Today saw the return of E3, back to its old roots in the L.A Convention Centre, where Microsoft were first to hold their conference. There were plenty of announcements made, everything from new titles to social networking and new ways to interact with games.
However, Microsoft didn"t have enough time to announce everything they"ve been working on, and after the show made a rather surprising announcement, via Gizmodo.
Starting in August this year, Microsoft will offer Xbox 360 titles to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Some questions are still unanswered, but gamers will have access to games via the Games Marketplace in exactly the same manner as Xbox Live Arcade. Each week Microsoft will be adding more titles to the library. Gamers will have the choice between buying with Microsoft Points, or for the first time, using a Credit Card to buy directly.
When asked if there was a possibility gamers could rent games like they can movies, Microsoft would not comment but stated they were always looking for ways to evolve their services.
During the announcement, Microsoft used Mass Effect, Assassin"s Creed and Civilization Revolution as examples. Pricing was said to be "retail-like".
It"s not first party games only either, as from the photos taken we can clearly see a mix of old and news games from various publishers and developers.
Expect to hear more news on this in the coming days and look out for the service this August.