Microsoft Institutes New “Free Arcade Games” Policy
Following the success of Aegis Wing, a free game released over the Xbox Live Arcade download service, Microsoft has decided to shift its online strategy to free games.
The move is likely to push Live Arcade game downloads to phenomenal levels due to the lack of cost for consumers.
“Can you believe it? Everyone is downloading Aegis Wing,” said Xbox division head Peter Moore. “It’s a wonder that we haven’t thought of this ‘free thing’ sooner.”
By giving out free games over the Live service, Microsoft stands to increase the already substantial losses of their Xbox division.
“Yeah, we are going to be losing money here but think of it this way, we stand to have our entire install base download our games if we sell them for free. You can’t beat that market penetration,” said Moore.
In response to the announcement, Nintendo is said to be planning to pay users for downloading games on its Wii Virtual Console system.
Sony, in an effort to outdo both its competitors, intends to give away free girlfriends to its undoubtedly virginal Playstation 3 install base.