Has anyone noticed that Namco's shameless attempts at releases on Xbox Live Arcade just plain blow?

Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Ms. Pacman, and even the mighty Galaga have all fallen to Namco's relentless bastardization of its own franchieses. It's one thing to have multiple Namco Museum releases on EVERY console since the original Playstation, but it's another thing to put shoddy ports of these games up for download at $5 a pop when you can buy the original Namco Museum for $20.

What makes matters worse is that these games lack any kind of multiplayer at all, be it local or over Live...which Digital Eclipse has managed to incorporate into every XBLA title since launch.

So in a nutshell, I'm totally boycotting Namco releases on Live Arcade until Namco stops whoring these games out like some cheap pimp with fool's gold teeth....or something like that.

True, but it's the principle behind it all. Look what Konami has been doing, they've been using Digital Eclipse to redo the graphics and add true online play to these old games. It's more than just internet scoreboards, you've got co-op and versus modes too. Namco on the other hand has actually taken steps backwards. While other games on XBLA are offering a better-than-arcade experience, you can't even do local multiplayer in Pac-Man or Dig Dug. They're strictly single-player games with an internet scoring system. It all seems pretty shoddy to me, since I'd rather pay my measly five bucks to play an old game with a graphical overhaul and Xbox Live multiplayer with true HD support than an inferior version of an old arcade game for the same price.

I think they might be taking a step in the right direction with Pac-Man Championchip Edition, which got released today. I'm going to have to pick up the trial and give it a spin.