Yay! You can make games for Xbox 360 now... if you fulfill all the requirements, that is. Today Microsoft launched XNA Game Studio Express and XNA Creator's Club, one an application for game-making that runs on Windows XP, and the other a service that costs $99 a year and provides members with "access to thousands of game assets from Microsoft and key supporters such as Turbo Squid Inc., as well as 'white papers, specialized starter kits, samples and technical product support to help turn [your game] into a reality'" according to a Gamasutra report.

Aspiring game developers must have a subscription to Xbox Live in order to participate. There are other limitations - the games made on XNA Game Studio Express can't be saved to memory cards and can only be received by other members of the Creator's Club who have downloaded the XNA Framework runtime environment for Xbox 360 and who have installed XNA Game Studio Express on their PCs. The files have to be compiled before the game will run.

Well, it's no Youtube, but it's a start. Here's a pretty technical FAQ that covers some more details.

Oh, and there is promise of more to come. I hope so, Andre! Posted by jane at December 12, 2006 12:14 PM | TrackBack