Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001; the magazine was bundled with a disc that included game demos, preview videos and trailers, other content, such as game or Xbox updates and free gamerpics. The discs provided the software for the Xbox 360 for backward compatibility of original Xbox games for those without broadband and Xbox Live access; as of January 2012, OXM no longer includes a demo disc. In mid-2014, the U. S. version was merged into the UK version on the website, which lasted only a few months until Future plc announced that it was closing its website along with all the other websites that Future has published, including Edge and Computer and Video Games. In February 2015, OXM and all of Future's video game websites were redirected into GamesRadar; the magazine itself continues to be published in US and Australia.
On the Disc Each issue contained a demo disc with both Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games. However, beginning in January 2012, OXM stopped including demo discs, saying "You've told us you don't want the DVD anymore, we listened....". Each demo contained unlockable content like hidden demos. There was a sim-like game called'OXM Universe'. Gamers played the games on disc and viewed the videos on the disc to gain points, but only 800 points were needed for the unlockable content; the points had another use in which gamers used their points to research and build equipment for the in-game game'OXM Universe'.'OXMU' was discontinued in OXM's 100th issue. We Heart Xbox In this section, new games which were not yet shown to the mainstream public or user-modified hardware such as consoles or faceplates were shown here. Message Center Besides showing readers' mail, the OXM crew revealed their'Top 5' things on their mind at the moment. The'Top 5' tradition was broken in Issue #85 of July 2008, when the staff instead answered to the question "What's your worst habit - and do you want to break it?"
Xbox Next In this section, upcoming games were previewed. Features In this section, games may get prolonged previews, or OXM may have an exclusive 6-10 page review for a certain game. There may be special featured content like Issue #77's'HDTV Buyer's Guide'. Xbox Now This was the section where every Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade game, downloadable content is reviewed. Xbox 365This section contained Xbox business articles, gaming news,'Hard Stuff','2,000 Pennies or Less', the codes of the month,'Forza Showroom', a section for competing against the OXM crew in games like Lost Planet, Halo 3, Gears of War, more,'Media Ho!','Live Space' (a section which showed gamers' Xbox Live gamertags,'Ask Dr. Gamer', and'The of Xbox' (a section that talked about business and other things of the Xbox gaming world; the column'The Business of Xbox' was written by Geoff Keighley through the May 2007 issue, but until 2015, the column was written, on a less frequent basis, by Chris Morris. As of Issue #71, the end page rotated columnists, with guests including game creators Tim Schafer, Denis Dyack, Randy Pitchford.
UK and US Edition Editor: Stephen Ashby Deputy Editor: Daniella Lucas Staff Writer: Adam Bryant Production Editor: Russell Lewin Senior Art Editor: Warren Brown Until issue #52, the Official Xbox Magazine used a 100-point system, scoring games out of 10.0 with.1 increments. The games that received at least a 9.0 were given an Editor's Choice award. Beginning with issue #53, the US OXM switched to a 20-point scoring system, scoring games out of 10.0 with increments of 0.5. The UK edition though switched to a 10-point scoring system, scoring games out of 10; this ratings scale was detailed on the introduction page to every issue's review section. A score of 10.0 was not considered perfect, but is called "Classic" and is considered to be "one of those rare and best of games." OXM's review scale did include a score of 11.0 as "Perfect," however the description for that score was "The unicorn. Will never happen. Never." Twenty games received a 10/10 score from OXM, but only BioShock, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto V had been given this score by both the US and UK editions.
The nine 10/10 games from the US edition included: Fight Night Round 3, Gears of War, Fallout 3, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, Gears of War 3 and Batman: Arkham City. Whereas the nine 10/10 games from the UK edition included: Grand Theft Auto IV, Project Gotham Racing 4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Mass Effect 2, Halo: Reach, Portal 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mass Effect 3. OXM had begun reviewing Xbox Live Downloadable Content, on a three-point scale: Buy, Fanboys Only, Deny; the exception was The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles expansion pack in issue 70, due to the game's size, being "much more than a simple map pack" was reviewed on the normal 20-point scale, receiving an 8.5. Some disks came with additional material for Xbox games. Early issues' demo disk included a costume expansion to Dead or Alive 3 and Easter eggs unlockable
Linux
Linux is a family of free and open-source software operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is packaged in a Linux distribution. Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy. Popular Linux distributions include Debian and Ubuntu. Commercial distributions include SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Desktop Linux distributions include a windowing system such as X11 or Wayland, a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE Plasma. Distributions intended for servers may omit graphics altogether, include a solution stack such as LAMP; because Linux is redistributable, anyone may create a distribution for any purpose. Linux was developed for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but has since been ported to more platforms than any other operating system.
