I do not envy the position of the Official Xbox Magazine. In the past, they had an easy business model: do articles, and provide DVDs filled with demos. As practically the only source where you could go to find demos for games before they came out, OXM’s success was guaranteed!

Fast forward to today, when OXMs biggest selling point has been one-upped by the Marketplace. Now, as soon as a developer has finished the code, it can be pushed to every single connected gamer, without forcing that customer to buy a magazine. More exposure == more profit. Simple!

So, now that OXM has lost its exclusive grip on demos, how does it regain that same level of gotta-have-it-ness? For one, it can seek exclusive rights on new game demos, and prevent them from appearing on the Marketplace, at least for a while.

This seems like a winner - get the games out before anyone else, and move some magazines. The fundamental shift here, though, is that OXM has now firmly moved from ENABLER to OBSTRUCTOR. Do you understand the distinction? Since my magazine hasn’t arrived yet, I cannot play Rainbow 6 because of their exclusive deal. Will my mag get here before the demo hits the Marketplace, anyway? What about everyone else who doesn’t subscribe?

You and I - we’re just plain our of luck… that is, until that blasted e-word finally expires.

I, for one, will not be renewing my subscription. The money would go towards supporting the blocking of demos that I otherwise would be able to play. You don’t want me to do that, and I don’t want me to do that.