Xbox One Microsoft Changes Indie Self Publish Game Policy

[sc_shark]

I don't think 10g is bad for a dev kit.. if they are going to publish titles and would expect to make a good game the profits should wash that number out.. whatever they have in r&d or development is part of the game.

“I certainly know that Microsoft want to talk at future press events about their relationships with indies. I can’t really talk about that, but they’re very passionate about building a strong relationship with indie development – indie development is the future.

via:VG247

 

[Adamaris]

I kind of like it that they are going more indie-friendly. While some stuff that turns over as indie ends up bad (usually due to budgeting) I have a feeling that Microsoft might actually back this more than other companies would. It also means no tie downs when it comes to dev work, anyone still love that Apple would release certain phone app's due to dev ties? Yea me either, its why I went to a windows phone (more freedom). I see this working well as long as no one screws it up.

 

[OniBlackMage]

I know my college had a games-development lab stocked with Xbox 360s and their dev kits, but I wonder how friendly it is to the less-subsidized developer. I think the mobile market opened up so much that it has simply due to how afforable it is to get started making something for that format. Its a shame that money prevents most good starts from ever being seen all the way through.

 

[sc_shark]

I know my college had a games-development lab stocked with Xbox 360s and their dev kits, but I wonder how friendly it is to the less-subsidized developer. I think the mobile market opened up so much that it has simply due to how afforable it is to get started making something for that format. Its a shame that money prevents most good starts from ever being seen all the way through.

it opens the doors to allot but it also will flood the market with trash games just like the app store or android/mobile gaming. their will end up being copy cats of the good things and end up being hard to weed thru the trash to find good games or general apps. think of how many apps are on xbox live that we dont use now and they are stable and decent. movie,audio,tv i think developers will put out a less than idea product because they know their good app will be copied and sold for next to nothing by a kid who did nothing.

i am perfectly find a few less titles that are good than 1000 trash arcade style games that some kid built. their is a few games i play on my ipad2 that are ok the rest are all reskins with no story and sub par graphics. the last thing i want is my 500 dollar console beimming a point and click arcade style player..

ill go as far as saying let them self develop on the 360 and test out what happens with the millions of players/developers and see the trends or what runs its course. pick and choose the good content the 360 gets and tailor it for the xbox one. it shouldn't be that hard to cross over once the general idea is their and working or known to work.

 

[Reptar_On_Ice]

Uh, I think it's totally bonkers to say "Pay us first, THEN we'll help you make a game." because you can end up paying for the Dev Kit and get nothing back because nobody buys your game, regardless of how good it is. The idea of "Oh, well if it's actually good, it'll earn you back the money." isn't a good one because it's essentially an indie developer putting their money on the line so that Microsoft gives them permission to develop for their console. That's fine for companies that have the money to spend, but if I were an Indie dev, I'd rather go to PS4 or PC with my business.

 

[8bitpenguin]

This is bull. Microsoft is notorious for their horrible indie support while always proclaiming that "they support indie developers", i won't in anyway assume that this time will be any different.

 

[Medza]

The indie support for the 360 was pretty terrible, for one they made 'indie' a genre and just mashed all of the games together. There was also very little showcasing for any of the games, so unless you specifically knew what you were looking for then it was literately browsing from a tonne of crap games to find some good ones. I really hope that this time round they will truly be more enthusiastic about working with the indies, because the 360 was just a half assed job that often ended up being more of a loss for the devs than it was profitable.

 

[Murray]

Its pretty typical to have a monetary barrier of entry to get onto a platform/console. PC is about the only place that this isn't true. When you're going into development you have to be aware of the cost so I don't think the money is the issue. Microsoft has always had weird and strict policies on DLC/Updates that they recently took away so I think its going to work better for them. In the long run, it should actually promote indie development, but I still think if you're loving Indie titles, just stick with PC/Steam.

 

[Nymph]

It is true that the ten grand per development kit seems a little steep when measured up to the smaller, indie game companies and even individuals, but if you think about it, they need a marketing department or the game will fail regardless of how good or bad it is. This is something that was addressed in an article regarding Sony's change in stance about indie developers. If they do not have the specialists or the budget for marketing their games, indie developers better not waste their time by purchasing development kits. Another obstacle that will stand in their way is that both companies adhere to a certain level of standards when it comes to a game - not everything will go out on the market unless it meets these standards.

Indie developers will need to make every effort to get press releases, television commercials, internet advertising, etc. in order to see their games become successes. No one will buy a game if they do not know about it or the wrong audience is appealed to. How in the world do you think the big companies do it?

 

[Claptrap]

They better build a good relationship with indies. Sony already has a good rep with indies, specially as of late, and Microsoft has had a pretty bad rep from various reports by indies devs, specially Team Meat's.

 

[BlackSolaris]

It is a good thing that they are making it more accessible... right?
I mean, if it's easy, that only means that more people will fill the marketplace with crap, and the talented people, who were filtered by all those hard loops, will just end up being together with all the others that are bad.
And then how i am supposed to know what are the good games?

 

[wowtgp]

I would say, it's a welcome move from Micorsoft. It's first time in the history when Microsoft has retrieved and conceded that they committed some mistakes. It's a wise and welcoming move by them. I am sure a lot of people would appreciate the flexibility in their decision making that they have shown so far. Let's see how it fares for them.

 

[Clark Bruce]

This is really something unexpected as I was pretty sure Microsoft wasn’t planning on doing any more 180’s anytime soon but I guess I was very much mistaken. It is definitely a great thing though as indie developers were getting really upset with Microsoft in the past few weeks. I think Microsoft is doing their best to be on equal footing with Sony and the PS4 before they are officially released and this was a step in the right direction.