Community games hit Xbox 360 this fall

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Jul 23, 2008 10:26 am PT

XNA Creators Club titles to sell for $2.50 to $10; developers to keep "up to 70 percent" of the money.

In February, Microsoft made a big noise about introducing hobbyist-developed games on the Xbox Live Marketplace by the end of the year, but the software giant has been more or less mum on the subject since. That changed this week during the company's Gamefest 2008 developer-focused game conference, as Microsoft used its keynote address to flesh out some details on the endeavor.

Set for launch this fall, "Xbox Live Community Games" will sell for 200 Microsoft points ($2.50), 800 Microsoft points ($10), or at a third price point between those two. The consumer cost of the game will be decided by the developers, who will receive "up to 70 percent" of the revenue their games generate.

Developed using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio toolset, the community titles will need to endure a peer-review process before being made available to the general Xbox 360 userbase. End users will also be able to rate the games on Xbox.com, as well as view clips and play a demo of each game before committing to a purchase. Microsoft expects that the community games will double the size of the system's game library.

The United States, Canada, and Europe will receive the new community games channel on Xbox Live Marketplace this year, with launches in other regions to come.

To help promote the launch, Microsoft is organizing the second annual Dream-Build-Play contest for XNA-developed games. One winner will receive a chance at an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract. Three of last year's standouts--Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, Blazing Birds, and Yo Ho Kablammo!--are set for release on Live Arcade "in the near future."

59 Comments

  • Nosnitsttam

    Posted Aug 21, 2008 5:58 pm PT

    must....have...dishwasher....

    Seriously, it's the best game i ever got to play on live arcade next to puzzle quest and braid, certainly the most action-packed. And $10 is a sweet price if that's the highest they're going to charge. but as cool as arcade's gotten, they really need to drop the restrictions on the size of arcade games. i really think we would start to see plenty of quality arcade games if MS would just let the devs do their thing without having to dance to their tune. It's not the devs fault that MS decided to go for a 20gig hard drive that has essentially 13 gigs of usable space.

  • jay_lee112084

    Posted Jul 29, 2008 12:19 am PT

    KnightwingX7 I love how everyone claims Microsoft is this "Big Bad" corporation, that only cares about profits. While (like any company) profit is of foremost concern, I've noticed that Microsoft is committed to making gaming FUN, and basing it off of a COMMUNITY. This is just one more example of an "everybody wins" scenario where Microsoft makes money, Unknowns get their games actually PUBLISHED and in the hands of GAMERS, and gamers get to enjoy fresh, new ideas in gaming. Companies that only care about profits stick to conventional means of making them. I don't see Sony or Nintendo doing anything remotely like this. But I am sure someone will find a way to turn this into a negative against Microsoft.

    This is the type of "gamer" we need to see more of.

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Jul 28, 2008 6:52 pm PT

    I don't like the "up to 70%" part. That means these indie devs could get short changed.

  • mikekearn

    Posted Jul 27, 2008 1:11 am PT

    Damn, we still don't know how much Dead Samurai is going to be? I am betting on the highest price, but even so, I'm still definitely getting it. Out of all the XNA-games I've played, that was far better than the rest.

  • KnightwingX7

    Posted Jul 25, 2008 4:32 pm PT

    I love how everyone claims Microsoft is this "Big Bad" corporation, that only cares about profits. While (like any company) profit is of foremost concern, I've noticed that Microsoft is committed to making gaming FUN, and basing it off of a COMMUNITY. This is just one more example of an "everybody wins" scenario where Microsoft makes money, Unknowns get their games actually PUBLISHED and in the hands of GAMERS, and gamers get to enjoy fresh, new ideas in gaming. Companies that only care about profits stick to conventional means of making them. I don't see Sony or Nintendo doing anything remotely like this. But I am sure someone will find a way to turn this into a negative against Microsoft.

