XNA Creators Club Announcement
Sure most of you have seen, but some of the big news for Microsoft at GDC this year was around allowing XNA Game Studio games to be shared via the community on Xbox Live. You can find the official release here, and should also make a point of reading through Letskilldave's posts as well.
A few folks have asked me how this is different/better/worse/etc than Nintendo's Wiiware announcement. Well, simply put, in my opinion Creators Club is infinitely more open and accessible:
- The Creators Club "portfolio" is not managed, meaning Microsoft doesn't approve game concepts. The community filters for inappropriate content, but that's it.
- There is no additional charge for a "dev kit" - it's your PC, with the ability to develop for the Xbox 360 and Zune platforms as well. Interesting tidbit I heard at GDC - apparently you really have to be a developer at an existing studio to have a chance of getting a Wiiware dev kit. I've even heard that you're automatically unable to get a Wiiware dev kit if you ask for it to be shipped to a home address... seems to cut out a bunch of the indies! :(
- You can develop on multiple platforms: PC, Xbox 360, and Zune
I've also had a few folks asking how these XNA games might compare to "professional" Live Arcade games. Simply put, XNA Game Studio games can be quite performant. No, you're not going to create Gears of War in C#, but you can do almost any of the existing LIVE Arcade games out there. You can download the XNA Launcher for free until the 24th and see some of these games for yourself. Check them out if you're curious - but remember, get the launcher now if you want to see them!