The sales figures for digital games are rarely disclosed. So we rarely get an idea of just how many of them are selling. A reveal by Microsoft Australia, however, shows they're selling a lot.
At a recent Xbox press event in Sydney, Microsoft Australia told Kotaku AU that the 360's downloadable games aren't just giving retail game sales a run for their money, they're often outselling them.
Case in point 1: Microsoft's Summer of Arcade (or, as it was known down here, the Winter of Arcade). All five games - 'Splosion Man, MvC2, Turtles in Time, Trials HD and Shadow Complex - would have made the Australian retail top 10 charts in the week they were released.
Case in point 2: Two slightly older games - Worms 2 and Battlefield 1943 - wouldn't have just made the charts, they'd have topped them.
Now, there are obviously a few disclaimers to note here. Firstly, it can be a little unfair to compare $10 games to $50 ones. Of course $10 games are going to sell well. Secondly, these are Australian numbers we're talking about here, not global figures. And Australia is a pretty small market.
Then again, it's also a nation with poor (relative to other Western markets) broadband speeds and (relative to other Western markets) higher prices, so who knows, in other regions the numbers could indeed be similar, if not higher.
The Hidden Sales Success Of Xbox Live Arcade [Kotaku AU]