Arcadecraft On XBLA

The list of games with “craft” at the end of their title has just grown a little longer thanks to the release of Firebase Industries’ Arcadecraft in the Indie Games section of Xbox Live Arcade. In Arcadecraft, players assume the role of a struggling entrepreneur who must dig their way out of debt by starting and managing their own arcade. In addition to getting to name the arcade and customize its floor pattern, wall color, and decorations, players will also be able to purchase various arcade games from a total list of roughly 80 different machines.

Configuring the layout of which machines go where will be integral in attracting customers and making sure the arcade turns a profit. Different arcade machines can have their total price and difficulty adjusted (making a game harder can potentially attract more players but making it too hard will just drive them away). Some machines will even jam and/or break down after extended use (or abuse in the case of harder games) forcing the player to decide between keeping the game out of commission, trying to sell it, or paying to have it fixed. Arcadecraft is available now on XBLA for 240 Microsoft Points ($3.00).

Non-Xbox-players who want the chance to run their own Sim-Arcade will be happy to hear that Firebase Industries has also posted Arcadecraft on Steam’s Greenlight service and is in talks with Microsoft to develop a touch-based Windows 8 version as well (which would be compatible with Windows 8 tablets and phones).