wraggster
March 9th, 2014, 19:14
http://media.edge-online.com/wp-content/uploads/edgeonline/2013/05/XboxOne1-610x343.jpg (http://media.edge-online.com/wp-content/uploads/edgeonline/2013/05/XboxOne1.jpg)Microsoft will unveil its ID@Xbox launchplan at GDC – but will it offer clarification on its launch parity clause?
Microsoft’s ID@Xbox initiative is off to an excellent start, with the first wave of games to be showcased at GDC and released later this month. And yet questions remain over Microsoft’s controversial launch parity clause.For the last few weeks we’ve been building a picture of Xbox One’s indie self-publishing program by speaking to a large number of studios signed up to the ID@Xbox scheme. What’s clear is that Microsoft is following in Sony’s footsteps, doing its utmost to woo indies to its platform by making processes simpler and offering support at every point of the submission and approval process.Those efforts will step up a notch at GDC. Microsoft will host a press event at the trade show intended to emphasise its commitment to independent game development, and has invited developers in the ID@Xbox program to showcase their wares on its stand. The first wave of ID@Xbox games is expected to go live this month, with Born Ready Games’ Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut set to be among the first – if not the first – game released through the initiative. Studios have also told us that the ID@Xbox revenue split is the same as its competitors, 30 per cent for the platform, 70 per cent for the developer. We have contacted Microsoft for official comment on these matters and will update this story with any statement offered.Xbox has become more open, fairer to indies and easier to work with, but it must now clarify its policy on launch parity. Remove the doubts around that, and indie games will thrive on Xbox One, potentially attracting the kind of goodwill Sony has enjoyed over the last year.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/first-wave-of-idxbox-games-incoming-this-month-but-the-issue-of-launch-parity-needs-resolution/
Microsoft’s ID@Xbox initiative is off to an excellent start, with the first wave of games to be showcased at GDC and released later this month. And yet questions remain over Microsoft’s controversial launch parity clause.For the last few weeks we’ve been building a picture of Xbox One’s indie self-publishing program by speaking to a large number of studios signed up to the ID@Xbox scheme. What’s clear is that Microsoft is following in Sony’s footsteps, doing its utmost to woo indies to its platform by making processes simpler and offering support at every point of the submission and approval process.Those efforts will step up a notch at GDC. Microsoft will host a press event at the trade show intended to emphasise its commitment to independent game development, and has invited developers in the ID@Xbox program to showcase their wares on its stand. The first wave of ID@Xbox games is expected to go live this month, with Born Ready Games’ Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut set to be among the first – if not the first – game released through the initiative. Studios have also told us that the ID@Xbox revenue split is the same as its competitors, 30 per cent for the platform, 70 per cent for the developer. We have contacted Microsoft for official comment on these matters and will update this story with any statement offered.Xbox has become more open, fairer to indies and easier to work with, but it must now clarify its policy on launch parity. Remove the doubts around that, and indie games will thrive on Xbox One, potentially attracting the kind of goodwill Sony has enjoyed over the last year.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/first-wave-of-idxbox-games-incoming-this-month-but-the-issue-of-launch-parity-needs-resolution/