Ever wonder why stuff like Mutant Storm Reloaded is still 800 points (10 dollars US) on Xbox LIVE Arcade, even though it came out at launch and has a sequel that retails for the same price? Yeah, me too. There’s a ton of older titles that I’d gladly pick up on sale, yet instead of dropping prices, Microsoft decided to drop the games themselves. I guess their number crunchers know something I don’t.

Thankfully, though, Microsoft’s eggheads have calculated a slightly similar plan. Until the end of October, a handful of DLC packs will be available at a respectable discount. Unfortunately, only six games have packs that are featured in this “Extended Play Download Days” promotion, and Beautiful Katamari’s reviled already-on-the-disc content may never be worth your points. On the other hand, Oblivion’s Shimmering Isles pack will see a hefty 33% discount, which amounts to 800 points (that’s right, you can buy a copy of Mutant Storm Reloaded for that). Anyway, it’s not perfect, but it’s a big step up from the horse armor days.