XBox 360 and you
by Ken Paulson · in General Discussion · 08/14/2006 (12:33 am) · 61 replies
I didn't think this was supposed to be public yet, but they made the press releases available, so I'm allowed to post it.
www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/aug06/08-13XNAGameStudioPR.mspx
www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/aug06/08-13XNAGameStudioPR.mspx
#3
I don't really like the yearly fee, but I have a dotMac account so I shouldn't compain too much.
This however will be very intresting expecially how much I currently use the xbox360, and getting more indy games on it should be intresting.
also posted on cnet.com
news.com.com/Play+your+own+Xbox+game/2100-1043_3-6104939.html?tag=nefd.top
08/14/2006 (1:46 am)
My question is about the license, can we use the indy/commercial engine via elua update, or will we need the expensive xbox license that is not purchable from the web store? I don't really like the yearly fee, but I have a dotMac account so I shouldn't compain too much.
This however will be very intresting expecially how much I currently use the xbox360, and getting more indy games on it should be intresting.
also posted on cnet.com
news.com.com/Play+your+own+Xbox+game/2100-1043_3-6104939.html?tag=nefd.top
#4
Having a good enough to get published is likely to be the harder task.
08/14/2006 (2:06 am)
Pretty neat :) Let's hope we don't see huge licensing fees required to get games from the PC onto the 360. I suspect you're going to need a pretty solid PC game in order to pick up a publisher/nod from MS in order to get it onto the 360, so in that case, the fees probably won't be a big problem.Having a good enough to get published is likely to be the harder task.
#5
If I read it right, they are only doing the compile for $99 year, and only for club members, not to the general market place. So I think a you don't need a publisher to test the game. Maybe goes to your passport id/gamertag?
If memory serves me right, there was some very good games when sony did the same. The difference was finding those kits in the U.S. was a pain, and when you used the kits, the games could not be ran on a regular ps2. You needed special memory card or something.
08/14/2006 (2:53 am)
Maybe they will have a licence for the members of the club, and a version for the regular distribution. If they have an express or club version then it wouldn't be too bad, and maybe sell a few more licenses. They could always upgrade if the game is good enough.If I read it right, they are only doing the compile for $99 year, and only for club members, not to the general market place. So I think a you don't need a publisher to test the game. Maybe goes to your passport id/gamertag?
If memory serves me right, there was some very good games when sony did the same. The difference was finding those kits in the U.S. was a pain, and when you used the kits, the games could not be ran on a regular ps2. You needed special memory card or something.
#6
08/14/2006 (3:19 am)
You do not need any license to run the game; however, you do need to pay the $99/year for the membership in the Creator's Club, count my $99 already spent. This is for non-commercial games, if I understand correctly. A commercial license will still need aproval by Microsoft. That's what I understand so far. More to come today, look for an official Garage Games press release today. 
#7
08/14/2006 (3:28 am)
The future looks very different :)
#8
08/14/2006 (4:19 am)
Now that Microsoft will be giving away both TSE and TGB, why would one buy official licences from Garagegames? Is access to TDN and the private forums worth $200 (indie lic.)? I'm considering buying TGB, but will have a look at XNA first.
#9
08/14/2006 (4:26 am)
Finding myself truly speechless. What an amazing opportunity there rises... wow!
#10
08/14/2006 (4:35 am)
@Charles> I believe Microsoft aren't giving TSE/TGB away you will still purchase them as normal from GG but will be able to use them with XNA.
#11
08/14/2006 (5:30 am)
He he, let's make a guess who's going to announce it here from the GG staff. My guess is Josh W. :-)
#12
The trusted One
08/14/2006 (5:50 am)
:) I am plesently suprised by microsofts shift in direction, opening doors for the little guys is something I thaught Willie would never do given his statement "Any kid in his garage can put me out of business" well I am not a kid, but I have a garage :) now I need a 360 too.The trusted One
#13
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.
1. 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
2. The receiving user must have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for the Xbox 360
3. The receiving user must have XNA Game Studio Express installed on their own development PC
4. 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.
08/14/2006 (6:35 am)
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.