Linux is the leading operating system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers, the only OS used on TOP500 supercomputers. It is used by around 2.3 percent of desktop computers. The Chromebook, which runs the Linux kernel-based Chrome OS, dominates the US K–12 education market and represents nearly 20 percent of sub-$300 notebook sales in the US. Linux runs on embedded systems, i.e. devices whose operating system is built into the firmware and is tailored to the system. This includes routers, automation controls, digital video recorders, video game consoles, smartwatches. Many smartphones and tablet computers run other Linux derivatives; because of the dominance of Android on smartphones, Linux has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of open-source software collaboration; the source code may be used and distributed—commercially or non-commercially—by anyone under the terms of its respective licenses, such as the GNU General Public License.
The Unix operating system was conceived and implemented in 1969, at AT&T's Bell Laboratories in the United States by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, Joe Ossanna. First released in 1971, Unix was written in assembly language, as was common practice at the time. In a key pioneering approach in 1973, it was rewritten in the C programming language by Dennis Ritchie; the availability of a high-level language implementation of Unix made its porting to different computer platforms easier. Due to an earlier antitrust case forbidding it from entering the computer business, AT&T was required to license the operating system's source code to anyone who asked; as a result, Unix grew and became adopted by academic institutions and businesses. In 1984, AT&T divested itself of Bell Labs; the GNU Project, started in 1983 by Richard Stallman, had the goal of creating a "complete Unix-compatible software system" composed of free software. Work began in 1984. In 1985, Stallman started the Free Software Foundation and wrote the GNU General Public License in 1989.
By the early 1990s, many of the programs required in an operating system were completed, although low-level elements such as device drivers and the kernel, called GNU/Hurd, were stalled and incomplete. Linus Torvalds has stated that if the GNU kernel had been available at the time, he would not have decided to write his own. Although not released until 1992, due to legal complications, development of 386BSD, from which NetBSD, OpenBSD and FreeBSD descended, predated that of Linux. Torvalds has stated that if 386BSD had been available at the time, he would not have created Linux. MINIX was created by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, a computer science professor, released in 1987 as a minimal Unix-like operating system targeted at students and others who wanted to learn the operating system principles. Although the complete source code of MINIX was available, the licensing terms prevented it from being free software until the licensing changed in April 2000. In 1991, while attending the University of Helsinki, Torvalds became curious about operating systems.
Frustrated by the licensing of MINIX, which at the time limited it to educational use only, he began to work on his own operating system kernel, which became the Linux kernel. Torvalds began the development of the Linux kernel on MINIX and applications written for MINIX were used on Linux. Linux matured and further Linux kernel development took place on Linux systems. GNU applications replaced all MINIX components, because it was advantageous to use the available code from the GNU Project with the fledgling operating system. Torvalds initiated a switch from his original license, which prohibited commercial redistribution, to the GNU GPL. Developers worked to integrate GNU components with the Linux kernel, making a functional and free operating system. Linus Torvalds had wanted to call his invention "Freax", a portmant
Indie Fund
The Indie Fund is an organization created by several independent game developers to help fund budding indie video game development. The Indie Fund was created in early 2010, its purpose aimed "to encourage the next generation of game developers" by providing them funding for development of these games without the terms that would be associated with publication agreements; the founding and current members of the Indie Fund include: Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler of 2D Boy, Jonathan Blow of Number None, Kellee Santiago of thatgamecompany, Nathan Vella of Capy, Matthew Wegner of Flashbang Studios and Aaron Isaksen of AppAbove Games. Members of the Indie Game organization have identified difficulties for indie developers to be able to fund their projects. Ron Carmel noted that there are two ways that this funding can occur: either through the developers providing their own money to initiate the project, or by signing deals with publishers for funding in exchange for part of the game's revenues being given back to the publisher.
Neither of these choices were considered optimal according to Carmel. In 2008, several self-published indie games, including Audiosurf, Castle Crashers, World of Goo were released to both strong critical reception and large sales. All of these games were funded by their respective studios, demonstrated that investment in independent games could be profitable. With the following years providing more commercially-successful games, the Indie Fund group decided to create the fund, using the profits from these games, as to aid the next iteration of indie games. Investments in indie games are pulled from the Fund's reserves; the group states they can select two to three games that they can support per year, but they believe as the Fund expands, they can invest in more projects. Developers cannot directly apply for investment by the Fund; the Fund provides monthly payments to the selected projects to cover development costs. There is no penalty for failing to be able to pay back the full revenue; the Fund allows the developer to retain all IP rights, does not set any timetable for the development, only requesting monthly progress updates.
