Rumor: XBLA size limit upped to 250MB

by Richard Mitchell { Jan 19th 2007 at 11:30AM }

1UP reports that the Xbox Live Arcade size cap has been raised from 50MB to 250MB. The information comes from an anonymous inside source, so we'll chalk it up as a rumor for now. If true, it would open up new avenues for Xbox Live Arcade games, giving developers more freedom to create full featured games. The 50MB size limit, somewhat controversial, was initially set so that any given Xbox Live Arcade title could fit on the standard Xbox 360 memory unit, ensuring that Core system owners could get their XBLA on. While we've gone on record saying that the 50MB limit can actually force developers to think in innovative ways (RoboBlitz), there is no doubt that a higher limit will give rise to more complex and (hopefully) engaging titles. In fact, there are many who believe the current lineup would be much stronger had the limit been higher in the beginning.

Of course, this development opens up a new can of worms, given that a higher cap will prohibit many new titles from fitting on a standard memory unit. There have been rumblings of a higher capacity memory unit, and if this rumor is true, a larger memory unit is all but assured. We have to wonder though, are Core owners even downloading Xbox Live Arcade games? Considering one XBLA title will all but fill a memory unit (and that's before you get into game saves and the like), we have to question the practicality of it. Perhaps we should just ask our readers outright: do any of you (Core users especially) think that raising the cap is a bad thing?

[Via Joystiq. Thanks everyone]

Tags: arcade, live arcade, LiveArcade, xbla, xbox live arcade, XboxLiveArcade

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jonah Falcon @ Jan 19th 2007 11:34AM

I think Microsoft could include a financial reward for games based on how small they are. (Bonus for 50MB or less, bonus for 100MB or less, etc.) Provide incentive for frugalness.

mike @ Jan 19th 2007 11:51AM

Lets do some simple math here. The 50MB limit to fit on memory cards is the most bogus reason for limiting live games ever?

Lets do a little financial math here:
X360 memory card cost: 39.99 retail (29.99 on amazon right now)

x360 hard drive kit: 99.99 retail (89.99 on amazon)

So.. say i want 3 games from xbox live arcade. This isn't an amazing feet is it? Its very likely in fact. So to have those three games.. you have to buy 3 memory cards right? 99 dollars already. Sure you can just keep re downloading the game you want onto the card, but who's spending time doing that. Live arcade games are for quick snippets of time for me. I'd never use it if i had to re download the game everytime.

VampireHunter Z @ Jan 19th 2007 11:52AM

It's hard to imagine that anyone who bought a Core didn't eventually by the HDD.

Anyway does this mean they could fit Marvel vs Capcom 2 on XBLA? The soundtrack was good but it can be compressed to mp3 or wma. This is great news hopefully it's true.

mAdAk @ Jan 19th 2007 1:11PM

It will be a bad thing if the games costs more. If they give me a 250 MB game that costs 800 points. I have no problem with that. If they start charging 2000 points for these games, then there is no point. Especially if it means the death of the 800 point 50 MB game.

LMAO @ Jan 19th 2007 1:41PM

Hell, why stop at 256MB memory card? 1GB-2GB SD are going for as low as $20. Why? Oh Why?

J. McNair @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:57PM

Wha...? The core system still exists? Microsoft still SERIOUSLY believes saving XBLA games to memory cards was ever a viable option? I mean, you could only save 1 game, leaving a tiny bit of room for your saves. Not to mention developers in 2005 assumed every 360 owner would have an HDD judging by the popularity of downloadable content.

Honestly, so much foolishness because they felt they "must" have a $300 system in the US and Europe.

rcholbert @ Jan 19th 2007 1:15PM

I think the cap was pretty stupid because it basically limited core users to ONE XBLA game. Granted, they could keep deleting and redownloading, but if they could only have one they were pretty much screwed anyways.

Not that I mind the smaller downloads. 500 megs for a indie game is pretty hefty. I would only see it being useful in a game like Castlevania: SotN or any other major older release.

w0rddriven @ Jan 19th 2007 2:23PM

Here's some math on the limits:
Original memory card size: 64mb
Original XBLA size limit: 50mb
Difference: 14mb

New memory card size: 256mb
New XBLA size limit: 250mb
Difference: 6mb

You're given 14mb of the original card for your profile, saves, etc. With the new limits you're only given 6? Did they determine 14 was too much or something?

