December 6th 2009
I had been playing Assassin’s Creed II for a couple of hours, shut it down and got some food and when I came back and I turned it my Xbox 360 gave me an Error 74.

I was aggravated but I wasn’t worried, MS took good care of me last time. I called Microsoft and they took my info, and gave me a reference number, and told me they would email me a UPS shipping label so I could send my console to them, but I had to provide my own box; no problem. They also told me I would receive the console back within 2-3 weeks from the day I send it out. “Great!” I thought. “I’ll get it in time for my Christmas vacation, the 1 week a year where I get to relax and catch up on some gaming.”

As soon as I got off the phone I printed the label (UPS Ground) and packed the box. The console was wrapped twice over in bubble-wrap secured with packing tape and fitted into a brand new snug box with no room to move about.  UPS picked it up the next day.

Console shipped out UPS Ground to Texas: $15
Total cost to MS so far: $15

I found out a few days later by way of an article online that any consoles MS received after the 11th would not be returned until after the holidays. Unfortunately, mine didn’t get in until the 13th.

January 8th 2010
I picked up my package at the local UPS distro on my way home from work.

I get home and unbox it, glad that I’ve got a free weekend a head of me to play some games.

“Hmm… that’s odd the door over the UPS ports is missing”

Now before I continue I should mention the care in which I take of my equipment. My console sits horizontally on a glass shelf with rubber isolators, it’s open air on the back and all sides and a good 6″ to the shelf above. the power supply sits on a separate shelf away from the console  to reduce the chance of heat soaking. It’s several feet from the next nearest heat source, and yes this is all intentional. My home theater room is kept at 60*F most of the time and brought up to 66*F when I’m in the room using the equipment; never any higher.

From the time I purchased this console until the time it gave me the red light, it had only been moved from this location once and that’s so I could re-zip tie all the wiring when I added a PS3 to my setup.

The only time I ever even touch the console is when my fingers brush up against the tray loading and unloading discs. Power and eject are all done by remote and I don’t even use a play-and-charge kit, all of my controllers are powered by rechargeable AAs, and this is all intentional too. It’s not special treatment for the 360, it’s the standard by which I treat all of my consoles.

Upon closer inspection I notice a crack along the opening of the door as well, removing the faceplate I confirm that it didn’t fall off or stick open and checking the package it’s no where to be found, this console was obviously NOT packed with the door on. The box is also is pristine condition, not even a bruise to the cardboard.

This gave me cause to scrutinize the rest of the console more closely. I thought “if the face plate is the only thing that’s messed up maybe they can just ship me a new faceplate?”. I notice some scuffs and scratches on the underside of the case, these weren’t present before I sent it either, no big deal though. Then while I was holding it I felt a sharp edge near where the hard drive attaches…

What the hell did they do? Drop it on the floor and kick it around a few times? I I also notice the serial number sticker, while correct has been placed on the case crooked; it wasn’t that way when I sent it out. I Think to myself ” This obviously isn’t my old console, and if the outside has been taken care of with such disregard, how much abuse has the innards suffered?”

I called up Microsoft for the 2nd time, after clearly explaining the damage several times they apologize for the damage and tell me that I’ll have to ship it back. They also tell me that because of the delay with initial repair they’ll bump me up to a higher service level with faster shipping and that they’ll send me a box.

I appreciate the offer for expedited repair but I don’t really need a box since I have one, the box they just sent me with the console in it. I tell them this figuring it will save them money and me time but they tell me in order to get expedited shipping they need to send me a box. If that’s what they want to then, ok, whatever, maybe they don’t trust my packing.

Cost to repair the console: $110 (MS quotes as high as $160 but this is the amount it’s estimated to actually cost them)
Console shipped back UPS Ground from Texas: $15
Included 1 month XBL subscription card:  $8
Box shipped out UPS 2nd Day air from Texas: $20

Total cost to MS so far: $168
Total Gaming Days lost:  34

January 12th 2010
After receiving the box the day before, I pack it up and I drop off the package at my local UPS disto and it’s on it’s way back to MS for the 2nd time.

Console shipped out 2nd Day Air to Texas: $32

Total cost to MS so far: $200
Total Gaming Days lost:  36

January 22nd 2010
I picked the console up at the UPS distro on my way home from work. They had sent the console out Next Day Air; though, oddly enough, having watched the status change on Xbox.com the time between marking the console as “repaired” and actually shipping it out was nearly a week. Seems an enormous waste of money to pay for overnight shipping and wait a week to hand it to the delivery person.