As an example, Q. U. B. E; the first Indie Fund-backed game to be released, had an original budget request of about $42,000 in August 2010. With four days of the title being released on the Steam software delivery platform, the title has sold 12,000 copies, sufficient to repay the investment; the second game, Dear Esther, cleared 16,000 units within 6 hours of being available on Steam, the revenue from that repaying the Indie Fund's contribution. In February 2012, the Indie Fund changed their repayment model, now only asking for the initial investment back plus 25% of the revenues from sales through the first two years or until they have doubled their investment, whichever comes first; this allows the Fund to allow for broader projects in size and scope, as well as take more risks on games that may not be as financially successful as others. One example is the decision to fund the game The Splatters in September 2012; the Indie Fund agreed to back the improvements, feeling that the developers had shown an understanding of the initial faults to assure a product that will overcome the risks of investment.
A further change was made in June 2015, allowing investors to decide how their funds can be distributed to the various games supported by the Indie Fund. At the 2011 Game Developers Conference, the Indie Fund announced the first three games that it had funded Q. U. B. E. by Toxic Games, Monaco by Pocketwatch Games, Shadow Physics by Scott Anderson and Steve Swink. The Indie Fund has announced funding for one other yet-to-be-named titles from Double Fine Productions; the Indie Fund provided $50,000 in funding for the development of That Dragon, Cancer. Official website
Computing platform
A computing platform or digital platform is the environment in which a piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the operating system a web browser and associated application programming interfaces, or other underlying software, as long as the program code is executed with it. Computing platforms have different abstraction levels, including a computer architecture, an OS, or runtime libraries. A computing platform is the stage. A platform can be seen both as a constraint on the software development process, in that different platforms provide different functionality and restrictions. For example, an OS may be a platform that abstracts the underlying differences in hardware and provides a generic command for saving files or accessing the network. Platforms may include: Hardware alone, in the case of small embedded systems. Embedded systems can access hardware directly, without an OS. A browser in the case of web-based software; the browser itself runs on a hardware+OS platform, but this is not relevant to software running within the browser.
An application, such as a spreadsheet or word processor, which hosts software written in an application-specific scripting language, such as an Excel macro. This can be extended to writing fully-fledged applications with the Microsoft Office suite as a platform. Software frameworks. Cloud computing and Platform as a Service. Extending the idea of a software framework, these allow application developers to build software out of components that are hosted not by the developer, but by the provider, with internet communication linking them together; the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook are considered development platforms. A virtual machine such as the Java virtual machine or. NET CLR. Applications are compiled into a format similar to machine code, known as bytecode, executed by the VM. A virtualized version of a complete system, including virtualized hardware, OS, storage; these allow, for instance, a typical Windows program to run on. Some architectures have multiple layers, with each layer acting as a platform to the one above it.
In general, a component only has to be adapted to the layer beneath it. For instance, a Java program has to be written to use the Java virtual machine and associated libraries as a platform but does not have to be adapted to run for the Windows, Linux or Macintosh OS platforms. However, the JVM, the layer beneath the application, does have to be built separately for each OS. AmigaOS, AmigaOS 4 FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD IBM i Linux Microsoft Windows OpenVMS Classic Mac OS macOS OS/2 Solaris Tru64 UNIX VM QNX z/OS Android Bada BlackBerry OS Firefox OS iOS Embedded Linux Palm OS Symbian Tizen WebOS LuneOS Windows Mobile Windows Phone Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless Cocoa Cocoa Touch Common Language Infrastructure Mono. NET Framework Silverlight Flash AIR GNU