August 13, 2006
Microsoft Invites the World to Create Its Own
Xbox 360 Console Games for the First Time
More than 10 esteemed universities to add XNA
Game Studio Express and Xbox 360 game development into their curricula starting
this fall
In the 30 years of video game development, the
art of making console games has been reserved for those with big projects, big
budgets and the backing of big game labels. Now Microsoft Corp. is bringing this
art to the masses with a revolutionary new set of tools, called XNA Game Studio
Express, based on the XNA™ platform. XNA Game Studio Express will democratize
game development by delivering the necessary tools to hobbyists, students, indie
developers and studios alike to help them bring their creative game ideas to
life while nurturing game development talent, collaboration and sharing that
will benefit the entire industry.
During his keynote presentation today at Gamefest
2006, a Microsoft® game developer event hosted by Microsoft in Seattle, Chris
Satchell, general manager of the Game Developer Group at Microsoft, announced
details of the new technology, which will be broadly available this holiday
season. XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to anyone with a
Windows® XP-based PC and will provide them with Microsoft’s next-generation
platform for game development. By joining a “creators club” for an annual
subscription fee of $99 (U.S.), users will be able to build, test and share
their games on Xbox 360™ and access a wealth of materials to help speed the game
development progress. This represents the first significant opportunity for
novice developers to make a console game without a significant investment in
resources.
During his keynote, Satchell talked about
academic institutions that are lining up to include XNA Game Studio Express in
their course offerings. Also showcased was the work of key XNA supporters
Autodesk Inc. and GarageGames. Through the Microsoft XNA relationship with
Autodesk, the leading provider of 3-D authoring software, game developers and
enthusiasts can now more easily incorporate content into XNA Game Studio Express
via Autodesk’s FBX file exchange format. Joining Satchell on stage was Mark
Frohnmayer, president of GarageGames, who showcased ports of its next-generation
Torque tools and technology over to the XNA Game Studio Express platform.
XNA Game Studio Express Opens Up Game Creation
to the World
By providing an integrated, seamless development
environment based on Visual Studio® Express and .NET that simplifies the
integration and use of game content, XNA Game Studio Express makes game
development easier to accomplish for smaller projects, strongly increasing the
chance for great game ideas to make it out of the concept stage and into the
hands of gamers everywhere.
The XNA Game Studio Express beta will be
available Aug. 30, 2006, as a free download on Windows XP, for development on
the Windows XP platform. XNA Game Studio Express will give anyone with a Windows
XP-based PC access to a unified development tool that liberates the creation of
great Xbox 360 and Windows XP-compatible games, providing a new alternative to
the existing multithousand-dollar development kits that many console games
require. The final version of XNA Game Studio Express will be available this
holiday season.
“XNA Game Studio Express will ignite innovation
and accelerate prototyping, forever changing the way games are developed,”
Satchell said. “By unlocking retail Xbox 360 consoles for community-created
games, we are ushering in a new era of cross-platform games based on the XNA
platform. We are looking forward to the day when all the resulting
talent-sharing and creativity transforms into a thriving community of
user-created games on Xbox 360.”
Not only will XNA Game Studio Express turn the
community into creators, but a second XNA toolset geared toward game development
professionals is scheduled to be available in spring 2007, fundamentally
changing the way commercial games are developed.
The Beginning of the Game Developer Revolution
From students at colleges, universities and high
schools of the future to the proverbial “guys in the garage,” Microsoft XNA Game
Studio Express will liberate anyone with a great game idea to create titles for
Xbox 360 and Windows XP simultaneously. More than 10 universities and their game
development schools — including University of Southern California, Georgia Tech
College of Computing and Southern Methodist University Guildhall — have already
pledged to integrate console game development and XNA Game Studio Express into
their curricula for the first time, and Xbox 360 will be the only console at the
center of all coursework.
“Great game ideas are incubating in the minds of
students everywhere,” said Michael Zyda, director for Gamepipe Labs at the
University of Southern California. “With XNA Game Studio Express, Microsoft is
investing in these next-generation innovators, creating the canvas for dreamers
to express their powerful game ideas. In incorporating XNA Game Studio Express
and Xbox 360 consoles into our Gamepipe program, USC will be able to better
provide game studios and publishers around the world with a newfound wellspring
of talent and opportunity. It’s ingenious.”
In addition, GarageGames, technology provider and
developer of one of the most successful Xbox Live® Arcade titles, “Marble Blast
Ultra,” has migrated both its Torque Shader Engine and new Torque Game Builder
2-D visual game designer over to the XNA Game Studio Express platform.
“The GarageGames mission has always been to
provide top-tier technology, tools and community to independent and aspiring
game developers,” said Josh Williams, CEO of GarageGames. “We are excited that
Microsoft is demonstrating leadership by taking the revolutionary step of
opening up game development for Xbox 360 to hobbyists and students. In aligning
our tools and technology with XNA Game Studio Express, we’re helping even more
individuals with the creativity and drive to make video games bring them to life
on both Windows XP and Xbox 360.”
