This morning, Xbox 360 owners received the Fall Update for the Xbox Live service. Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg took the time to discuss some of the service's latest features with us. Read on to learn more about the process behind selecting Xbox Originals, the rolling out of a new value program for Xbox Live Arcade, and even the Hollywood writer's strike and how it may soon impact videogames.



GameSpy: Thanks for taking the time to go over the latest Xbox Live update with us. So one of the biggest features being added is the ability to download "Xbox Originals," full-version original Xbox games. What can we expect from the service?
Aaron Greenberg, Xbox 360 Group Product Manager: We were able to slip in a couple more games than originally planned for launch. We have Crash Bandicoot, Crimson Skies, Halo, Fable, Fuzion Frenzy and Psychonauts available for download.
GameSpy: Psychonauts! That's a great choice. How do games get selected for the Xbox Originals program?
Aaron Greenberg: First, these titles had to pass our backwards compatibility certification. Then we looked at our top-selling titles. And then we looked at the category of titles that were critically acclaimed, but might not have hit the top of the sales charts. Some of these titles may not even be available for purchase at retail anymore. We're now able to reissue a title digitally, and Psychonauts is a perfect example of it, making games available that people may have missed the first time, or really want to pick up but may not be able to find in stores.

We know Halo was a big hit, and Fable was a big hit, but a nice mix of hits and cult classics is the idea. That's day one. On a very regular basis, even on a weekly basis, we want to be able to offer more titles as part of the Xbox Originals program.
GameSpy: Will these games have any Xbox 360 game functionality like achievement points?
Aaron Greenberg: These titles are essentially a digital distribution of the original Xbox title. They'll work just like a backwards compatible title, that you put the retail disc in. The difference is that you can download it directly to your hard drive, you don't have to swap discs in and out, and you can go to a friend's house and download them. They'll work just like Xbox Live Arcade games, only they're full retail games.
GameSpy: Do you have any numbers on how many people have picked up 120GB hard drives or Xbox 360 Elites? Storage space will undoubtedly be an issue for gamers still using 20GB hard drives.
Aaron Greenberg: The downloads are similar in size to a movie, so it's a fair point. The Elite has been a big hit this holiday at retail. If there's one SKU that we've had trouble keeping in stock at retail, it's the Elite. We just launched the program, so it's hard to get a read on what the impact will be to the 120GB drive. Frankly, this program speaks largely to existing owners, the 8 million Live members. It may drive some people to upgrade their hard drives now. They're going to want to download Xbox Live Arcade games, some TV shows and movies, and now original Xbox games, and build up that library. People that want to be active in the digital distribution space, they're going to want to upgrade their storage.
GameSpy: So consumers have taken to the Elite more than the 120GB stand-alone hard drive?
Aaron Greenberg: I don't have that number offhand, but my understanding is that we sell a lot more Elites than stand-alone drives. That can be attributed to it being a console, and we're selling a lot of consoles now, given the holiday season. I think people have been happy with how the 120GB drive has sold, but we didn't expect it to be sold on the level of a console.