I open the box when I get home and am shocked to see this:

Even better, they didn’t fix the faceplate either.

At this point I am FUMING nearly 2 months of waiting and my console still isn’t properly returned to me. After calming myself down I call them up again, keep my cool on the phone, and the service person is actually very well spoken and understands my problem clearly, they bump me to tier 2 support person since it’s obvious my situation warrants it.

The tier 2 tech support person speaks horrible English and it took me nearly 15 minutes to communicate that “the area of the case where the hard drive attaches” is not the same as “the hard drive”. She also asks me four separate times if the shipping box is damaged, and I assure her every time that the box was not damaged, and it shouldn’t matter because the damage was recorded before the package was even shipped. UPS took far better care of my console than the Xbox repair center.

After I finally get her to understand what my issue is she tells me “there’s nothing we can do for you, we send you the console in the same condition we receive it” WHAT!?! First of all that complete BullShit; while I may have received the same faceplate back, those paying attention will notice that the crack in the side plate is not the same as the chunk missing the 2nd time I received it back. Also the serial number sticker is back on straight again and the scuffs on the underside are gone, it’s most definitely not the same console, it’s a different one, but similarly damaged.

I ask her calmly “Why then did your service department have me send the console back to get these things fixed?” She tells me that I sent it in for a RROD repair, I explain to her that I did ORIGINALLY but when I received the console back with “cosmetic damage” they told me to return it to have that repaired. She still doesn’t believe me and asks for my reference number. I give her reference number #2, and I get put on hold.

When she comes back she says that she will send out a replacement faceplate. “So what about the damage on the side of the console?” I ask. She’s silent for a few seconds and then tells me that I  will have to send my console back in for repair. Here is my surprised face -> -_-

I ask her what guarantees I will have that the console will be fixed this time, after all I’ve been waiting nearly 2 months now. She tells me that she will “flag it” and personally ensure that the repairs will be done. I’ll believe it when I see it, I get my 3rd reference number and am once again waiting for a box to be sent to me. I now have two pristine boxes with packing material perfect for shipping an Xbox 360 that they wont let me use.

Cost to repair the console: $110 (assuming the gave it a RROD repair AGAIN since they didn’t fix the case)
Console shipped back Next Day Air from Texas: $73
Included 1 month XBL subscription card:  $8
Box shipped out UPS 2nd Day air from Texas: $20

Total cost to MS so far: $301
Total Gaming Days lost:  44

January 27th 2010
Despite paying for 2-day air to ship me an empty box that I didn’t need, they waited a while to actually send the box out, meaning it took nearly a week to get it. Seems like a waste of money if you ask me.

Not confident in the assurances of my tier 2 service rep I decided to place some red tape on the console circling the missing USB door and the cracked side plate. I also included a small neon green sticky note affixed to the side that simply stated

This console has been
sent in to have
COSMETIC DAMAGE
repaired.
Please fix the
highlighted areas.

Thank you
~Mike

The next day I drop off the package at my local UPS disto and it’s on it’s way back to MS for the 3rd time.

Console shipped out 2nd Day Air to Texas: $32

Total cost to MS so far: $333
Total Gaming Days lost:  48

February 3rd 2010
I got home from work today to find a small box sitting on my doorstep. the box feels empty it’s so light, and I notice they used similar packing tape to what Microsoft uses to seal their console shipments. Jamie notices that it’s from Texas and a sticker on the side states “Xbox 360 Faceplate”.

I pull out a key to cut the tape and as I do so I say “I hope they realize they still have to fix and send me back my console… I’m going to laugh if this faceplate is white”…

The faceplate was wrapped in a foam sleeve so I handed to Jamie to open while I took of my gloves and coat. She unwrapped the faceplate and then just looks at me and says “after all this did you really expect anything different?” To add insult to injury the faceplate they sent me is obviously used, while not as bad as the one attached to my elite this one has a scuff and a gouge below the disc tray opening.

Used Xbox 360 Faceplate: $5 (?? just a guess)
Faceplate shipped out UPS Ground from Texas: $14

Total cost to MS so far: $352
Total Gaming Days lost:  54

I haven’t called customer service over this yet. I’m still at a loss as to what I should do about it. Do I call them up about the face plate and risk confusing them and jeopardizing the repair, or do I wait to see what they send back to me? I’m open to suggestions.

As of this writing the console is currently sitting in “Repair In Progress” status according to Xbox.com. Keep in mind that they’re going to be spending another $73 to ship it next day air back to me. Honestly, it would have been cheaper if they had just cut me a check to buy a new console. Shipping would have cost them a stamp.

