A Strange Case Of Xbox Live Arcade Exclusivity

By Spencer . January 19, 2009 . 12:35pm

Outrun: Online Arcade is being developed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I’m sure about the latter since that’s how I played Outrun: Online Arcade. However, if you’re in North America you can only get Outrun: Online Arcade on Xbox Live Arcade. Meanwhile in other regions like Europe and Asia Outrun: Online Arcade is a multiplatform downloadable title.

Wait, what? There have been some digital distributed games that had exclusivity in other countries, Mega Man 9′s WiiWare only release in Japan comes to mind, but not in North America. If a game is being made multiplatform we get every version. Well, except in the case of Outrun: Online Arcade. Did Sony Computer Entertainment America reject Outrun or did Microsoft secure it as an exclusive? Whatever happened between Sega, Microsoft, and Sony still yields the same result no Outrun: Online Arcade on PS3 here.

Oh, and if you’re in North America here’s another kick in the pants. Outrun: Online Arcade is coming in “spring” 2009 instead of “early” 2009. Sony Computer Entertainment Asia brought billboards that said Outrun: Online Arcade would be ready in January. Not sure if they’re sticking to that plan or if the game is going to be held back for a worldwide Xbox Live Arcade release.

Images courtesy of Sega.

Outrun Online [Online Game Code] Price $10.00