Microsoft to offer cheap Xbox 360 game development kit? Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Microsoft to offer cheap Xbox 360 game development kit? -- Posted by XanTium on March 21 18:50 EST
From CNet news.com:
[QUOTE]
Since last spring when the Xbox 360 was first announced, one of the biggest concerns was that it would be too expensive for most game developers to create games for the next-generation console.

But at the Game Developers Conference here today, the rumor is that Microsoft plans on announcing tomorrow a developers kit that would make it possible for anyone to build games for the console, or for PCs, and that the kit will cost only about $100.
It's hard to know exactly what such a development kit would mean for the larger body of Xbox games, but one thing seems clear: there would be a lot more games on the horizon, something that would no doubt annoy Sony as it ramps up for the launch of the PlayStation 3 sometime late this year or early next year, presumably not with such a cheap developers kit available.

Microsoft did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
[/QUOTE]

Read More: news.com
Could this be related with the news we brought you back in December 2005: Developing for Xbox 360 Not Limited to Licensed Publishers?

[[MF]superman]

Only issue I'm struggling with is that there must be some catch. If this is in anyway true and related to the idea of MS allowing 360 developing without a liscence then there must be some bait as to the fact that they are trying to shut us down from playing backups and homebrew. I dont know, this sounds really fishy to me....

[HSDEMONZ]

the price might be right.. but the catch will be that to get anything published, it will likely still need to go through MS approval process of some sort. MS is not gonna let just anyone.. make anything they wish.

[beerbaron]

yeah it sounds like they're trying to de-legitimitize the claim by mod-chip makers that the chips are legal because they are used to develop software on an otherwise locked system.

Still if it yields better and more diverse games (which I think the industry needs) then it could be a good thing.

[MrPhunkee]

Agreed hsdemonz. But still great

[ucfknight]

Now if Epic will just license their Unreal Engine 3.0 for $50 or so, I'll be all set to create my very own Halo killer.

[jsrlepage]

if MS does that, it'll somewhat consolidate the Xbox360 position as the "homebrew/enthusiast platform" as well as a kewl matress decoration / game console.

[PedrosPad]

Undoubtedly the most interesting scene news titbit ever.

[CattyKid]

yeah it sounds like they're trying to de-legitimitize the claim by mod-chip makers that the chips are legal because they are used to develop software on an otherwise locked system.

Still if it yields better and more diverse games (which I think the industry needs) then it could be a good thing.

Meh, maybe.
But MS just won't let someone release an XBMC, or a Linux Distro. It will still have to go through MS.
So modchips (still)= good.

[psxpirate1]

This DOES sound like good news, but for all those wondering how those dvd's are going to be made, they're going to have to go through MS for printing. Sorry kiddies, no dvd code for you!

[sew3521]

i kno this is somewhere in these forums but still i might as well ask here....cus the forum search ahas been down forever

Why can we just hack the code on the DVD?

[psxpirate1]

It will break the signature of the dvd. There is protection on them against adding, or taking away files, not to mention the discs are signed. Nobody but MS has the key.

Also from now on for future reference, use the Hacking (Technical) forums for inquiries like this.

[The Bat]

I'm going to just poll a few ideas out of my hindquarters again. What that $100 will likely get is just straight software, without a single cable or anything. Development won't be 360-specific or PC-specific when written, with the XDL doing the porting from one platform to the other when compiled.

I'm guessing that the software won't be the only thing you'd need to write code, acting instead with MS's existing programming software for PCs. In other words, that new $100 package will be a plugin for what is already available.

Programs such as XBMC, Gentoox, and so forth could still be created with this utility. Distribution would likely be through MS's Live network, and may require a registration fee for the approval process, pass or fail. Emulators will likely have little chance of getting through, since anything for playing Playstation or Dreamcast or whatever titles will be a legal mess outside of the scope of the program.

The process for getting your code released on the PC side would be more straightforward, and likely cheaper, to the point that the new development kit would be pointless. But on the 360 side, it'll promote the Shareware market. If my guesses are correct, the Offline XBox Arcade market will get the greatest benefit from this.

So unless I'm just being needlessly pessimistic, I'll be modding my 360 with the rest of you eventually.

[MondoMor]

I suspect any cheapo GDK will have a restricted API, perhaps not allowing use of some of the more advanced graphics capabilities. I would hope they wouldn't stifle networking capabilities. If it's true, it's got to be some seriously small subset, else all of the companies that coughed up large sums for the official GDK will be furious.

I'll be very happy to see XBMC and XPort stuff ported over to the 360.

[psxpirate1]

Xport's emulation projects will never see the light of day because of copyright infringements, and legal wranglings. Unless you're speaking strictly homebrew and PD roms.

This post has been edited by psxpirate1: Mar 22 2006, 02:50 AM