Friday, June 12, 2009
XBox Live Community Games Now Becoming Indie Games
With the release of XNA Game Studio 3.1 (Microsoft's SDK used to make "cross-platform" games for the XBox 360, Windows, and ... uh, Zune), there was a tiny announcement at the end that XBox Live is renaming Community Games "Indie Games."
The hope, according to the announcement, is that the name change plus new features (like user ratings) will "increase understanding and discoverability of (creator's) games," and that they "believe this name better represents the independent spirit of XNA Game Studio gaming and creations."
So - uh, does this mean XBox Live Arcade is now "Not Indie Games?" Okay, granted, most of the games there have not been made by indies, but they still had a toe-hold there.
But aside from that - I don't really have a big problem with it. Aside from some pretty stupid apps that don't qualify as games anyway, for the most part its calling it like they see it. I mean, sadly, 95% of indie games really are crap - I just like to focus on what I consider the top 5%, and on my little niche of specialty. But that's both the blessing and the curse of indie games - there are no gatekeepers, so it's not my place (or anybody else's) to decide what is worthy and what is not. We can advise to provide limited filtering, but there's no impedements for anybody getting their game out to the public.
So... overall... I say, "cool."
Labels: Biz, Indie Evangelism
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:02 AM (Permalink)
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I'm really curious to see how this is going to evolve. I don't have a 360 but I've played a few XBox Arcade games on a friend's system some time ago. What strikes me is how much of a gamble Microsoft is taking with their brand. Hasn't it been the philosophy of the big three console developers to create a high bar to getting any title released in order to protect their system's good name? If I'm a new user and I wander into "Community Games" and find a bunch of crap, am I going to associate that with the XBox or just that portion of their brand?
That aside, it could be a very interesting opportunity for indies.
That aside, it could be a very interesting opportunity for indies.
First and foremost an open market is a happy market.
I'm 110% for letting indies develop for major systems BUT when I'm against is letting HOBBYIST develop. What I mean by this is that hobbyist do not try to make a living selling their products so they price them WAY too cheap and kill everyone elses dreams at making a living developing apps/games.
Ok maybe I'm biased but I think we can all agree that people that are not trying to make a little profit off their work (well speaking apps like for iPhone and even with indie games) are KILLING the market for those looking to make a living creating quality work on their own on in a small group of people.
I'm 110% for letting indies develop for major systems BUT when I'm against is letting HOBBYIST develop. What I mean by this is that hobbyist do not try to make a living selling their products so they price them WAY too cheap and kill everyone elses dreams at making a living developing apps/games.
Ok maybe I'm biased but I think we can all agree that people that are not trying to make a little profit off their work (well speaking apps like for iPhone and even with indie games) are KILLING the market for those looking to make a living creating quality work on their own on in a small group of people.
@Wav - While I've purchased a few games from LiveArcade, I haven't explored community games at all. My bad - but indie PC game releases keep me more than occupied.
The thing you describe is actually what scared a bunch of console manufacturers away from the more-open-platform idea for a long time. MS did it first, and proved that, properly handled, it was a total asset and not a liability to their brand. And so Nintendo and Sony followed suit.
But it's nevertheless fascinating to see how the market responds.
@CodeJustin - I'm not certain I totally agree. I mean, *YES* to the point where the junk is clogging up the pipe and making it hard to find the gems. Better filters are always appreciated, and I hate it when awesome games go unnoticed through all the crap.
But on the other hand - if someone wants to compete with me on free product, part of me says, "Bring it on!" That's my problem, not his - the same problem in reverse of the mainstream game companies trying to compete with the little indies. I have to compete with a free flash game? Well, I'd better make sure I'm providing customers with something superior to (or at least different from) the free flash game if I want them to pay for it. Or I come up with some other trick to monetize my efforts.
I think there's still some price discovery going on right now. There's a bit of a price-war going on amongst indie console games and casual games. I don't think it'll last forever, though. But as a consumer, I'm happy to take advantage of it while it lasts. :)
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The thing you describe is actually what scared a bunch of console manufacturers away from the more-open-platform idea for a long time. MS did it first, and proved that, properly handled, it was a total asset and not a liability to their brand. And so Nintendo and Sony followed suit.
But it's nevertheless fascinating to see how the market responds.
@CodeJustin - I'm not certain I totally agree. I mean, *YES* to the point where the junk is clogging up the pipe and making it hard to find the gems. Better filters are always appreciated, and I hate it when awesome games go unnoticed through all the crap.
But on the other hand - if someone wants to compete with me on free product, part of me says, "Bring it on!" That's my problem, not his - the same problem in reverse of the mainstream game companies trying to compete with the little indies. I have to compete with a free flash game? Well, I'd better make sure I'm providing customers with something superior to (or at least different from) the free flash game if I want them to pay for it. Or I come up with some other trick to monetize my efforts.
I think there's still some price discovery going on right now. There's a bit of a price-war going on amongst indie console games and casual games. I don't think it'll last forever, though. But as a consumer, I'm happy to take advantage of it while it lasts. :)
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