  • Tandem_Toad

    Posted Jul 25, 2008 7:27 am PT

    This is an amazing opportunity. What a cool set for the individual program enthusiast. I wish the tools didn't have such an extreme learning curve for those who have absolutely no experience in programing and code writing, though. I tried out the beta version and it was not easy to learn. There were tutorials, but the tutorials were just introducing very basic code language, which seemed to be a far cry from actually creating a workable game. XNA may seem like a wonderful and easy tool for those who have experience in C++, but I just wanted to create. It would be neat if they put out the tools for creation similar to map editors and character creators that could be molded, tweaked, and assigned to scenarios. Maybe, the full version has more options.

  • xbox360progamer

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 6:43 pm PT

    i never been in the dream-build-play contest .but i am going to try to be in it this year seems fun.. i want dishwasher

  • okassar

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 8:48 am PT

    XNA was a real good idea.I should try it some time.And it's cool how you actually make a profit if you make a really good game on it.I'm probably going to buy Dishwasher lol.

  • SteeleInd

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 7:48 am PT

    Awesome. I can't wait for Dishwasher. That game was amazing.

  • Belgium_1830

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 4:06 am PT

    EXCELLENT news

  • combatsoldier

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 2:55 am PT

    Congrats. If twelve million people play online, Then lets say a million people buy your game. Dude your making seven hundred thousand dollars. Holy crap thats a lot of money. I wonder if there is a catch. This is amazing and sounds to good to be true. The games are two dollars to ten dollars and all offer achievements. This is going to rock the house.

  • shinchy

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 1:31 am PT

    AND I'm already nearing the end of my own game.

  • ftjx

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 12:10 am PT

    the developers should get 100%

  • combatsoldier

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 11:54 pm PT

    This is absolutely amazing.

  • tungee

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 8:58 pm PT

    I'll take that bet.

    Microsoft really can't go around mouthing off to the press and their developers about them taking away 70% and then end up lying about it. Perhaps you should wait to see more information before betting money. Now, if you'd like to listen to what they told us developers at the conference... Developers do get a flat 70%, but we will be able to give up some of that % for certain things: Xbox promotions on Marketplace, having games featured, and perhaps some other options.

    When can I have my money?

  • ghost867

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 8:28 pm PT

    $20 says that 70% profit line is just that, a line and it's not true in the slightest.

  • tungee

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 6:49 pm PT

    I was just at the GameFest conference, and I'm looking to make a launch game for XNA Community games with my team, and I thought I'd try to answer some questions: Achievements and Leaderboards: At launch, the Community Games will not support either of these, but they may be added in 2009. Peer Review: It's called 'review' but that's a bit misleading. Peer Review has nothing to do with approval process. Peer Review is largely to make sure that you accurately rated your game to XNA (level of gore, violence, language, etc), and to make sure you don't break any of the small list of Microsoft No-no's (porn, nudity, etc). As long as you don't break those restrictions, you don't sneak in any trojans or viruses, and it doesn't crash the system, the game will release. In other words, even if your game totally sucks and every peer reviewer hates it and believes you need to be skinned alive, as long as it doesn't break any of the above, it will be able to be sold on Xbox Marketplace. Just don't expect it to be at the top of the list or for it to do well. When the new dashboard launches in the Fall, XNA Community Games are listed directly under Xbox Live Arcade games. They aren't in the same category, so you shouldn't be confused about which are indie and which are microsoft games. That should answer a lot of the basic questions I've been seeing here. Please remember I am not a microsoft employees and just a small indie developer who attended the conference. I'm merely relaying the information to everyone as fast as i can. There's a lot more, but I cut it off here. Any questions, just post them up after this and I'll answer them if I have an answer. Thanks

  • ScreamDream

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 5:00 pm PT

    Really strange Gamespot failed to report that the developers will get 50-70% of the profits depending on the price of the title that their sister company CNET reported.

  • Beaglesniffer

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 3:16 pm PT

    you still need to have a lot of skills to make a game like this i was thinking i might make something basic but i looked at some of the coding and thought no.... its a good idea for people that are starting out who have already aquired some skill

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 3:09 pm PT

    I like this idea 'cause it's a chance for indie developers to really get something out there... though there's likely to be some huge successful titles, I'm sure a majority of it is going to suck, just like indie music and indie film, a few gems among the many piles of crap, but I still think this is a good idea, it allows indie programmers to get some early experience

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