Is Microsoft Making It Harder For Small Developers?

We've heard from industry insiders that Microsoft US is increasing the minimum limit of games which need to be produced for each Xbox 360 game to 50,000 units. This will enable Microsoft to claim that for every Xbox 360 game released in the US the company will apparently make US$300,000. In Japan, the minimum amount required of an Xbox 360 game is supposedly 6,000 units.

What does that mean? Smaller Japanese developers, who seem to have warmed up to the Xbox 360 of late, that might have been tempted to develop for the Xbox 360 for the first time due to PSP/DS piracy problems and could shift their attentions to other platforms like cell phones. The reason being that those smaller developer would have a difficult time bringing niche titles to a US market at the newly imposed minimum limit. The other bad thing is that this Microsoft US requirement means small studios won't be able take chances on risky game titles or ideas.

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