One of the more shocking articles I read last week was that something like 30% of 360 owners has no idea what Xbox Live Arcade was.  Microsoft introduced Xbox Live Arcade back on the Xbox with little fan fair.  This was mostly because there was no online marketplace for arcade it required you buy several games you may or may not have wanted.  Well on the Xbox 360 there is now an integrated Marketplace where you can download Arcade titles.

The Arcade is filled with a variety of different games ranging from the classic coin ops like Pac-Man and Frogger to new games like Hexic and Lumines Live.  Most of these games are small downloads that cost either $5 or $10 dollars to purchase.  All Xbox Live Arcade games come with a free demo you can download to see if you would like to purchase the game. 

About a year ago Microsoft instituted Arcade Wednesdays.  This was a promotion that lead to a new Arcade game being released every Wednesday.  On occasion you will get two games on Wednesdays but sometimes you don't get any.  To help people keep up-to-date  on Acrade releases Microsoft added the ability to have your 360 auto download all arcade tiles as they are released. 

The Arcade has a great selection of pick up and play games that normally don't take a lot of time to play.  I will play the occasional Pac-Man Champion's Edition or Lumines Live just as a little distraction when I can't sit down to play for more than a half hour.  Now if you own a 360 there is no excuse for not knowing about Xbox Live Arcade.  Go ahead and download Joust, I know you want to.