Hell, I would have been pleased as punch if they offered me $200 on day one toward buying a new console in lieu of a repair. I probably would have even spent the extra coin and got a Super Elite.

UPDATE:

February 10th 2010
After more than 2 months have passed and MS has spent nearly $300 in shipping costs alone. I received a package with a brand new console inside. As soon as I left the UPS facility I opened the box and was happy to see a USB door and unbroken plastic. Then I checked the serial number and noticed that the console had a totally new serial. Looking closer it had a manufacturing date of January 12th 2010.  Rather funny that the console was manufactured nearly a month AFTER my console threw the RROD.

I’m quite pleased with this result. I don’t know if I’d say the wait was “worth it” but it’s nice to know that I’ve now got a console that probably uses the new lower power consumption chips and will probably be a lot more resilient to RRODs in the future. It would have been nice if MS threw me a points card or something for my trouble. I mean if they’re willing to spend that much money on shipping what’s a 4000MP car REALLY going to cost them?

Regardless I’m happy that all is right in my home theater room and I can get back to playing my 360 and letting my PS3 get back to collecting dust.

They obviously don’t understand why people use the d-pad and they obviously don’t understand the problem with the current one. All you have to do is look at how well the D-Pad functions toward it’s intended purpose to realize how epically their chosen design fails.

They’ve been bashed on the d-pad problems since the early days of the 360, to be perfectly honest the Xbox 1 d-pad was pretty bad as were the d-pads on most of the old Sidewinder PC game pads they produced way back when. They’ve obviously heard the complaints because they’ve done market research and are planning on releasing a new controller with an “improved” d-pad but the changes they’re making are a step in the absolute WRONG direction.

Eurogamer reports that the new and “improved” d-pad features 32 direction inputs. This is astounding… They just don’t get it… In the words of XKCD “You’re Doing it Wrong!”
I truly believe that the problems with the d-pad’s original design are due in large part to the fact that MS doesn’t understand why it’s used. The 360 controller has some additional design problems that probably weren’t intended.
The D-Pad is used in situations where the user wants the console to understand an EXACT input. This is different than an analog stick where the idea is to interpret the exact position of your thumb. with a D-pad  you want the input to interpret the users actual intent. It’s usually a good vehicle for this because it’s simply 4 buttons, so the user can put a direction or a combination of directions and the game does not misinterpret what the user was attempting to accomplish.

In a typical 3D game a gamer will use the analog-stick They’ll input a direction that’s roughly where they want to place movement and they’ll use visual feedback on the screen to help fine tune their input on the stick. That is perfect for a 3D environment and any type of input where you want something to move “that way” where “that way” isn’t an exact direction and changes with the movement of the in-game camera.

The D-Pad is completely different. People keep saying “precision” but to be honest, everything on a controller is about precision. The D-pad is REALLY about INTENT. Lets use Dance Dance Revolution as an example. playing DDR on the controller is a very good example of why the d-pad exists. The game is about timing and matching. There is no “that way” there is “up”, “down”, “left”, and “right” The user isn’t trying to input “up-ish” they’re trying to input UP and ONLY UP, and NOTHING ELSE. Now Lets apply their new 32 direction d-pad, will that work better for DDR? NOPE, because there’s too much noise and the user’s intent gets lost.

Really the D-pad should be nothing more than a second set of ABXY buttons  that just happen to be all connected. How would the user feel if they tried to push A and half the time it interpreted A+B? That’s the frustration most classic gamers feel with the D-Pad

Microsoft seems to think that the D-pad should be surrogate Analog stick, as if people don’t like the action of the stick so they use the d-pad instead. That’s not the point. If I want to use something with 32 direction then I’ll use the analog stick plain and simple. The analog sticks purpose it to offer non-discrete directional input. If I want to use an input where the console has no chance of misinterpreting what I am telling it, then usually I turn to the d-pad, but that is unfortunately lost with the Xbox controllers.

If I can’t navigate an on-screen keyboard or similar menu without occasionally seeing the cursor move some place I didn’t intend it to move, then the d-pad has completely failed.

