XNA boss defends Xbox Live Arcade

via Eurogamer


Microsoft XNA general manager Chris Satchell has rejected the suggestion that Xbox Live Arcade has lost the initiative when it comes to supporting independent games.

"I think we still get an amazing amount of interest. Normally we have way more interest than we kind of have publishing slots to put things in," Satchell told Eurogamer, when asked whether PS3 and Wii were starting to steal XBLA's thunder.

"And when you think about the community and what we're doing with distribution on XNA Game Studio, nobody is going to have that combo. I don't think anybody has got that level of innovation integrated the way we have."

Satchell added that he is "really confident" that Microsoft will provide the best platforms for content from the community, indies, and small professional studios, as well as major game releases.

"We've really got the right tools and distribution mechanisms for that range of content, so I feel really confident about all parts of the ecosystem and I'm going to keep working to make sure we support them correctly," he said.

Xbox Live Arcade now has over 100 games on it, but the ranks of PSN exclusives are also filling out and Nintendo's WiiWare service launches next month with games from the likes of David Braben's Frontier Developments.