1. 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
2. The receiving user must have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for the Xbox 360
3. The receiving user must have XNA Game Studio Express installed on their own development PC
4. 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.
#14
08/14/2006 (6:50 am)
Too cool. 
#15
You're not the only one. For several years I've never really liked microsoft products nor their os, however since WindowsXP they've pretty much made a U turn in my opinion. XP is the first OS they've released that I've actually used without major issues/crashes. They've also started using or creating open standards which is a much better situation than everything been proprietory.
Also since the initial announcments of XBox live and the support for indie games, MS again went up in my opinion. (Played marble blast ultra and cloning clyde the other week, great games :) Not to mention they're embracing open source a little more than in the past, such as making linux servers managable from within windows. The step of finally adding support for homebrew via legit means on their console is pretty awesome, I'm sure plenty of people will make use of that. Hopefully in time they'll introduce a means of distributing homebrew'd binaries to users outside the creators club, or at least remove the need for all users to compile it themselves.
Still, I'm not really over excited by the news, information on XNA has been pretty sparse so I'm not really aware of the benefits of it, and the lack of cross platform support is a little concerning.
08/14/2006 (6:56 am)
Quote::) I am plesently suprised by microsofts shift in direction, opening doors for the little guys is something I thaught Willie would never do given his statement "Any kid in his garage can put me out of business" well I am not a kid, but I have a garage :) now I need a 360 too.
You're not the only one. For several years I've never really liked microsoft products nor their os, however since WindowsXP they've pretty much made a U turn in my opinion. XP is the first OS they've released that I've actually used without major issues/crashes. They've also started using or creating open standards which is a much better situation than everything been proprietory.
Also since the initial announcments of XBox live and the support for indie games, MS again went up in my opinion. (Played marble blast ultra and cloning clyde the other week, great games :) Not to mention they're embracing open source a little more than in the past, such as making linux servers managable from within windows. The step of finally adding support for homebrew via legit means on their console is pretty awesome, I'm sure plenty of people will make use of that. Hopefully in time they'll introduce a means of distributing homebrew'd binaries to users outside the creators club, or at least remove the need for all users to compile it themselves.
Still, I'm not really over excited by the news, information on XNA has been pretty sparse so I'm not really aware of the benefits of it, and the lack of cross platform support is a little concerning.
#16
-Ajari-
08/14/2006 (7:05 am)
Isn't this simmilar to what Sony announced for the PS3 a while back with their Linux system? User created games. Sounds like a way to keep up with the Jonses but I'll welcome it. Sony's done enough "borrowing" in the past year from both Microsoft and Nintendo, so I think Microsoft has some ground to stand on if that's the case. It'll be neat to see how this happens. I'm excited about it. I can't wait to rub this in my girlfriends face. She's pro Sony and having that user created content available to the public was a major bullet point over the 360 for Sony fanboys...and fangirls.-Ajari-
#17
08/14/2006 (8:45 am)
Not at all, Ajari. Still don't know what is announced and what is un-announced, but the PS2 Linux kit didn't even move the needle for Sony. This is way bigger than a Linux add-on kit.
#18
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.
1. 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
2. The receiving user must have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for the Xbox 360
3. The receiving user must have XNA Game Studio Express installed on their own development PC
4. 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."
Ouch! that does not sound good at all. $99 just to be able to show off your games to other XNA users?
Does anyone know what chances are they that your game could be selected to be downloaded in XBLA? maybe a monthly competition or something? What requirements are there to create a game that could be distributed through XBLA my this medium?
08/14/2006 (8:54 am)
"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.
1. 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
2. The receiving user must have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for the Xbox 360
3. The receiving user must have XNA Game Studio Express installed on their own development PC
4. 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."
Ouch! that does not sound good at all. $99 just to be able to show off your games to other XNA users?
Does anyone know what chances are they that your game could be selected to be downloaded in XBLA? maybe a monthly competition or something? What requirements are there to create a game that could be distributed through XBLA my this medium?
#19
08/14/2006 (9:07 am)
Well, if your game is not only visible among the XNA community but also a high-quality game, the possibilities of getting it picked up would be higher I would imagine. 
Torque Owner Anton Bursch