Microsoft to allow users to create their Xbox 360 games

[Matt]

Microsoft to allow users to create and share their own Xbox 360 games by Matt

360 News: For a price.

[View Article]

[Spanca]

I like the idea of encouraging the involvement of enthusiasts in game development for free. It's rare to see Microsoft doing anything remotely related to open source so it's hard to complain about this
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[?oe?oe]

OMG it's Nintendo ON
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[DancesInUnderwear]

That is a brilliant idea. Well done to Microsoft.
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[Jellyfish]

One word, "Yes!" Can't wait to check this out

[Qbert]

Awesome news
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[Echo]

Yes. I think it will be a huge break through for independant developers. Fee seems reasonable as well. Looking foward to it.
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[chriharr]

I knew Microsoft would head this direction, smart move, but how can developers make money when they are paying microsoft to make games, surely microsoft will allow students etc to come to an arrangement where they pay the subscription fee and if the game gets a certain rank then they should be able to profit from it
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http://www.myspace.com/christopherharrismusicpage

[D.Dark]

I read in a link(which i'll have to search for) that nintendo would allow you to design a stage in almost any game and allow you to broadcast it to anyone and everyone using WiiConnect24. Looks like MS also had that in mind but for a price.
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Silence is the loudest noise you could make.

[Jellyfish]

[wobbler]

Sounds like a great idea, will the $99 US fee allow anyone to download these games for free or would there be an additional charge?

[D.Dark]

[admeister]

It's always for a price, with Microsoft. "Not only that, Microsoft will allow these developers to share their work over Xbox Live via the new Creators Club, for an annual fee of $US99."

Ouch, that isn't cheap, I wonder how many people will take them up on this service? Doesn't seem like such a good deal to me, you have to pay that, and then spend the time making the game on top of that, then you don't even make any profit out of it.. An overall net loss for our hypothetical programmer..

"I read in a link(which i'll have to search for) that nintendo would allow you to design a stage in almost any game and allow you to broadcast it to anyone and everyone using WiiConnect24."

I don't remember reading that anywhere, I hope that it is true! I'd love to design a stage or two for SSB: Brawl! I'd download other people's too, definitely.
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"The first person to prove that cow's milk is drinkable was very, very thirsty." - Fact Sphere.

[Sin Ogaris]

This is a great idea, and considering the fact that it seems Microsoft are giving out the tools for free, $99US a year doesn't seem like that much to get recognition for your abilities, put a couple of plugs in the title of your game to a website offering other titles, for a price of course, and you just may have yourself a sale.

[magrat]

From the FAQ http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/xna/faq/

Q: Can I use the XNA Game Studio Express or XNA Framework to build a commercial Xbox 360 game?
A: XNA Game Studio Express will enable you to create Windows and now Xbox 360 console games much more easily. These games are limited to non-commercial scenarios for 360 titles created with XNA Game Studio Express. However, XNA Game Studio Express may be used to create commercial games which target Windows. We will be releasing XNA Game Studio Professional next spring which will allow developers to create commercial games for Xbox addition to Windows.

So you can use the express edition for non-commerical purposes, but if you want to sell it you'll have to purchase the Professional edition. (on the Xbox360 at least)

Q: How exactly can I share my 360 game to other 360 users? Will my game only be available to people with the XNA “Creators Club” subscription? Will it be available to all 360 users that have an Xbox Live account?
A: There is currently no supported way to share binaries on the Xbox 360. Currently, there are four requirements that must be met in order to share a game targeting Xbox 360 which is developed with XNA Game Studio Express.

The individual you are planning to share the game with must be logged in to Xbox Live and have an active subscription to the XNA Creators Club
The receiving user must have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for the Xbox 360
The receiving user must have XNA Game Studio Express installed on their own development PC
The game project, including all source and content assets, must be shared with the receiving user. The receiving user then compiles and deploys the game to their Xbox 360.

Q: Can I store my XNA Game Studio Express game on my memory card and share it with a friend?
A: No. Games developed using XNA Game Studio Express cannot be shared through a memory card at this time

Not exactly a simple process to share content, looks like Microsoft want to ensure no rubbish or buggy / dangerous code gets out onto Xbox live, which is fair enough. Looks like only the best will actually make it to the Live Arcade - the rest might never get a look in

All in all an interesting idea, basically giving you the development environment for the xbox360, and an alternative to the DirectX SDK for windows programming - but it does lock you into C# and the .NET framework. Giving the punters the tools is always a good thing - might have to grab this and have a play with it.

[Cerebral]

[ugh the boot]

Hey it turns out you could get some sort of profits if your game goes on Xbox Live Arcade or whatever.

Here is the link to the article I read it on:

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20133437%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

Part where they talk about 'revenue sharing'.
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[Sin Ogaris]

But you have to remember, apparantly Microsoft can't do anything right, therefore I'm sure that they won't be paying anywhere near enough in royalties to all the designers.

</sarcasm>

[EvilHayama]

I'm not sure I'd be happy paying $US99 just to play other people's crappy games and then pay additional money for specific games... I'm guessing the revenue sharing thing would let MS pick up good games and publish them to Live.
I can't see this being very popular until there are a -lot- of games... It's only $10 a month or something, but how many decent games will there be?
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Playing: 30sec Hero, Scribblenauts, Dungeon Crawl

[ugh the boot]

No way am I subscribing to this!! It's a great idea but I barely have time to play the AAA stuff let alone shareware crap.
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Wii Friend Code: ugh - 0264 5224 8589 9060
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[GooberMan]

I'd probably sign up to it when I get an X360 and get all my PC stuff working on it so that I don't have to have my computer hooked to my TV all the time

[Cerebral]

[k1dcharm]

I wonder if anyone is going to say MS is copying Nintendo...

When one of the Sony guy saying he encourage Homebrew on PS3, someone said Sony is copying Nintendo (don't know where it came from). Now MS is following suit... I wonder when will the MS is copying Nintendo statement start.

[Sin Ogaris]

I didn't even know Nintendo were doing anything like this. If them and Sony is offering a similar incentive I'm all for it.