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Microsoft to Offer Xbox 360 Games From Independent Developers

Posted on: Thursday, 21 February 2008, 08:55 CST

Microsoft Corp. announced yesterday it will allow Xbox 360 video games from independent developers to be available for download through the console's online service.  

The service will launch late this year in time for the holiday season, and is expected to double the size of the Xbox 360 game library to 1,000 games within a year of its launch, Microsoft representatives said.

Game creators must either purchase a $99 Microsoft XNA Game Studio software subscription or be an XNA Creators Club member to distribute a game on the Xbox Live service.  However, the company will give students free access to its XNA Game Studio 2.0, its video game development program.  Creators Club members will be able to test a beta version within a few months.

Each game will be evaluated for quality and suitability by the online community. Currently, Xbox Live has 10 million subscribers who could potentially play and rate the games.

Microsoft also announced that game developers will be able to build games for its Zune digital media players.

"The time has come for the games industry to open its doors to all game creators, enabling anyone to share their creations with the world," John Schappert, vice president of gaming at Microsoft, told an audience of 6,000 game developers at an industry conference in San Francisco.

Microsoft faces aggressive competition from Nintendo Co. and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation in the game console market.  Last year, Nintendo released its own game development tool called WiiWare.   

Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, told Associated Press he didn't expect the Xbox download service to appeal to mass-market consumers, but said it could persuade independent developers to create additional Xbox 360 games.

"This would appeal to the more independent developers, people who want to break into the market, and get them started on the Xbox," he said. "It makes the development and distribution of video games more accessible."

However, Microsoft did not divulge whether the downloads would generate revenue for game developers or would be offered at no charge. 

Independent game developer Phil Fish says that's a key detail.  Fish and two other developers recent launched Polytron Corp., a Montreal-based company that has developed a game called "Fez" using Microsoft’s XNA software.

Using  his own Web site, he hopes to generate $10 per download on his game.

"I wouldn't like to give a year of work away just because Microsoft allows us to do it," Fish said in an Associated Press report.

Like actors who struggle to get discovered in Hollywood, independent game developers have traditionally fought to prove themselves to a publishing company in hopes of winning a distribution contract. 

But Jason DeGroot, also with Polytron, says the new Xbox download service could create a centralized platform for developers to show off their wares without the contract worries.  Under Microsoft's plan, developers would still own the rights to their games.

"It's about giving independent developers a mass, wide-appeal audience," DeGroot added.

However, DeGroot has concerns the service could get bombarded with lower-quality games.  "It's not easy to make games. They might be shooting themselves in the foot," DeGroot said.

According to a Reuters report, Microsoft said trial versions of the first independent games, such as "JellyCar" and "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai," were available immediately, and the company expects hundreds of games to be available via the service by the end of the year.

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On the Net:

www.xbox.com

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