Video Game Saga *

From 411 Mania:

According to Major Nelson's Twitter account, Midway's Xbox Live Arcade titles have been removed from the service "due to publisher evolving rights and permissions..."

The games that are gone are Cyberball, Defender, Paperboy, Rootbeer Tapper, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Robotron, Joust, Gauntlet and Smash TV. Nelson does state however that you can still play them or re-download them if you purchased them previously.

Jim's 2 Cents: Rats! This is bad news, Midway has an outstanding line up of Arcade titles that have been playable on Xbox Live; new comers are totally gonna miss out on these classics. With next gen gamers playing all the new cutting edge games, it is easy for them to be unaware of some of the golden classics of Arcade games. I am a huge supporter of Xbox Live, Virtual Console and PSN with all their offerings of classic games. Next gen gamers should totally know their roots. Sadly with Midway games no longer featured, Xbox gamers will miss the opportunity to play these.