All XBOX One's Can Be Used As Dev Kits, Indie Self Publishing Will Be Allowed
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Independent Developers Will Self-Publish Games on Xbox One
Any Xbox One can operate as a debug unit.
by Andrew Goldfarb
July 24, 2013
Microsoft has reversed its policy and will allow independent developers to release Xbox One games without requiring a publisher. Moreover, any Xbox One console will be able to operate as a debug unit, allowing Microsoft to approve specific systems to play games that are still in development.
Xbox corporate vice president Marc Whitten provided the following statement to IGN:
“Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox Live. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox Live. We'll have more details on the program and the timeline at Gamescom in August.”
This marks a reversal of the policy Microsoft announced after the Xbox One’s initial reveal, which stated that publishers would still be required for independent games. Recently, Microsoft also stopped charging developers for releasing patches on Xbox 360.
Microsoft joins Sony and Nintendo, who both allow independent developers to release games with no publisher. Their reversal may sway the opinion of multiple developers who sided with Sony in June, citing self-publishing as a reason their games were more likely to appear on Sony systems.
We've reached out to Microsoft for further clarification, so look out for more on IGN later today.
Any Xbox One can operate as a debug unit.
by Andrew Goldfarb
July 24, 2013
Microsoft has reversed its policy and will allow independent developers to release Xbox One games without requiring a publisher. Moreover, any Xbox One console will be able to operate as a debug unit, allowing Microsoft to approve specific systems to play games that are still in development.
Xbox corporate vice president Marc Whitten provided the following statement to IGN:
“Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox Live. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox Live. We'll have more details on the program and the timeline at Gamescom in August.”
This marks a reversal of the policy Microsoft announced after the Xbox One’s initial reveal, which stated that publishers would still be required for independent games. Recently, Microsoft also stopped charging developers for releasing patches on Xbox 360.
Microsoft joins Sony and Nintendo, who both allow independent developers to release games with no publisher. Their reversal may sway the opinion of multiple developers who sided with Sony in June, citing self-publishing as a reason their games were more likely to appear on Sony systems.
We've reached out to Microsoft for further clarification, so look out for more on IGN later today.
Comments
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OK now this is dope news.
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So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy. What's next, are they going to sell a version of the XB1 without the Kinect for 100 dollars less?
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy. What's next, are they going to sell a version of the XB1 without the Kinect for 100 dollars less?
yupp -
Idiots are officially running Microsoft. All this back pedalling and U-turns because they couldn't gauge public opinion, they had no common sense and their original Xbone vision was a bag of ? designed purely to benefit the suits and not the customer. The whole thing has been a joke from the start. Do they even believe in their product any more?
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.....
gonna team up with some comrades/find myself some nerds and step our developing/producing game up maaaaaaayneeee
This has so much potential if they do this right, ? incredible.
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dont be surprised if some of u ? ' faces show up in the E2S studio's first game release "Angry ? ".
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Let me pm you a decent face pic.
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy.
Actually, Nintendo was the first console maker to allow indie self publishing. Not to mention, PC`s for like...a decade. -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy.
Actually, Nintendo was the first console maker to allow indie self publishing. Not to mention, PC`s for like...a decade.
I have no idea what that has to do with what I said. Nowhere did I say that the PS4 was the first system that would allow Indie publishing. I said that Microsoft is cloning Sony's strategy. Regardless whether they were the first to do it or not, one of the big things Sony was pushing the the PS4 was their reaching out to Indie developers. Microsoft pretty much scoffed at that. Now all of a sudden, they are gearing up to do the same thing Sony is.
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy.
Actually, Nintendo was the first console maker to allow indie self publishing. Not to mention, PC`s for like...a decade.
I have no idea what that has to do with what I said. Nowhere did I say that the PS4 was the first system that would allow Indie publishing. I said that Microsoft is cloning Sony's strategy. Regardless whether they were the first to do it or not, one of the big things Sony was pushing the the PS4 was their reaching out to Indie developers. Microsoft pretty much scoffed at that. Now all of a sudden, they are gearing up to do the same thing Sony is.
I don't see how something Sony didn't initiate in any way whatsoever can be deemed a "cloned Sony strategy" when Nintendo, Valve, Ouya, Apple, Samsung, PC's etc. have all been doing this long before Sony.
Why ? mad tho? -
Guess paying for online was all Sonys idea too.. oh and motion controls...