Lets take a look a the design flaws one by one

Pad Thickness -  If you pull open an Xbox 360 controller you’ll find that the D-pad is quite thick meaning the distance from the thumb surface to the actual mechanical interface on the circuit board is excessively large when compared to other BETTER D-pad Designs. This causes a problem because the larger this distance the more difficult it is for the user to push the right button. When you push down on the button it’s like an inverted balancing act, the button pad inside the controller becomes a pivot point and the user is forced to balance on that point less they accidentally push directions adjacent to the one they’re intending. Imagine if you will attempting to balance a quarter on your thumb versus a broomstick, now nudge your finger in a certain direction to move the thing your balancing. Obviously this is an extreme example but the concept is the same. The thicker the d-pad the more difficult it is to input discrete actions without any “accidental actions” getting entered as well. This is the same reason the Xbox 1 D-pad was a failure as well
Sensitivity -  Another thing that doesn’t do the Xbox 360 pad any service is the fact that actual buttons on the surface of the circuit board inside the 360 controller are incredibly sensitive. Combine this with the fact that when you push a direction adjacent directions are semi-depressed as well. This is a change from the Xbox 1 design and it seems as if it was done intentionally (again more reason to believe that MS just doesn’t get it). These design characteristics lead to more and more accidental direction inputs.

Manufacturing Tolerances -  This is perhaps the most noticeable failure of the Xbox 360′s D-pad design. The “slop” between the d-pad and the shell of the controller is large enough that the pad can actually float off to one side and when the user pushes that direction the d-pad will hit the shell. This results in an audible “tap” and can actually prevent the controller from registering the input being pushed. Essentially the shell stopped the d-pad movement before the button on the circuit board was fully depressed resulting in the user KNOWING they pushed the button because they heard and felt the button “tap” but the game simply ignored the input as if it wasn’t pushed. Experiencing this in a menu is annoying, experiencing this in an intense game can be infuriating.

Tactile Feedback -  Not a major issue, but important if you want the d-pad to be perfect. The user needs to know exactly how their thumb is positioned over the d-pad before they push it, the shape of the pad and or bumps leaving tactile clues as to the direction is important. Users get this on the analog stick with the spring resistance, but on a d-pad it should be more like reading braille. This needs to be in good balance though because if the bumps and edges are too sharp it can be painful to use. Along with this feeling a satisfying “tap” when pushing a direction and a similarly satisfying “pop” when the button is released and returns to it’s un-pushed location is important to good d-pad design. There should be no semi-depressed direction on the d-pad, every direction should be depressed, or not depressed, and the user should know exactly which is it from feel alone.

Other Controllers do a pretty good job of this. Nintendo has never made a bad d-pad, some of them are a little on the small side for some users but their mechanical design and tactile feedback is DEAD ON. Sony’s D-Pads are fantastic as well with their only real problem being that the physical shape of the pad is uncomfortable on the thumb during long play sessions and in my opinion their pads can be a hair on the stiff side. Sega’s D-pads are hit or miss. The Dreamcast suffered from the same problems as the Xbox controllers, the Genesis 3-button was good in theory but was overall too large. The gen 2 Saturn controller was probably the most perfect D-pad ever made, with just the right balance of accuracy and comfort.

A Test I would like to propose to the Microsoft Engineers. If your D-Pad passes this test then it’s a good design. Use the d-pad to navigate an Excel spread sheet. Allow users to tap cell to cell where 1-tap = move one cell. allow them to move in any of the 4 diagonals by pushing two directions at once. Make it a game where a cell lights up and the user has to navigate to the cell. If they can do this for say an hour without ever seeing the cursor move in an unintended direction, without ever seeing the cursor move two space to one press, and without having a sore thumb. then you’ve succeeded in d-pad design.

You should go read it, or at very least look at all the great cases I took pictures of.

For me the draw of achievement for their replay value and having a standardized and well integrated online experience are huge selling points for me to get a game on the 360 over another platform. I would even go so far as to suffer inferior graphics and sound for the benefits to replay value and ease of use that achievements and Xbox Live offer. So at least in my opinion a Playstation 3 title would have to do something quite spectacular to draw my purchase over the same title on the Xbox 360. The article piqued my interest because I was curious exactly what the Playstation 3 offered that would make these games stand out so head and shoulders above their Xbox 360 counterparts.

After reading the article I was left scratching my head. It seemed to me that the arguments presented in the article didn’t at all match the heavily reported conclusion at the end. Not only did the article not support it’s final claim that the PS3 titles were the superior lot, but the arguments for the PS3 version were on a whole very weak, and based almost entirely on minor and inconsequential factors.

Most of the comments I’ve read from those who were to lazy to read the article themselves assumed that the PS3 was started to eek out superior graphics to the 360, unfortunately that’s not the case. According to the actual article only two of the four games had a noticeable difference in graphics and with both of those game the journalist noted that the Xbox 360 version had the advantage (albeit slight) over their PS3 counterparts.

If there was no real difference in graphics then what was the difference you might ask? Apparently DMC4 was a “clear winner” on PS3 because they thought the controller layout was better… yup, according to GamePro the face buttons on the PS3 controller were easier to hit than the 360 controller. I don’t know how that’s possible really, and personally I don’t care what the journalist says about the controllers I find the PS controller design to be incredibly uncomfortable no matter what game I’m playing.

COD4 was “better on PS3″ because of “dedicated servers” which is untrue, COD4 does not have dedicated servers on PS3, this was such a important point to the article that they even made some huge graphics to hit the point home that the 360 sucks because it didn’t have dedicated servers.

Both COD4 and Burnout revenge were “better on PS3″ because the match making interface was slightly faster and easier to use. Really? is that a worth while selling point? I can see how some x-plat games will have a more streamlined online interface on non-360 platforms because the developers can roll their own, but the 360 is standardized and better than average across the board which, in my opinion, is much better than having a few good online interfaces and a lot of crappy ones. Not to mention, if I’m buying a game based on multiplayer, I’m going to buy the one for the platform that all of my friends own (playing with strangers is overrated), and right now, none of my friends own PS3s.

Most troubling is that, the article completely neglected what I consider to be the two most influential factors when making the decision of which console to buy the game for, Achievements and Xbox Live. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who picked up this gross oversight as Microsoft themselves released a statement in rebuttal.

For multiplatform console owners, Achievements and Gamerscore have to be listed as an influencing factor to purchase the Xbox 360 version,” said Penello in an email to GamePro on Tuesday. “Their success and popularity is undeniable.

Of course GamePro responded to this defending their position:

This feature isn’t about which platform is better, but which version of these four games is better. Achievements, rumble, and Xbox Live are specific to the console, not in-game features. This is why I used graphics, loading times, controls, and online integration as the criteria.

So apparently achievements aren’t in-game features anymore, that’s news to me. While they are integrated with the console and the Live service itself they are still, at their core, features of the game. There is no reason developers could not have added a similar feature on the PS3 counterpart to help boost the replay value. Sony even has a trophy system that will be integrated with home that offers a similar benefit to achievements but again none of the developers opted to use it.

Part of why those features are so important and so popular on the 360 is that they’re supported across the board, when you buy a 360 games, no matter what it is you know for certain that there are achievements to earn, and that it will have Xbox Live integration. There is no reason the PS3 can’t do the same thing except they opt not to and why that shouldn’t be taken into consideration when comparing cross-platform titles is beyond me.

On a whole after reading the article the impression I got was that the author knew what he wanted for the outcome and then wrote the article to support his desired result. I think the PS3 is a capable platform but I think it’s benefits are continually squandered by short sighted development. People continually question what makes a game “next gen” and since the release of the 360 I’ve held strong that it’s a tight integration with the console and a high level of standardization across all games for the platform. Next Gen to me is Achievements, it’s knowing that all games will be released with a list of important features standard, and an online service that builds a community beyond the console itself.

Ignoring the importance of these features and condoning the efforts of developers who neglect to incorporate them into non 360 releases does not do the industry any favors. I want developers to give a good reason to buy a PS3 title over a 360 title and I certainly don’t appreciate journalists who write fanboy articles with the intent to quell buyer’s remorse.

For those of you who don’t know Rez is one of my top 5 favorite games of all time. I have a copy for Dreamcast and before now I would play through it about once a month. Now it’s on XBLA in HD with 5.1 surround sound, achievements and a few new game modes. It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve been really excited about an XBLA title. Now if only they could re-release the other 4 games on my list in the same fashion.

• Killer Instinct 2 (Arcade Version)
• Flashback
• Sonic Spinball
• Space Channel 5 Part 2 (in the original Japanese)

Space Channel 5 Part 2
SC5P2 might be a stretch, especially in the original Japanese. They did release it for Gamecube and PS2 in the States, I have the Japanese Dreamcast version. The English Voice acting is grating and where it’s a game with singing the translation just doesn’t work. Even still it’s got all the stuff that would make a great XBLA title. I’d be dreaming if I thought this would ever arrive on XBLA in this configuration. First of all the SC5 series was not a very popular game, I’m actually impressed they made a sequel at all. Secondly because of the amount of music and voice acting and CG cut-scenes the game would either take up a whole lot of space (possibly beyond what is allowed for an XBLA game) or they would have to spend a lot re-producing those cut-scenes with in game graphics. Considering the space constraints and the fact that no one in the US would likely want to listen to Japanese voice actors it’s a safe bet that they wouldn’t use them. I suppose my only hope for this game is that if they decided to release it in the Japanese XBLA, but that might be pushing it too considering how abysmal Xbox 360 sales are in Japan.

Sonic Spinball
Sonic Spinball has a much better chance than SC5, but still not a very strong one. In my personal opinion Sonic Spinball is the best videogame based pinball game ever made. The reason I feel this way is because 99% of all pinball video games out there simply try to emulate the feeling of playing a real pinball machine, and that’s a failing battle.

The allure, at least for me, of playing pinball is partly due to the fact that you’re directly interacting with a rube-goldberg-esque hunk of electro mechanics. The unique sound each solenoid makes with the slight jitter of machine on each ball bump. Maybe I’m jaded because I worked in an arcade repairing machines for 3 years and my favorite part was always stripping down a pinball machine, cleaning and waxing the board, replacing all of the rubber bumpers and lights, and then play testing it with the glass off… but I’m getting off-topic now.

The reason Sonic Spinball is so great while all of these other pinball games fail is because it doesn’t try to be something it’s not. No matter how accurate the rumble, how crisp the graphics and how well recorded the sounds, a video pinball game will never compare to the real deal. Sonic Spinball embraced the fact that it wasn’t a real pinball machine and added unique gameplay elements that made it a cross genre between a platformer and a pinball game. It did something real pinball machines could never do. As far as I know it’s the only game to embrace it’s medium and use it to it’s advantage and result makes it one of my all time favorite games.

The chances of this coming to XBLA are fairly low, again because the game wasn’t all that popular, but also it’s been released on the Wii’s Virtual Console service. If they brought it to the 360 they would definitely have to update the music I think. My least favorite part of the game was the over-distorted-midi music that plagued most Genesis games of the time. Updating to HD sprites or full 3D would be cool too, but not necessary. As long as the gameplay remained the same I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Flashback
If you’ve never played Flashback you need to find an abandon-ware website and grab it. The game was originally on PC, SNES, and Genesis. It’s an adventure game with an awesome Blade Runner meets Running Man meets Fifth Element Sci-Fi story. You wake up on some Jungle Planet with no idea who you are or what you’re doing. You find a holo-cube with a message you’ve left for yourself with some vague instructions and you work your way back to discovering how and why you lost your memory while a greater plot unfolds in the world around you. Graphically the game used some really crafty techniques to create pseudo-3D cut scenes and the result is a really great stylized look and feel to the whole game, the actual gameplay was in 2D but with super smooth animation. The game was ahead of it’s time and deserves some attention from the modern gaming world.

I think a remake of Flashback would need to be in HD but it would also need to continue to use 2D sprites just like the original, including the cut-scenes. I say this because they had re-released the game some years later on Sega CD with the Sprite-based cutscenes stripped out and replaced with pre-rendered FMV and the game was much much worse for it. It lost it’s charm. They released a sequel titled “Fade to Black” in full 3D some years later and that ruined what could have been a great franchise. I think this game would do well on the XBLA, it may not have been popular in it’s day but the concept is still quite fresh and the gameplay is still unique. Even a straight port would have graphics and sound of a high enough quality to sell well, but I’d still like to see it get some special treatment.

Killer Instinct 2
I’m a fan of fighting games, and while these days I play Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive my all time favorite fighting game is Killer Instinct 2, the arcade version. I specify the Arcade version because they released console versions for SNES and Nintendo 64 and quite frankly those versions of the game were complete garbage compared to the Arcade. Killer Instinct in it’s day got pegged a generic 2D fighter that knocked off gameplay elements from other popular fighters of the time. While that’s partly true but I view it more along the lines of taking the best parts of other fighting games and making them work together. It took fatalities from Mortal Kombat, it took basic controls and special move motions from Street Fighter, but in addition to that it innovated in the graphical style, it innovated in the combo system and it innovated by redefining “rounds”, not only that but together there was some synergy between these elements, nothing felt slapped together, it was a solid and well balanced fighting game.

Out of all the games in this list KI2 has the highest probability of reaching the Xbox Live Arcade. It was a game originally developed by Rare and Microsoft now owns Rare. Further more is that the fighting game market is pretty stale these days, and MS has this ace up their sleeve not only to use as a re-release of a classic but also to continue carrying on the franchise. My biggest question is: Why haven’t they done it yet?