Java platform Java ME Java SE Java EE JavaFX JavaFX Mobile LiveCode Microsoft XNA Mozilla Prism, XUL and XULRunner Open Web Platform Oracle Database Qt SAP NetWeaver Shockwave Smartface Universal Windows Platform Windows Runtime Vexi Ordered from more common types to less common types: Commodity computing platforms Wintel, that is, Intel x86 or compatible personal computer hardware with Windows operating system Macintosh, custom Apple Inc. hardware and Classic Mac OS and macOS operating systems 68k-based PowerPC-based, now migrated to x86 ARM architecture based mobile devices iPhone smartphones and iPad tablet computers devices running iOS from Apple Gumstix or Raspberry Pi full function miniature computers with Linux Newton devices running the Newton OS from Apple x86 with Unix-like systems such as Linux or BSD variants CP/M computers based on the S-100 bus, maybe the earliest microcomputer platform Video game consoles, any variety 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, licensed to manufacturers Apple Pippin, a multimedia player platform for video game console development RISC processor based machines running Unix variants SPARC architecture computers running Solaris or illumos operating systems DEC Alpha cluster running OpenVMS or Tru64 UNIX Midrange computers with their custom operating systems, such as IBM OS/400 Mainframe computers with their custom operating systems, such as IBM z/OS Supercomputer architectures Cross-platform Platform virtualization Third platform Ryan Sarver: What is a platform
Macintosh operating systems
The family of Macintosh operating systems developed by Apple Inc. includes the graphical user interface-based operating systems it has designed for use with its Macintosh series of personal computers since 1984, as well as the related system software it once created for compatible third-party systems. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system, now known as the "Classic" Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software; the system, rebranded "Mac OS" in 1996, was preinstalled on every Macintosh until 2002 and offered on Macintosh clones for a short time in the 1990s. Noted for its ease of use, it was criticized for its lack of modern technologies compared to its competitors; the current Mac operating system is macOS named "Mac OS X" until 2012 and "OS X" until 2016. Developed between 1997 and 2001 after Apple's purchase of NeXT, Mac OS X brought an new architecture based on NeXTSTEP, a Unix system, that eliminated many of the technical challenges that the classic Mac OS faced.
The current macOS is updated annually. It is the basis of Apple's current system software for its other devices, iOS, watchOS, tvOS. Prior to the introduction of Mac OS X, Apple experimented with several other concepts, releasing different products designed to bring the Macintosh interface or applications to Unix-like systems or vice versa, A/UX, MAE, MkLinux. Apple's effort to expand upon and develop a replacement for its classic Mac OS in the 1990s led to a few cancelled projects, code named Star Trek and Copland. Although they have different architectures, the Macintosh operating systems share a common set of GUI principles, including a menu bar across the top of the screen; the "classic" Mac OS is the original Macintosh operating system, introduced in 1984 alongside the first Macintosh and remained in primary use on Macs through 2001. Apple released the original Macintosh on January 24, 1984, it was named "System Software", or "System". Classic Mac OS is characterized by its monolithic design.
Initial versions of the System Software run one application at a time. System 5 introduced cooperative multitasking. System 7 supports virtual memory, allowing larger programs. Updates to the System 7 enable the transition to the PowerPC architecture; the system was considered user-friendly, but its architectural limitations are notably criticed, such as limited memory management, lack of protected memory and access controls, susceptibility to conflicts among extensions. Nine major versions of the classic Mac OS were released; the name "Classic" that now signifies the system as a whole is a reference to a compatibility layer that helped ease the transition to Mac OS X. Macintosh System Software – "System 1", released in 1984 System Software 2, 3, 4 – released between 1985 and 1987 System Software 5 – released in 1987 System Software 6 – released in 1988 System 7 / Mac OS 7.6 – released in 1991 Mac OS 8 – released in 1997 Mac OS 9 – final major version, released in 1999 macOS is the current Mac operating system that succeeded the classic Mac OS in 2001.
