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Nintendo and Microsoft unveil indie games services
2008-02-20
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.OS) unveiled on Wednesday new online services for their video game consoles to showcase games by independent developers, part of a push by the companies to tap enthusiasm for so-called casual games. Microsoft said trial versions of the first independent games, with titles such as "JellyCar" and "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai," were available immediately, and it expected hundreds of games to hit the service by the end of the year. Microsoft used its keynote at the Game Developers Conference to officially launch the service for its Xbox 360, underscoring the importance it expects such simpler games to play in broadening the appeal of that machine. Microsoft, playing to its traditional strengths in software development for personal computers, began offering game production tools to amateurs and hobbyists about 18 months ago under an initiative dubbed "XNA." "We've seen the democratization of game development, but it will also take something new, the democratization of game distribution," John Schappert, vice president of Xbox Live, told the conference. Nintendo said its WiiWare service for its Wii console would help lower the cost and risk of creating new games. The efforts are unlikely in and of themselves to boost Xbox and Wii sales, but help create the perception the companies are addressing concerns about the rising cost of game development, which can run into the tens of millions of dollars for an A-list title. "It's good PR. They are encouraging and investing in independent developers. Developers need it because the big guys are now coming into the casual business," said IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon. "These kind of indie quirky games give them a little more cachet. You want some indie cred." The Xbox Live service has 10 million users worldwide. Chris Satchell, general manager of XNA, said the tools would also let developers make one game that could run on the Xbox, a Windows-based computer, or Microsoft's Zune media player. Apple Inc's iPod devices already support games. Satchell said Zune games could tap the built-in wireless capability to allow multiplayer action. Satchell said Microsoft will not control the games that make it on to the service, relying instead on a peer-review process that will make sure violence and other controversial content is properly labeled. "I'm not going to be the arbiter of what the community does," Satchell told the conference. "We are not saying don't have these things, we're saying be honest about it, tell people what's in the game." (Reporting by Scott Hillis; Editing by Andre Grenon)
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