Quite an interesting read. If they can pull this off it could potentially be a big change in how games are developed.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/501/501373p1.aspx

I wasn' t very interested until I got to the last page...PC and Xbox Live users against each other. A RTS game where the PC user is the commander, and the Xbox Live users are the actual units he commands...that' s great.

Some very tantalizing stuff. This could cause a big change in the way console games are looked at an developed. It' s a ten year thing though so it' ll be a while to see the full result. I wonder what Sony and Ninteno think about this. If they agree it will be like having MS keeping them on a leash but if they turn it down, they could turn down a huge evolution in video games. Sneaky MS, very sneaky

Another link-

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/5578/XNA-Announced

I agree. This could be a great evolution in gaming. This sorta reminds me of online console games, and like online, this could turn out to be a missed cash-cow for companies not doing this. BUT, I doubt this will be supported by third parties, and only MS and Sony make P.C. games, which may leave the big N out of this picture.

From the way it sounds they already have 3rd party support.

I was implying the possibility of Nintendo or Sony following suite, and stating that they don' t have many (in n' s case none) P.C. games, so they would rely heavily on third-parties.

True, Sony and nintendo may not want to join but it would actually help with revenue, especially in Nintendo' s case. But then again, if it only happens with MS, they could make a killing the next couple of genereations.

XNA Video' s just released, check out that Saleen,

I watched the " Crash" one, I' ll watch the others later. Wow, very impressive stuff. The crash physics looked amazing (I couldn' t beleive how good the damage to the car looked). Great stuff.

Damn! Those videos are amazing! The physics in the first one was just mind boggling! The animation and detail in the second was CG quality and the last one was just... !!! It was cool! If that' s a demonstration of next gen in game graphics I' m impressed!

The thing is, you can' t expect Sony and Nintendo to come on board with XNA, simply because they haven' t been involved from the start. IF XNA becomes successful, it' s just another step leading to Microsofts industry domination.


of course the ideas, opportunities and prospects sound amazing, but at what cost?


If Microsoft wanted to see this become an industry standard then Sony and Nintendo would have had to be consulted. When you bear in mind MS' s track record, they' ve always dominated to bring around synergy and order, rather than negotiate. The words " Microsoft" and " compromise" aren' t exactly two peas in a pod, are they?

I' m excited. No doubt about it. But I won' t dismiss the criticism that is bound to be levelled against MS. If there intention were to make game development and the future of the games industry easier, then Sony and Nintendo' s expertise in the field would' ve been vital.

Whether you believe in the capabilities of XNA is a totally different matter from questioning MS' s motives. The current industry climate is ideal for the consumer: variety, industry competition and motivation to offer the best product. With MS in control, I don' t like the idea of being subjected to the blue screen of death with no viable alternative available.


Track record, people. Call me cynical, call me an MS hater if you like (you' d be a tard for saying that - you' d be wrong and you' d be getting into an argument you can' t win) but just remember that in the minds of Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and dumbass zealots who think the manufacturers are their best friends, there' s a war being fought. MS aren' t doing this out of the kindness of their hearts or for the good of the industry.


Sure, it means games will be easier to develop, but with Sony and Ninty not being on board, what developer would want to develop games for them? MS are carving out the future of a single format by crushing the opposition.

As exciting as XNA is, reserve judgement till we see it in action: in my opinion, it brings progress and market domination to the table in equal measures.

They said they left it ope to Sony and Nintendo. I don' t see either of them as being vital components to this though. MS made a pretty damn good first try. Besides they' ve been working with PC games for a long time.

I think they are trying to make an industry standard while at the same time making a big blow to the other companies. If they force the other contenders to join them they will have them on a leash as I said before. They have them in between a rock and a hard place. It' s brilliance on MS' s part. They are making a huge leap in controlling the field.

they also stressed that there would be plenty of freedom left open for developers. There will still be competition between developers, this program is just making it easier for developers and games to suceed by eleminating huge costs. This will create even more game companies and more games. There are several games that had serious potential that got shut down due to lack of funding. This is seriously going to help that problem.

As stated though we won' t see the effects for around 10 years. That' s when they hope to have it all together.

I' m definetly interested in this but I don' t think it' s going to " revolutionize" the way we play games. I' m interested in how this is going to work, there' s always a chance this might not work out as they planned.

It' s not meant to revolutionize how we play games but to revolutionize the industry. It will make it easier and more cost efficient for companies to make games. This equals out to more games being developed due to less cost. Several games have been canceled in the past few years that looked amazing just because they ran out of money. This has the potential to stop that.

Here' s Kikizo' s piece, with the media etc:

http://games.kikizo.com/news/200403/048.asp

I pretty much stand by what I said originally, seeing as nobody' s bothered to specifically argue with my rather astute observations.

I slightly argued with it.