Microsoft’s Xbox Live summer update ushers in a new era of features when it launches next week on August 11th, and among the features will be Games on Demand, a new service offering full Xbox 360 games in digital download form. 24 titles will be available at the service’s launch in the US, including hits like BioShock, Assassin’s Creed, Burnout Paradise, Rainbow Six Vegas, Oblivion and Mass Effect (strangely, no Halo 3, Crackdown, or Gears of War), and new titles will be added to the Games on Demand library every Tuesday.
This is the full launch list:
Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
BioShock (2K Games)
Burnout Paradise (EA)
Call of Duty® 2 (Activision)
Dance Dance Revolution Universe (Konami)
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore (Konami)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
Prey (2K Games)
Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
Ridge Racer 6 (Namco)
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
Sonic The Hedgehog (Sega)
TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED (Atari)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)
Definitive pricing details weren’t provided with today’s press release. However, according to the following Games on Demand walkthrough video, narrated by Xbox Live’s Major Nelson, games will cost approximately the same amount as their retail counterparts. In the video, for example, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is priced at $19.99. I imagine $20 will be the sweet spot for a lot of these games, but only time will tell.
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
