Sweet! Microsoft lets regular gamers create games for the XB360!

[Genesis F5]

BREAKING: Microsoft To Enable User-Created Xbox 360 Games

Talking on the eve of its Gamefest event in Seattle, Microsoft has revealed XNA Game Studio Express, a new product which will allow indie developers and students to develop simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PC, and share their games to others in a new Xbox 360 'Creators Club'.

The details of the new tech are as follows: 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.

Link

And I was just thinking today "I can't see the need to buy a 360." This certainly puts a new spin on things.

Edit: Wow, this guy called it in his blog, too: link

[indivision]

nice. this could be huge for the gaming industry.

any ideas or info on what the "XNA platform" will be like? will it basically be C#? will it have access to the live servers and multiplayer capability?

[Genesis F5]

XNA has been the standard platform from the beginning for the XB360. It's MS's own proprietary suite that has its roots in the .NET 2.0 framework. It's goal is to provide a lot of standardized (by MS's standards) libraries to help developers get projects out faster and alleviate a lot of the "reinventing the wheel" type scenarios.

Smart move on MS's part for releasing this around the launch of the other two systems. The $99 sort of sours the deal since it looks like the games will only be available to other "content creators." Especially after the initial investement in the system itself. Luckily, upon its initial release, it will be free for a while.

Anyone who follows homebrew game development knows that this type of development is popular, as demonstrated by the Dreamcast. There have been several major releases like Feet of Fury, all of which have been developed by enthusiasts.

It'll be interesting to see how the "homebrew" field of developement plays out now that it's being commercialized, especially since it's being backed by the parent company.

[Genesis F5]

Offical FAQ by Microsoft: link

Based on of C# Express 2005.

[indivision]

nice. ive been wanting to learn C# for some time. this would be a good motivator to pick it up.

[Genesis F5]

Here you go: link (Visual C# Express: Free until the end of the year).

I installed it a couple weeks too late and missed this game development challenge put out by Microsoft: link. It looks like they had a tutorial to get you started, but now that it's over, all of that content is gone. . I'm hoping I can find it somewhere else.