Although the system was marketed as "version 10" of Mac OS, it has a history, independent of the classic Mac OS. It is a Unix-based operating system built on NeXTSTEP and other technology developed at NeXT from the late 1980s until early 1997, when Apple purchased the company and its CEO Steve Jobs returned to Apple. Precursors to the original release of Mac OS X include OpenStep, Apple's Rhapsody project, the Mac OS X Public Beta. MacOS makes use of the BSD codebase and the XNU kernel, its core set of components is based upon Apple's open source Darwin operating system; the first desktop version of the system was released on March 24, 2001, supporting the Aqua user interface. Since several more versions adding newer features and technologies have been released. Since 2011, new releases have been offered on an annual basis. Mac OS X 10.0 – code name "Cheetah", released to end users on Saturday, March 24, 2001 Mac OS X 10.1 – code name "Puma", released to end users on Tuesday, September 25, 2001 Mac OS X 10.2 – marketed as "Jaguar", released to end users on Friday, August 23, 2002 Mac OS X Panther – version 10.3, released to end users on Friday, October 24, 2003 Mac OS X Tiger – version 10.4, released to end users on Friday, April 29, 2005 Mac OS X Leopard – version 10.5, released to end users on Friday, October 26, 2007 Mac OS X Snow Leopard – version 10.6, publicly unveiled on Monday, June 8, 2009 Mac OS X Lion – version 10.7, released to end users on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 OS X Mountain Lion – version 10.8, released to end users on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 OS X Mavericks – version 10.9, released to end users on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 OS X Yosemite – version 10.10, released to end users on Thursday, October 16, 2014 OS X El Capitan – version 10.11, released to end users on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 macOS Sierra – version 10.12, released to end users on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 macOS High Sierra – version 10.13, released to end users on Monday, September 25, 2017 macOS Mojave – version 10.14, released to end users on Monday, September 24, 2018 An early server computing version
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations and natural forces, such as seasons and weather. Both have ancient roots as storytelling and artistic devices, most cultures have traditional fables with anthropomorphized animals as characters. People have routinely attributed human emotions and behavioral traits to wild as well as domesticated animals. Anthropomorphism derives from its verb form anthropomorphize, itself derived from the Greek ánthrōpos and morphē, it is first attested in 1753 in reference to the heresy of applying a human form to the Christian God. From the beginnings of human behavioral modernity in the Upper Paleolithic, about 40,000 years ago, examples of zoomorphic works of art occur that may represent the earliest evidence we have of anthropomorphism.
One of the oldest known is an ivory sculpture, the Löwenmensch figurine, Germany, a human-shaped figurine with the head of a lioness or lion, determined to be about 32,000 years old. It is not possible to say. A more recent example is The Sorcerer, an enigmatic cave painting from the Trois-Frères Cave, Ariège, France: the figure's significance is unknown, but it is interpreted as some kind of great spirit or master of the animals. In either case there is an element of anthropomorphism; this anthropomorphic art has been linked by archaeologist Steven Mithen with the emergence of more systematic hunting practices in the Upper Palaeolithic. He proposes that these are the product of a change in the architecture of the human mind, an increasing fluidity between the natural history and social intelligences, where anthropomorphism allowed hunters to identify empathetically with hunted animals and better predict their movements. In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism is the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings.
Ancient mythologies represented the divine as deities with human forms and qualities. They resemble human beings not only in personality; the deities fell in love, had children, fought battles, wielded weapons, rode horses and chariots. They feasted on special foods, sometimes required sacrifices of food and sacred objects to be made by human beings; some anthropomorphic deities represented specific human concepts, such as love, fertility, beauty, or the seasons. Anthropomorphic deities exhibited human qualities such as beauty and power, sometimes human weaknesses such as greed, hatred and uncontrollable anger. Greek deities such as Zeus and Apollo were depicted in human form exhibiting both commendable and despicable human traits. Anthropomorphism in this case is, more anthropotheism. From the perspective of adherents to religions in which humans were created in the form of the divine, the phenomenon may be considered theomorphism, or the giving of divine qualities to humans. Anthropomorphism has cropped up as a Christian heresy prominently with the Audians in third century Syria, but in fourth century Egypt and tenth century Italy.
This was based on a literal interpretation of Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him. Some religions and philosophers objected to anthropomorphic deities; the earliest known criticism was that of the Greek philosopher Xenophanes who observed that people model their gods after themselves. He argued against the conception of deities as fundamentally anthropomorphic: But if cattle and horses and lions had handsor could paint with their hands and create works such as men do,horses like horses and cattle like cattlealso would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodiesof such a sort as the form they themselves have.... Ethiopians say that their gods are snub -- blackThracians that they are pale and red-haired. Xenophanes said that "the greatest god" resembles man "neither in form nor in mind". Both Judaism and Islam reject an anthropomorphic deity, believing that God is beyond human comprehension. Judaism's rejection of an anthropomorphic deity grew during the Hasmonean period, when Jewish belief incorporated some Greek philosophy.
Judaism's rejection grew further after the Islamic Golden Age in the tenth century, which Maimonides codified in the twelfth century, in his thirteen principles of Jewish faith. Hindus do not reject the concept of a deity in the abstract unmanifested, but note practical problems. Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12, Verse 5, that it is much more difficult for people to focus on a deity as the unmanifested than one with form, using anthropomorphic icons, because people need to perceive with their senses. In Faces in the Clouds, anthropologist Stewart Guthrie proposes that all religions are anthropomorphisms that originate in the brain's tendency to detect the presence or vestiges of other humans in natural phenomena. In secular thought, one of the most notable criticisms began in 1600 with Francis Bacon, who argued against Aristotle's teleology, which declared that everything behaves as it does in order to achieve some end, in order to fulfill itself. Bacon pointed out that achieving ends is a human activity and to attribute it to nature misconstrues it as humanlike.
