Lumines Live! and Q's micro Marketplace transactions |
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If you've downloaded Q Entertainment's Lumines Live! last night at the Xbox Live Marketplace, and have been playing it since, you might have probably seen this image already. But for those who do not know, this is what you'll see when you finish five stages of the game's vs. CPU mode.
Now, there have been mixed reactions about the company's vague announcements and XBLM advertising because it seems that XBL users have to nickel and dime their way just to get the game they want. While there have been prior announcements that Lumines Live! will not be free on XBLM, it seems that the company's advertising tactics are still vague.
Assuming you spent 1800 MS points for the game (1200 points) and the Advance Pack (has 22 new skins and is sold for 600 points), it's just plain disappointing for some to realize that after spending US$ 22.49 (that's 1800 MS points), you still...don't...have...the complete...game. Apparently, you still have to spend for five stages of the vs. CPU mode and an expanded pack for Mission/Puzzle mode, which will be available on the Marketplace soon. So if you have to download these too, how much will that cost us all in all?!
Let's say (no, assume) that the Advance Pack and the vs. CPU mode cost 600 points each, that'll be another 1200 points (or US$ 15.00) to add to what you have spent so far. So all in all, you will have spent US$37.49 just to get the complete game. Then take into consideration that this will be almost 10 bucks more than what you'd have to spend for Lumines 2, when it ships next month and sells for a SRP of US$ 29.99. Kinda makes you think, doesn't it?
However, looking at it in a positive light, perhaps we can say that this is Q's way of letting US choose how we want our games: it's entirely up to us if we want that Advance Pack or the five stages of vs. CPU mode. But if you're a 'completionist' and you want to get through the whole game as soon as you can, this can be pretty annoying. So we guess this post just serves as a heads up for those who think that they're getting the whole game on Marketplace (which they aren't), and a plea for Q to make their announcements clearer because it might lead to confusion. (Or should we as gamers know better?)
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Comments [refresh]
I smell BOYCOTT!!!
The ONLY way this business model is ok is if after buying EVERY SINGLE PIECE of content, the price isn't over what it should have been if the game was sold all as one package.
I don't like this one bit. I can just see how this might just open doors for other developers and microsoft to continue milking their customers for every pennie and dime. I was perfectly okay with paying 15 bucks for this game, but to come and find out that it's not a full game, well lest just say that i'm dissapointed. I'm a supporter of the 360 but i think that if microsoft is not careful there won't be to many of us left to even care.
i was really looking foward to this release when i finally did download lumines i was very disapointed. With lumines for the psp being my favorite game i figured i would be atleast comparable, was i ever wrong. After playing the single person mode for 20 minutes the skins started repeating, for those of you who havent played the psp version you can play for well over an hour if not two with no repeats. then the issue mentioned above sent me over the edge. THIS IS A SCAM, you are donwloading a game which you can beat in an hour, every mode, easily. shame on microsoft and its too bad Q entertainment went down this road.
what a scam!
This is crazy!!! I would rather buy it retail so I can at least have a nice case and the game on a disc if I am going to spend THAT much money. Plus if they aren't up front about the total costs for the full game, well that's just lame.
Well if you remember the PSP version at all there was WAY too many Orange and white skins!
This game has lived up to my expectations and may have not to some but it was well worth the money to me, I am looking forward to the skin packs coming out.
I have seen lots of new and awsome looking skins on the single player that wasnt on the PSP version that was a plus!
i would have paid 60 for the full game, so under 40 aint so bad. its also nice that its a DL, that way you can't mess up your disc and waste your $.
not all of us are into 10min games
Microsoft has NOTHING to do with Lumines dude...Its the people that made Lumines that are doing this. The only thing Microsoft is doing is allowing it to be sold throuhg the marketplace.
Dont blame Microsoft....Its whoever makes Lumines.
if you can beat all 40 levels (when they come out) in 10 minutes, i'll be thoroughly impressed. anyways its about the replay value, which for me will take months if not years to expire. but yes, to each their own.
Okay so Lumines II is coming to PSP next month at a SRP of $39.95. This game is basically that game just made onto a micro transaction site so there is no overhead....
A big reason on why you're being "nickel and dimed" is because the size requirements on XBLA. They have committed to a 64 MB file download so people can fit it on their memory stick, the game we have right now happens to be around that size. So to get the full game (about 160 MB in all), you have to trick the micro transaction system to allow bigger downloads or release it seperately in smaller releases.
This game would have been a cd game but they know there would NOT be the publicity this game deserves on this title and that the overhead would be too high. Besides, look at the amount of options on this game for the buck. You get a puzzle mode, a versus mode, a single player mode, a time trial mode, and you get to remix the skins in the order you want. That's a lot of functionality compared to your typical 800 MP bull crap on here already.
On the flip side, having only 10 skins at launch and 5 versus CPU does make the $15 feel like nothing worthwhile (especially since no one can download the game to play it right now since there's so much lag on XBL any more) but to keep this review/rant upbeat I think the game is well worth the $15.
Look at it this way guys, which would you of done, paid $15 for a game that may not be the kind of game you like since you're a Sports gamer or would you go to the store and pay $39.95 to buy the same game but with additional content??? I think for the everyday Madden or Halo playing idiot this way was the best choice.
In the end I want to say, get over the price, better games come at better prices (that's why Halo 2 is NOT a platinum hit and even after selling 18 million copies it still is $29.99 or higher). So stop shedding the tears and buy it so you can try to be beat my 60 box score on 60 seconds.
ArcaneView
I agree that the game looped after about 35 skins but how much did you buy that game NEW for? At launch that game was $39.99 or more right? Right now it's still a $19.99 release, so don't feel cheated, read my comments below and have your $5 ready to get the remaining 22 skins.
So do you think that by having games in stores at retail $59.99 and games on the internet that cost a total of $24.99 is not Microsofts way of taking care of you???? Microsoft fought hard to get Buena Vista to release this in the states for Q? Entertainment.
So what if this game isn't as fullfilling as pumping bullets into someone's chest then teabagging them in halo, to some, this is better!!!!
I think Microsoft, a money minded company, has put into place a great program here and if not you be grateful then be at least respectful because they HAVE thought about illiminating the XBLA since the publishers make NOTHING on their releases (you think Activision is sitting on riches because of Doom being released????)
You all are getting 5 vs. CPU levels? I'm only getting one and then it flashes that message at me real quick about buying the rest. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I downloaded the trisal first and then unlocked it????
They're incorrect. It's just 1 vs. CPU level. We just got sold a Demo for an unusually high full-XBLA-game price.
LAME.