"I'm going to miss the late rounds of Uno"... an image of Xbox 360s. Photo: Jae C Hong/AP
The Xbox 360 digital store is the latest to go offline, following the closure of the Wii U and 3DS stores in March. The store closed on Monday, taking with it about 220 games, according to an analysis by Video Games Chronicle . Preservationists at the Video Game History Foundation even created a funeral cake.
Microsoft is by far the best of the big companies when it comes to backwards compatibility and game preservation - despite those 220 lost games, a large percentage of the Xbox 360's back catalogue can still be legally played on later consoles. And it's remarkable that the Xbox 360 Marketplace has survived for almost 20 years (the console was released in late 2005). It wasn't the first digital storefront on a console, but it was the first one I ever used, and I imagine many British gamers did too - the Xbox 360 was the most popular console of its generation in that country. In retrospect, the Marketplace was astonishingly ahead of its time.
In the 2000s, physical video game sales were still king, and retailers had enormous influence over the pricing and distribution of games. Back then, offering only digital games risked retaliation from companies like Electronics Boutique and Game. I remember reporting on rumors at the time that some stores were threatening to stop stocking the Xbox 360 altogether, because allowing players to download games digitally undermined the retailers' business model. (To be fair, they were right-video game sales have been in a prolonged downward spiral for years.)
The Xbox 360 Marketplace wasn't an all-time game-changer. The transition to digital storefronts was gradual, with all the major players, from Steam to Sony to Nintendo, playing their part over the years. "Digital was somewhat of an add-on to retail to begin with," says Chris Dring, head of GamesIndustry.biz. "Over 90% of console games at the time were bought in boxes on shelves at retailers like Game and Tesco, and it wasn't until 2019 that the majority (51%) of AAA console games were downloaded rather than bought in a box. The Xbox Live Marketplace was primarily a place where people bought DLC or the occasional indie gem that was only accessible via the digital storefront. But it fundamentally kicked off the shift to the digital future we live in now. Everyone is now emulating what Xbox has done with Xbox Live and the Marketplace."
The story continues
But what the Xbox 360 Marketplace really changed for console players wasn't How we bought games but which games that we could buy. On PC, it's always been possible to download and play smaller, experimental games, but before Xbox 360, you couldn't do that on consoles. I think the Marketplace directly enabled the indie renaissance of the 2010s and beyond, by giving smaller game developers and publishers a way to sell their games to millions of console players without the expense and logistical hassles of releasing a boxed copy.
Xbox Live Arcade, which began on the original Xbox but took off during the 360 era, was revolutionary: every week there was a new, small, downloadable game for £10 or less, from developers big and small. I've played hundreds of games this way, and they were some of the first games I owned that didn't come in a box. They included Limbo, Fez, Geometry Wars, Super Meat Boy and the best-ever version of Uno (don't @ me). There's a strong argument to be made that the Xbox 360 Marketplace introduced millions of console players to indie games.
There are downsides to the digital transition, as Dring points out. "In 2005, Xbox (and PlayStation and Nintendo) was a platform. Now they are the platform, the distributor and the retailer. They control the whole chain. And increasingly, through their websites, YouTube channels and announcement videos, they are also becoming their own media."
We've become so accustomed to downloading games digitally that it's easy to forget how new it once was. By saying goodbye to the Xbox 360 Marketplace, we're also saying goodbye to an era of gaming where even DLC felt new and exciting. I kind of miss those days. And all those long late-night rounds of Xbox 360 Uno.
What to play
The extremely British slapstick comedy game Luckily you're here! is out today and the reviews (including our own) are glowing. Created by two Barnsley residents, it is set in the fictional northern town of Barnsworth, which is ostensibly built entirely around visual gags. It is short and sweet, but packed with excellent jokes and bizarre situational comedy that continues in the tradition of Monty Python and The Mighty Boosh.
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, PC
Estimated playing time: 3 hours
What to read
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Guardian match reporter Keith Stuart went to LA a few weeks ago to spend a few days with Star Wars Bandits Ubisoft's attempt at an open-world Star Wars game starring a Han Solo-esque renegade. It looks good enough to stave off Star Wars fatigue.
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Speaking of games: British store Game is ending its rewards program today, July 31st. If you still have points on your account, you must spend them by the end of the day.
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How cute is this custom PS5? Astro bot controller? Unlike most ultra-niche novelty game controllers, this isn't just a marketing exercise-you can actually buy it. Pre-orders open on August 9th.
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Wondering why there is no official Olympic video game tie-in, like the long-running Mario vs Sonic at the Olympic Games series? Eurogamer reports that it's because the Olympics decided to pursue NFTs and esports instead. Yuck.
What to click on
Question block
Reader Akshay asks this week's question:
"I recently finished Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon and was completely drained for days after. Playing that game for almost 180 hours had kept me in such a good routine and it hit me hard when I had to say goodbye. What's the best way to ease those post-race blues?"
Oh, I know the feeling! I remember blasting through XCOM (above) in one weekend, saving the world, and then having no idea what to do with myself, sitting on the couch in my pajamas with no real purpose. I played The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for so long that I remember leaving my apartment after the credits rolled and just wandering the city listlessly. I feel the same way about TV shows and books sometimes, when it's time to say goodbye to characters and worlds I've lived with for a while. But we spend so much more time with games, and they're so much more immersive. Sometimes it feels like a break when they end.
And just like after a breakup, jumping straight into a new game is not the way to go. It just invites negative comparisons. So between big games, I like to spend time doing other things - being outside, picking up a novel, maybe having a drink with the friends I've temporarily neglected in favor of Breath of the Wild - until I really feeling that I am ready for something new.
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