MS XNA Game Studio Express: Indie Console Game Development?
I am not sure if people find this strange but Microsoft might be making gaming history by promoting Indie Console Game Development on the Xbox 360 platform.
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
Console game development has traditionally been restricted to game development shops that need to invest in a significant sum of money to purchase a game development kit. After that, these game shops are then required to pay licenses for games to be released. Microsoft has definitely democratized console game development.
But what about Sony? It has allowed Linux to be installed in their PS2 platform which allows game developers to build and re-build Linux games for the PS2. However, these games cannot be played on PS2 units that do not have Linux installed. So, this does not really count.
But … (major caveat) … after creating the games using the MS XNA Game Studio Express, these games can’t be made available immediately to Xbox 360 users (Unless somebody finds a hack for loading them without proper licenses and creates the loader software). Developers will still have to purchase MS XNA Game Studio Professional. However, this might save game developers from having to pay license fees? Lets wait and see. Too soon to tell but it is a step in the right direction.
Note: The Ateneo de Manila University already offers a course on Console Game Development using the PS2 (and Linux) platform.