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Neither was Ill Community Netflix Movie dates
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“The policy changes are great, but they don’t undo the experience I had,” he said. “I’m not ready to forget what I went through. Working with Microsoft was the unhappiest point of my career. Policies are one thing, but developer relations are another.
“It’s important to me that consumers don’t see things as black and white. There are still strings attached to this policy change.”
gematsu.com/2013/07/ps4-dev-kits-handed-out-candy-xbox-one-self-publishing-not-black-white -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy.
Actually, Nintendo was the first console maker to allow indie self publishing. Not to mention, PC`s for like...a decade.
I have no idea what that has to do with what I said. Nowhere did I say that the PS4 was the first system that would allow Indie publishing. I said that Microsoft is cloning Sony's strategy. Regardless whether they were the first to do it or not, one of the big things Sony was pushing the the PS4 was their reaching out to Indie developers. Microsoft pretty much scoffed at that. Now all of a sudden, they are gearing up to do the same thing Sony is.
I don't see how something Sony didn't initiate in any way whatsoever can be deemed a "cloned Sony strategy" when Nintendo, Valve, Ouya, Apple, Samsung, PC's etc. have all been doing this long before Sony.
Why ? mad tho?
What do I have to be mad about?
And all those other people doing that stuff is irrelevant. The XB1 isn't directly competing with PCs, Ouya, or anyone else. We all know that Sony is their main rival. Sony is also the one that made reaching out to Indy's a large part of its marketing, while M$ basically scoffed at that. Now M$ is doing a 180 and reaching out to the Indies. They aren't doing that because of Valve. They are doing that to minimize any advantages that Sony might have for sales. The same reason the pulled the 180 on all the DRM stuff. Sony wasn't the only company bucking the DRM trend either. Are you going to try and argue that it wasn't Sony's badgering and the subsequent backlash that led to that reversal?
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Those ? jokes only work on ? who cant get ? ... you got the wrong guy
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Who is that even directed towards?
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »Who is that even directed towards?
No one really ..... just jokes, I didn't @ or quote anyone.
Don't know if it hit home with anybody by coincidence though ... sorry if it did. -
lmao @ the 'spam', maybe you should've mentioned the virtual popcorn so less feelings would be caught.
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so i guess xbl on xbone is gonna be flooded with even more ? like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p8gHfV5Sqc -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy.
Actually, Nintendo was the first console maker to allow indie self publishing. Not to mention, PC`s for like...a decade.
I have no idea what that has to do with what I said. Nowhere did I say that the PS4 was the first system that would allow Indie publishing. I said that Microsoft is cloning Sony's strategy. Regardless whether they were the first to do it or not, one of the big things Sony was pushing the the PS4 was their reaching out to Indie developers. Microsoft pretty much scoffed at that. Now all of a sudden, they are gearing up to do the same thing Sony is.
I don't see how something Sony didn't initiate in any way whatsoever can be deemed a "cloned Sony strategy" when Nintendo, Valve, Ouya, Apple, Samsung, PC's etc. have all been doing this long before Sony.
Why ? mad tho?
What do I have to be mad about?
And all those other people doing that stuff is irrelevant. The XB1 isn't directly competing with PCs, Ouya, or anyone else. We all know that Sony is their main rival. Sony is also the one that made reaching out to Indy's a large part of its marketing, while M$ basically scoffed at that. Now M$ is doing a 180 and reaching out to the Indies. They aren't doing that because of Valve. They are doing that to minimize any advantages that Sony might have for sales. The same reason the pulled the 180 on all the DRM stuff. Sony wasn't the only company bucking the DRM trend either. Are you going to try and argue that it wasn't Sony's badgering and the subsequent backlash that led to that reversal?
LOL. Its not even the same policy or "strategy" or whatever as Sony's, really.
Sony's Policy
- Indie devs can self publish.
Micro$oft's Policy
- Indie devs can self publish.
- Every XBOX One console can be used as a dev kit
- Every XBOX One console can be used as a debug unit
- AND M$ updated the story yesterday and added that they will allow XBOX One games to be modded, like PC games, with the tools built into the console obviously. Thats huge!
I guess Sony would have to add a couple things to their policy first for M$ to be "cloning Sony's strategy". LOL.
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The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »So now Microsoft has pretty much backpedaled on everything and pretty much cloned Sony's business strategy.
