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We have official confirmation! In a press release that was sent to us just now, Microsoft India says that the Xbox Originals service will indeed be available in the country on December 4, along with expectations that Xbox LIVE will cross the 10-million user mark by June 2008.
Each Xbox Original will retail for 1200 Microsoft Points (or approximately INR 590 a pop) and will range from 2GB to 7GB in size, which should take us about, oh, 2 days to download on our crappy 256k lines. (Sorry, Microsoft, that 4 - 8 hour download timeframe is for the lucky people in the rest of the world who have access to great 2Mbps lines!) And yes, we too will get the chance to download Carcassonne (or Hexic 2, we’re not sure) within a 48 hour period as we had previously reported. Also.. wait, what?! That’s not what we reported! We thought it was a 24 hour period, unless my Math is that phenomenally bad. But the press release claims we should be able to download “a free Xbox LIVE Arcade game*, within a 48 hour period starting 15 November 1:30 PM.” Oh well, this one’s better anyway.
The real problem here, though, is the fact that the Xbox 360 120GB HDD seems to be available exclusively as part of the Xbox 360 Elite, and is not sold as a separate accessory unlike other countries. With each demo crossing the 1 GB threshold, and with Xbox Originals ballooning up to 7 GB, what the heck are we going to download these games on? We still haven’t had any mention of this from the horse’s mouth yet, but we’re guessing that the 120 GB drive should be announced soon enough. That, or they’re content with selling just one or two Originals to customers here.
With a nod to Word Puzzle, the first Asia-developed Xbox LIVE Arcade title, Microsoft also hopes to expand their Arcade portfolio to nearly 100 games by the end of the year, before briefly mentioning Guitar Hero 3. Now, since us Indians are sorely upset by the fact that Guitar Hero 2 and Guitar Hero 3 never launched here officially, we’re really excited to see it on the list and hope it’s not some SNAFU, designed to cruelly lift our hopes up only to smash them to pieces on the hard rocks. We’ve sent emails to Microsoft and the local Activision distributor to confirm this, but we haven’t gotten a reply yet at the time of posting.
On a slightly more comic note though, the official invite for Microsoft India’s Gamers’ Night event claims that The Orange Box is a “timed Xbox 360 exclusive”. Oh boy, and we were told that the PS3 delay for The Orange Box was because of EA UK’s developers playing catch-up with Valve.
Deep rooted conspiracy blown wide open or not-so-hilarious PR boo-boo? You decide!
In the meantime, here’s more news on Xbox Originals. (GameSpot Q&A)
- There will be no achievements, in-game messaging, online play extension for the Xbox Originals. They will only support whatever functionality they shipped to retail with.
- Since the Xbox games run on a software emulator on the Xbox 360, there will be bugs. A bug list can be found here.
- The game manuals for Xbox Originals can be downloaded in PDF format from the Xbox Original page for the game.
- Users will be able to suggest titles for addition to the service. I vote Jet Set Radio Future and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Ooh, and The Simpsons: Hit & Run!
Official Press Release:
Xbox 360 (TM) Muscles Up in Asia with Launch of Xbox Originals
A red-hot year for Microsoft’s superior video game and entertainment system across the region
New Delhi, 14 November 2007 - Classic hard-to-find Xbox version one games are back on the menu of Xbox 360 gaming connoisseurs in India, as Microsoft today announced the global launch of its milestone Xbox Originals on Xbox LIVE. By offering this new service to the 8-million strong Xbox LIVE global community - the number one online video gaming platform - Xbox 360 provides strong impetus for the mass adoption of digital distribution in the video games and entertainment industry in India. With the launch of the online gaming service in India this month, Xbox LIVE has expanded its worldwide footprint across 26 countries. By June 2008, Microsoft expects the Xbox LIVE community to cross over the 10-million member mark.
Rolling out on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace on December 4, Xbox Originals will unveil with a launch portfolio of popular and cult favorite Xbox 1 games such as “Halo”T, “Fable”®, “Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge”®, “Psychonauts”® amongst others.
Xbox 360 gamers will be able to purchase these Xbox Classic Games at 1,200 Microsoft points, or approximately Rs 590 a piece. Each game - ranging from 2GB to 7GB in size - will take about 4 to 8 hours to download. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Xbox LIVE , all current Xbox LIVE members will be able to download a free Xbox LIVE Arcade game*, within a 48 hour period starting 15 November 1:30 PM.
“The gaming industry in India in on an upward trajectory and Xbox 360 is committed to sustain it by giving Indian consumers more choices in the way they buy and play video games. Xbox Originals will serve as a one-stop shop where they can buy hard-to-find classic Xbox games to play on their Xbox 360,” said Mohit Anand, Country manager, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division. “Titles have been handpicked from a list of 250 backward-compatible Xbox games in Asia to be made available in this new service to ensure a high quality and balanced portfolio.”