Personally I don't think there should be a size limit for Live games, though there should be pressure to keep it as slim as possible. From what I hear, MS is very good about helping developers trim things down a bit but I have no first hand knowledge. I'd like to eventually make a XBLA game but 50mb would have made a crappy game because I'm such a newb. At least with 250mb I can focus more on the core mechanics and add more value to the game itself instead of worrying about compressing textures, music, and other artifacts.

JRock3x8 - 2o2p @ Jan 19th 2007 4:23PM

the truth is that you can only do so much with 50 meg. MS had no idea that XBLA would go this well this fast.

Hence, they are opening up the playbook a little bit.

Scott @ Jan 19th 2007 1:55PM

Remember that the other reason that MS is trying to keep the XBLA games small is the time it takes to download a game. They wanted gamers to be able to play games relatively quickly after commencing downloads. They've now upped the download time to five times more than it was before.

jkdoug @ Jan 19th 2007 3:21PM

I agree with #6. In a world where 1 gig flash drives are going as low as $20, why the hell is Microsoft's tiny 64 MEGABYTE micro-addon memory card so damned expensive? (And, did I mention tiny?)

Tim @ Jan 19th 2007 2:48PM

Ummm the 256 MB mempry unit is not a rumor... you can preorder it now... it ships on 3/1/07.

Check EBGames Coming Soon--go just past Guitar Hero II.

SammyDKat @ Jan 24th 2007 3:55PM

I've stopped downloading anything until I get a bigger hard drive.

ThematrixhasU @ Jan 19th 2007 3:30PM

Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2 Marvel vs capcom 2
if they build it people will come... This is one of the best fighters ever and if they can make this on live well it will bring alot of gamers over ill tell you that. This game has a deep deep deep cult following

squirms @ Jan 19th 2007 5:38PM

any word when worms will be released??? ces is over thought we would have heard a date on here

Stynk Monkey @ Jan 19th 2007 7:33PM

I don't know of anyone that got a core system and didn't get a hard drive. I think the only reason people (like me) got core systems was because the premium ones were sold out. As for XBLA games being 50 mb I think the small size keeps the price down, Some people dont want to fork over 10 bucks or more for something that isn't tangible. If they start making bigger games they will start wanting bigger money and bigger money expansion packs. I don't think XBLA was ever intended to be a launching ground for major games, the 50 mb limit keeps them small, affordable and forces creativity.

crawli @ Jan 19th 2007 8:04PM

There are a few people out there with the memory cards, but I think most start-out core users, like me (it was a gift) eventually moved on to the hard drive. For me, initially it was to play original xbox games, but I use it quite a bit for the other benefits of xbox live. I'm glad MS is upping the limit to 250MB - some games could use it. I just hope it doesn't give developers excuses to roll out 'bloat-ware'.

Shamma Banks Jr. @ Jan 20th 2007 6:45PM

The size of the game should not affect the price of the game, it is logic like this that allows these big corporations into your pocket. Most of these games were already developed long ago, for other platforms, all they have to do is tweak the game to work on XBLA, it really wouldn't be that much more work.

DA360 @ Jan 21st 2007 12:05AM

Well, the 256MB memory unit is no "rumor", MS has been developing it and even talked about it in some conventions, and there was even a image Major Nelson had of a specialied 256MB memory unit for him. Also, from GameStop, the memory unit comes out the first of March: http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802338 .

If the 256MB memory unit comes out in March, then it might give more light to this rumor. This would seriously give developers of XBLA games FAR more headroom as they can develop better look games, more complex games, newer old school games (Saturn and PlayStation era, maybe even Dreamcast if they use good enough compression) and whatnot. Plus, it would be better for competing against Sony, who has a 250-500MB limit on their small games.

Strider J @ Jan 21st 2007 3:54PM

I think capping the size limit in order to keep the downloading time down is the stupidest thing I've heard of.

Think about it. You download the game only once. Sure, you may get the game quite fast, but if the end product is crappy, it's going to be crappy forever. Whether you wait 3 minutes or 30 minutes, with a low size limit, the end product is going to be garbage.

Capping the limit that low forced some games to be compressed into smaller packages, making the games suffer in quality. SF2 Hyper Fighting for example, was a poor, poor translation of the original game. This is a perfect example of their stupid policy hurting the potential of a good game. I've read on the net that SNK didn't even WANT to compress their games; and so Microsoft and XBLA missed out on some awesome arcade games because of this stupid limit.

As for portability; being able to carry these games around on memory cards; that also falls under the same category. End quality should always be better than minority user options.

I'm glad they upped the limit. But they should've done this from the start. Stop the stupidity.