Actually, Nintendo was the first console maker to allow indie self publishing. Not to mention, PC`s for like...a decade.
I have no idea what that has to do with what I said. Nowhere did I say that the PS4 was the first system that would allow Indie publishing. I said that Microsoft is cloning Sony's strategy. Regardless whether they were the first to do it or not, one of the big things Sony was pushing the the PS4 was their reaching out to Indie developers. Microsoft pretty much scoffed at that. Now all of a sudden, they are gearing up to do the same thing Sony is.
I don't see how something Sony didn't initiate in any way whatsoever can be deemed a "cloned Sony strategy" when Nintendo, Valve, Ouya, Apple, Samsung, PC's etc. have all been doing this long before Sony.
Why ? mad tho?
What do I have to be mad about?
And all those other people doing that stuff is irrelevant. The XB1 isn't directly competing with PCs, Ouya, or anyone else. We all know that Sony is their main rival. Sony is also the one that made reaching out to Indy's a large part of its marketing, while M$ basically scoffed at that. Now M$ is doing a 180 and reaching out to the Indies. They aren't doing that because of Valve. They are doing that to minimize any advantages that Sony might have for sales. The same reason the pulled the 180 on all the DRM stuff. Sony wasn't the only company bucking the DRM trend either. Are you going to try and argue that it wasn't Sony's badgering and the subsequent backlash that led to that reversal?
LOL. Its not even the same policy or "strategy" or whatever as Sony's, really.
Sony's Policy
- Indie devs can self publish.
Micro$oft's Policy
- Indie devs can self publish.
- Every XBOX One console can be used as a dev kit
- Every XBOX One console can be used as a debug unit
- AND M$ updated the story yesterday and added that they will allow XBOX One games to be modded, like PC games, with the tools built into the console obviously. Thats huge!
I guess Sony would have to add a couple things to their policy first for M$ to be "cloning Sony's strategy". LOL.
Just because M$ one upped Sony in this area, doesn't mean that M$ wasn't inspired to take this step because of what Sony did.
I'm not saying it's not a good move, but you're a fool if you think that M$ isn't making this move in part because of how much Sony has pushed their new Indie love and how much praise they've gotten for doing it. -
Are y'all really going multiple posts in on business strategy?
Good ideas are copied and improved upon every day, b. I mean, this discussion might as well expand into taking shots at car manufacturers, PC makers, cell phones, TVs, tires, bikes, watches, and literally EVERYTHING technological and business related. Any thriving business looks at its competitor's strengths, ganks, and improves them. Android vs. Apple for instance. PC vs. Mac. Atari vs. Nintendo vs. Master System. SNES vs. Genesis. On and on and on.
Microsoft's former head was dumb enough to cater to the devs first and the consumer second, and the devs ? rode for the team who was pro consumer. Only an idiot would "stand behind" a decision that turned out to be stupid. This is like the original Xbox days again where people were ranting about the idea of a hard drive for saves.
"? ! It's a cheap PC! What happens when you can't ever defrag the HD? It'll die is what! MEMORY CARDS 4 LIFE!"
An argument ... that spanned years ... about saving the consumer money...
Now, we're given the opportunity to design games, and its "? ! They're copying Sony's business model!"
An argument ... about potentially making the consumer money/stretching game longevity via mods...
Business wouldn't be business without copying-and-improving. Salute a company for actually listening to the fanbase and admitting they were wrong and bending over backward to make up for it.
Damn. ? went way long. -
lol @ focus.
I say M$ has smartened up and copied Sony's strategy a little. He tries to argue with me tooth and nail. Someone else says essentially the same thing and he cosigns it. I don't even think you know what your stance is half the time. I think you just want to argue with anyone who isn't outright praising M$ or the XB1. -
ParallelRhymes wrote: »Whoa...they are going to allow modding of games now similar to a community workshop on Steam?
Now THAT is the type of stuff that will make me buy an Xbox One.
That is cool now that I think about it. I can remember playing all the crazy mods people did to Duke Nuke'em back in the day when I used to play that. It got to a point where the game we actually played everyday was only about 40% the game we actually bought.
I wonder how Sony is going to do this with the PS4. There are rumors that developer tools are basically attached to the OS. If that's the case, then it's possible every PS4 can be used the same way as an XB1. Nothing official has been announced yet. I think Sony is keeping everything quiet until Gamescom. -
Cool but I expect that means more trash/amateur releases