Modern criticisms followed Bacon's ideas such as critiques
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from independent game developers. Titles range from classic console and arcade video games, to new games designed from the ground up for the service. Games available through the XBLA service range from $5–20 in price, as of October 2016, there have been 719 Xbox Live Arcade titles released for the Xbox 360. Prior to the Xbox 360, "Xbox Live Arcade" was the name for an online distribution network on the original Xbox, replaced by the Xbox Live Marketplace; the Xbox Live Arcade service was announced on May 12, 2004, at Microsoft's E3 press conference by Bill Gates and launched on November 6, 2004, for the original Xbox game console. The XBLA software was obtained by ordering it on Microsoft's website, it was sent by mail on a disc that contained a free version of the Ms. Pac-Man video game. To generate greater publicity for the service, the disc was distributed with special issues of the Official Xbox Magazine and as part of the Forza Motorsport Xbox console bundle The service launched with six titles and expanded its library to twelve titles by the end of the year.
Once connected to Xbox Live, customers could purchase additional titles by using a credit card, or download a limited trial version of a game. Prices for the games range from $4.99 to $14.99. On November 22, 2005, XBLA was relaunched on the Xbox 360; the service was integrated into the main Dashboard user interface, the Xbox 360 hard drives were bundled with a free copy of Hexic HD. Every Arcade title on the Xbox 360 supports leaderboards, has 200 Achievement points, high-definition 720p graphics, they have a trial version available for free download. These demos are playable and most of them offer only a fraction of the levels and content of the full game. A full version of the game must be purchased to allow the user to upload scores to the leaderboards, unlock achievements, play online multiplayer, download bonus content. Several new features and enhancements have been added through software updates including a friends leaderboard, additional sorting options, faster enumeration of games, an auto-download feature for newly released trial games, "Tell a Friend" messages.
The original size limit imposed by Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade games was 50 MB, in order to ensure any downloaded game could fit on a 64 MB Xbox memory unit. The limit has since been changed to 150 MB 350 MB, now 2 GB, the latter of, a technical limitation of the system. On September 12, 2012 the 2 GB limit was raised to an unknown number with two titles, Red Johnson's Chronicles and Double Dragon Neon weighing at 2.68 GB and 2.24 GB, respectively. On July 12, 2006, Microsoft launched the "Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays" program, which promised a new Arcade game to be launched every Wednesday for the rest of that Summer; when that summer ended, Microsoft announced that new titles for XBLA would be released on Wednesdays. In order to promote the service in retail, Microsoft released Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1 as a compilation disc of six games. On October 18, 2007, Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 Arcade console SKU which includes full versions of Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Uno.
On May 22, 2008, Microsoft's general manager of Xbox Live, Marc Whitten, detailed changes for the service that included increasing the size limit of the games to 350MB and improving the way digital rights management is handled. Furthermore, Microsoft created an internal games studio to create "high quality digital content" for XBLA. On July 30, 2008, Microsoft announced the XBLA Summer of Arcade. Anyone who downloaded one of the titles released over August, would be entered into a prize draw with a grand prize of 100,000 Microsoft Points, 12 Month Xbox Live Gold subscription, an Xbox 360 Elite console. Another Summer of Arcade began the next year on July 22, 2009. Anyone who purchases all the titles released, will receive an 800-point reward; the next Summer of Arcade began on July 21, 2010, features Limbo, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, Monday Night Combat and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. A "Shopping Spree" promotion ended November 1, 2010, in which anyone who spent over 2400 points during October 2010 received an 800-point reward.
By March 10, 2006, three million downloads had been made on the service. By January 30, 2007, that number had grown to 20 million; the service reached 25 million downloads on March 6, 2007 with 45 million downloads projected by the end of 2007. On March 27, 2007, Microsoft declared Uno to be the first Xbox Live Arcade game to exceed one million downloads. Nearly 70 percent of Xbox 360 owners connected to Xbox Live have downloaded an Arcade title with the attach rate being 6–7 titles per user. Original games receive 350,000 downloads in the first month. Titles have an average 156% financial return over twelve months with the first two months of sales accounting for just 35% of total volume. Average conversion rate across all titles is 18%. On September 19, 2007, Microsoft announced the top ten Arcade downloads worldwide as Aegis Wing, Texas Hold'em, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Bankshot Billiards 2, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade
