MS was right to charge for Geometry Wars - Bizarre
Wasn't always the plan.
Bizarre Creations originally intended to give away Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved as a free download, but the developer's community and web lead Ben Ward told Eurogamer this week that he's glad Microsoft convinced them not to do so.
"Microsoft were totally on the right wavelength," he said. "Charging for the game was the only way to ensure that future downloadable content could have any kind of credibility. I mean, imagine the public reaction to a game like Boom Boom Rocket [Bizarre's next Live Arcade title] if we had put out Geometry Wars for free."
"It wouldn't have been good, and thus games which require larger teams (like BBR) probably wouldn't have been made... or at least not as soon as this."
Earlier in the week, Ward told IGN that the developer "really intended [Geometry Wars] as a gift to hardcore gamers" and initially "wanted to give the game away for free".
"When it became evident that we couldn't do this, we said to Microsoft 'what's the absolute bare minimum we can charge?' They said 400 points, so we went with that."
Geometry Wars went on to become one of Xbox Live Arcade's best titles - an accolade that the developer hopes to retain for Boom Boom Rocket, which it's producing in conjunction with Electronic Arts.