Xbox Originals is the latest in a series of innovative online gaming services from Microsoft, which is pulling out all the stops to draw people of all ages into Xbox 360 and its premier online gaming platform. Xbox LIVE Arcade continues to introduce recreational and casual players to the world of high-def, next generation console gaming with new and classic retro games in bite-sized offerings. “Word Puzzle”, the brain-busting game created by Interserv of Taiwan, made its global debut last week to become the first Asia-developed Xbox LIVE Arcade title. Microsoft expects the Xbox LIVE Arcade portfolio to grow from over 70 to nearly 100 games by the end of the year.
It’s All About Games: Biggest-ever holiday lineup
As the year-end approaches, Indian consumers will see Xbox 360 churning out the biggest and greatest holiday lineup in video game history. Xbox 360 is releasing 70 new games in Asia over the holiday period. This will grow its portfolio to a total of 270 games in the region by the end of the year, 40 of which are available only on Xbox 360.
“We are out to win holiday 2007. We have a bountiful harvest with an unprecedented string of titles that cater to wide-ranging tastes and are designed to whet the gaming appetite of every family member. We have an expanded portfolio of broadening titles this season -”NBA 2K8″ from 2K Sports, and “Viva Piñata: Party Animals” from MGS and Krome Studios, “Spiderman - Friends of Foe” and “Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga” from Activision - that are designed for recreational and casual gamers,” said Alan Bowman, General Manager, Asia Pacific and Greater China, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division.
Xbox 360’s irresistible holiday lineup also includes exclusive Xbox 360-only games such as the record-breaking “Halo 3″, “Project Gotham Racing 4″ and “Mass Effect” from MGS, “Bioshock” from 2K Games, “Guitar Hero 3″ from Red Octane/Activision, and “Call of Duty” from Activision.
Xbox 360 also has special offers for the Indian market as it brings home in partnership with Panasonic the “Super Stylish Super Saver offer” -a Xbox 360 Core console, and two popular games - Viva Piñata & Forza Motorsport 2 with Panasonic 32” LCD TVs. The offer is available at Ezone and Big Bazaar Stores. Priced at Rs 49,990, Indian consumers can save over Rs 24,000 on the entire deal!
Two more mega offers from Xbox 360 this holiday season:
1. Buy an Xbox 360 Core console and get 2 blockbuster games worth Rs 4,405 absolutely free [Viva Piñata & Forza Motorsport 2]
2. Buy an Xbox 360 Pro console and get 4 blockbuster games worth Rs 8,614 absolutely free [Viva Piñata, Forza Motorsport 2, PGR 3 & Yuvraj Singh International cricket 2007].
Mohit Anand, Country manager, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division said, “We are happy to bring to Indian consumes offers like these that not only give a boost to gaming in India but also is reason to cheer for gaming fans and novices alike with such super saver deals.”
Strong Momentum Worldwide
Microsoft is banking on this biggest holiday line-up and its two holiday bundles to propel Xbox 360 to the top of the next generation gaming market worldwide. Almost half of all console and game sales for the year are historically made during the crucial holiday quarter.
“Games drive console sales and we have the recipe to ensure Xbox 360 is at the top of the game with the latest blockbuster games available in the Indian Market,” said Mohit Anand.
Xbox 360 is showing strong momentum this year. At the end of September 2007, total number of Xbox 360 consoles sold to date reached 13.4 million units globally, achieving a more than 90% quarterly increase driven by the record-setting launch of “Halo 3″ and an early ramp-up to the holiday season in anticipation of the greatest holiday lineup in video game history.
“Halo 3″ has proven to be another unprecedented blockbuster, contributing about US$330 million to Microsoft revenue at the end of September. However, it is not only Xbox 360 games by MGS that are making the grade in the last several months. Microsoft has also seen Xbox 360 driving third party video games sales. According to the latest figures from market research firm NPD Group, independent game publishers are selling more games on Xbox 360 than on any other platform. Over the last 12 months, they have seen their titles for Xbox 360 hit the top ten 27 times.
“Xbox 360 is the number one console in the market. We are undoubtedly the market leaders in India - number one in consoles’ sales, number one in game sales and number one in the online space. We expect Indian consumers to go all out this holiday season with all the great offers available in the market,” said Mohit Anand.
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November 15th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Do you think they’ll make Turok Evolution available? I have the original disc, but apparently emulation for this game isnt supported :-(.
And i cant wait to see Ninja Gaiden as well!
November 19th, 2007 at 1:27 am
[…] we finally got to talk to Mohit for a bit, we asked him about the recent string of announcements relating to Xbox Originals, and if it made sense to have something like that made available without the official presence of […]
November 28th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
[…] gotta admit, the Xbox Originals deal is a really cool idea, especially if you live in a country which never had the Xbox, completely […]