With the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in full swing expect plenty of announcements this week. And some of them will be interesting too. Take the news that Xbox Live Arcade games will have their size increased from 50MB to 150MB. According to Microsoft this will give, "developers greater flexibility in game design and expanding the opportunity to add advanced game features while still keeping games compact." The last point is crucial. The Live games work so well because they are tight, focussed and don't need instructions. This makes them perfect wind-down fodder after a heavy game of Oblivion or GRAW. As long as developers remember this then this has to be good news - too many of the Arcade games are relatively lazy retro conversions (Paperboy) or good ideas (Small Arms) stunted by lack of variety. And let's face it, if this news helps the Live version of Sensible World of Soccer get here any quicker - currently due for "this summer" - then I'm all for it.
Microsoft have also announced a 512MB memory unit for the 360 - the current one is 64mb - which will allow you to transport saves, gamer profile and the rest. No, I'm not bothered either. But bigger Live Arcade games? Yes please.
