that by stating the full game is to be had for 800 mp OR £5.99 etc and then charge later for dlc to finish the game.
This could be DONE by any company!
Sue MS re Arkanoid by all means, I m happy to add my name to petition but on overall content, MS points worked out as cheaper and better value than Sony's real world economy. Often for same game by same company yet still bit tad more expensive why?!
Doesnt stop me downloading x numbers of contents on X360, Wii and PS3 though!
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I hope they will make it a free download and all of use who smell something funny here will be proven wrong.
But if so, I'll may think the decision to give it away for free was made after Taico has been urged to do so on behalf of Microsoft / bad press about the whole thing
If the content is meant to be free right away and a publisher has to withhold it for whatever reason, it should be told upfront and clear (we will release extra content / levels / whatever / FREE OF CHARGE) and nobody will get angry - simple as that.
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Did you not read that "Taito did the very same thing with EXIT and the withheld content was completely FREE, all 120 levels of it"
There's nothing in the demo to say it will cost money, just that it can be downloaded later if you unlock the full game. Conclusion : not worthy of an article on Eurogamer until proven that it will actually cost money, as the headline suggests. This story is 2-bob blog fodder and nothing more.
Fucking 300k ers....
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They did the same with Exit and didn't learn from that experience (I guess people where worried there as well)?
Even if it will bee free: if they are not going to tell it upfront...the way they do it just smells fishy and alienates the customer.
The headline of the news article is indeed a bit flashy but the article has the facts and rumours straight and is far from tabloid by my standards.
And would you please tell me what you mean by that (English isn't my first language): Fucking 300k ers....
GamesConnoisseur, you are right (if I understood your post halfway correct
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I know that this recession means that some companies are getting desperate for new ways to make money, but that's a bit extreme.
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I guess that would be my blog. It's a CNET top 100 blog and has been on the frontpage of Slashdot, Digg, Boingboing and a ton of major tech news sites and printed press too many times to mention but thanks for the kind words
As far as your "citing the source" comment goes, I'm frankly baffled. At no point in my writeup did I say the extra levels WOULD cost money. My beef was with the poor disclosure and frankly dubious colouring of the sentences designed to make you miss the part that states the second half of the game is missing. I was going to leave it at that, but after I'd written about my own observations about the ropey disclosure, I then went looking for threads on forums to see what people were saying about this, and realised gamers who'd bought the game were worried it might cost them additional money - something I hadn't actually considered up to that point. I linked to them with the following comment:
"Many people (here, here and elsewhere) suspect that they're going to charge you a "small" fee - say, 400 additional Microsoft points - to get the rest of the game.
If that turns out to be true, then effectively an 800 point (10$ or £6.80) game just became 1200 points ($14.99 or £10.20)."
How is that a problem, exactly?
"Certainly a new low for Eurogamer, tabloid at best. Wouldn't surprise me if "Chris L" is the same guy that posted the blog post to be honest."
No, I'm Chris B. Close though, but who / where is Chris L?
/ edit - never mind, I just realised its whoever submitted the story. And for what it's worth, I agree that the title is a contradiction to what the story says - though again, at no point in my blog did I say *anywhere* that the extra levels actually would cost money - I simply asked if they would or not. Again, I don't really see the problem with that.
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"Last week on Arkanoid you hit the shit out of some bricks.... this week...."
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Find the old Taito game and just play that on your computer if you need to play Arkanoid.
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People who don't even own 360s or use live are getting wound up over something that hasnt happened yet and have no reason other than cynasism or hatered towards MS to beleive they have planned to charge anything extra for it.
So those of us who have common sense, what have we learned is the real disgrace here? Bad journolism?
Why is it that whenever its Sony in question EG actually do their research behind the story/roumer but when its MS they sometimes decide not to bother?