Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft To Enable User-Created Xbox 360 Games
simoniker writes "Talking on the eve of its Gamefest event in Seattle, Microsoft has revealed XNA Game Studio Express, a new product which will allow indie developers and students to develop simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PC, and share their games to others in a new Xbox 360 'Creators Club'. XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to anyone with a Windows XP-based PC, and will provide them with what's described as "Microsoft's next-generation platform for game development." In addition, by joining a "creators club" for an annual subscription fee of $99, users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360, as well as access a wealth of materials to help speed the game development progress."
$99 a year is a HUGE privilege compared to the ridiculous barrier to entry that has been in place for console game development for so long.
I mean, look how much it costs for a PlayStation 2 development kit! (Of course, Sony stays mum about it, not mentioning it on their websites, but according to unofficial sources on the web, it costs approx. $19,000.00(US)!!!). I'm guessing PS3 development has a similar barrier to entry.
But seriously, it is about time that they "democratize" game development - especially with news of declining game sales, and people being less satisfied with the overall quality/fun-factor of new releases. Another reason this makes sense is due to the fact that we are seeing an inevitable convergence bewtween the console and the PC (In both technology and price, when you consider the PS3 price-tag!). This convergence makes it less feasible to reserve developer access to an exclusive few. (That last link mentions how the 10,000 Playstation 3 dev kits that were publicized went to only 208 companies!) Of course a company like Sony would argue about the amount of junk that will be produced when accessibility to Platform development is lowered like this, but there will inevitably be some gems produced that otherwise would not have made it to market, making it vastly worth-it. This could potentially give the Xbox 360 a huge advantage over the Playstation 3 in overall marketshare (that's all these companies really care about, no matter what they tell us) AND actually even benefit gamers at the same time.