Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a game market operated by Microsoft that is used to digitally distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners via Xbox Live. As of January 7, 2009, there have been 184 titles released for Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360. The Xbox Live Arcade service was officially announced on May 11, 2004 at Microsoft’s E3 press conference[1] and launched on November 3, 2004 for the original Xbox game console.[2] The XBLA software was obtained by ordering it on Microsoft’s website.[3] It was sent by mail on a disc that also contains a free version of the Ms. Pac-Man video game.[4] To generate greater publicity for the service, the disc was also distributed with special issues of the Official Xbox Magazine and as part of the Forza Motorsport Xbox console bundle.[5][4] The service launched with six titles and expanded its library to twelve titles by the end of the year.
