Xbox Dashboard Changes Angers Indie Devs

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Xbox Dashboard Changes Angers Indie Devs

Microsoft has changed the way it handles indie games on Xbox Live, prompting an outcry from developers.

The developers of Microsoft's Creators Club - Microsoft's initiative to get independent games on the 360 - are up in arms after yesterday's Xbox 360 dashboard update pushed Xbox Live Indie Games out of its former place in the Games Marketplace tab, and into the relative obscurity of the Speciality Shops section.

Indie developers have expressed their displeasure in a thread on the App Hub forums [http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/64686.aspx?PageIndex=1] set up to lament the "death" of the Indie Games section, a situation made worse by the fact that independent games don't appear in any A-Z listings either. Opinions about the changes differ, but the majority are angry over what they see as poor treatment from the platform holder, especially as they pay a fee for access to the Creators Club. Various posters described the change as "illogical," "half-baked," and even "insulting," and have suggested that Microsoft needs to be more hands on with the service.

Despite the disappointment, however, many posters are adopting a wait and see policy with the dashboard changes, saying that the placement of the Indie Games section next to the Avatar Marketplace, as well as changes to the way that users can navigate the section may actually have a positive effect on sales. Others have countered this argument with the suggestion that the any potential boost could have been much greater had Microsoft not sequestered the indie titles away from all the other games.

Source: Digital Spy [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a285502/xblig-devs-frustrated-by-dashboard-update.html?rss]










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GodKlown

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Dec 16, 2009
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I didn't really look around at all the changes yesterday after the update, but this move sounds awfully fishy. Since when is a game considered "specialty" now? Just because it is made by an independent source? I get the feeling that MS doesn't plan to do any sort of advertising to inform consumers where to find these games now, which means it will affect their bottom line towards devs wanting to sign up and pay for the Creators Club in the future if no one can find their games. This just seemed like a poor decision to not want to foster more faith in the independent community and just place them in the back of the bus. Sure, they can't say they aren't still getting exposure, but who is going to find them under Speciality Shops? Aren't there enough contributors to warrant their own section, maybe titled something more logical relating to indie gaming? Nice of you to step on the little guy, MS.
 

sir.rutthed

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Nov 10, 2009
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Ya, I'd be pretty pissed too. But then again, Microsoft doesn't have the best track record when dealing with Indie developers do they, so is this move really all that surprising?
 

The Bandit

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Feb 5, 2008
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I don't really see the purpose of the move. What is Microsoft gaining by putting Indie dudes down?

Not that I care. The only decent indie game I ever downloaded was "I made a game with zombies" and that was just a Geometry Wars clone with a cool song.
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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All I've ever seen indie developers say about it is that it's a pain to do anything with XBL, so I'm struggling to see why any of them bother with it.
 

mjc0961

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Nov 30, 2009
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Tell them to QQ moar. Most of those indie games are crap and if they are filtered off to their own section so they aren't getting in my way while I search using the A-Z searches for actual XBLA games or DLC, I give Microsoft two thumbs up. I don't want to find all those stupid "we used the vibration motors in the controller to turn it into a sex toy" games while I'm looking for content that's worth downloading.

And besides that, the indie games are a specialty shop. If they want Microsoft to change the entire Games Marketplace to make it focus on indie games instead of big titles and DLC that will make Microsoft money, they are going to be waiting a long god damn time for that one.

Of course to be fair, I don't want to find avatar items or Rock Band songs when I'm searching for games either. These indie people need to get off their high horse because the Games Marketplace isn't all about them.
 

VanityGirl

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mjc0961 said:
Tell them to QQ moar. Most of those indie games are crap and if they are filtered off to their own section so they aren't getting in my way while I search using the A-Z searches for actual XBLA games or DLC, I give Microsoft two thumbs up. I don't want to find all those stupid "we used the vibration motors in the controller to turn it into a sex toy" games while I'm looking for content that's worth downloading.

And besides that, the indie games are a specialty shop. If they want Microsoft to change the entire Games Marketplace to make it focus on indie games instead of big titles and DLC that will make Microsoft money, they are going to be waiting a long god damn time for that one.

Of course to be fair, I don't want to find avatar items or Rock Band songs when I'm searching for games either. These indie people need to get off their high horse because the Games Marketplace isn't all about them.
Ouch, that's a little harsh, isn't it?
There's been some really awesome Indie games on XBL. Sure, there's some stupid ones, but you have to roll with the punches sometimes.


OT: I don't know if this will be a bad thing though. Maybe they just need to take a wait and see attitude on this. Who knows, maybe this could actually boost their game sales?
 
Jun 7, 2010
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Now would be an excellent time for Sony to do something like the creators club, if they had some sort of team of reviewers to ensure that only genuinely good games got onto the playstation store then that could be a real kick in the nuts for Microsoft.
 

PeePantz

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Sep 23, 2010
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mjc0961 said:
Tell them to QQ moar. Most of those indie games are crap and if they are filtered off to their own section so they aren't getting in my way while I search using the A-Z searches for actual XBLA games or DLC, I give Microsoft two thumbs up. I don't want to find all those stupid "we used the vibration motors in the controller to turn it into a sex toy" games while I'm looking for content that's worth downloading.

And besides that, the indie games are a specialty shop. If they want Microsoft to change the entire Games Marketplace to make it focus on indie games instead of big titles and DLC that will make Microsoft money, they are going to be waiting a long god damn time for that one.

Of course to be fair, I don't want to find avatar items or Rock Band songs when I'm searching for games either. These indie people need to get off their high horse because the Games Marketplace isn't all about them.
Very well put.

99% of the indie games are pure shit and do not deserve the chance to make money. They've ruined any good games out there because no one wants to cipher through that much dribble in order to find the "hidden game". I'm happy Microsoft shoved them in the basement far away from things I care about. There's no need to whine when it's really their own fault for flooding Live with garbage.
 

dickseverywhere

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Oct 6, 2010
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seems like a major dick move by MS i'd understand if they just put them in an indie or creators club section in the marketplace but taking them out of the games section seems ridiculous since it will just cut their profits from creators club fees and royalties (which i assume) they collect on indies sales through the marketplace.
for all the people bitching about low quality indie games, if they actually had a decent classification ratings and search system it might not be such a problem.
 

Double A

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Jul 29, 2009
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Can someone please explain this better? They've moved, but does that mean where you buy them or where you play them?
 

Erana

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Feb 28, 2008
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PeePantz said:
mjc0961 said:
Tell them to QQ moar. Most of those indie games are crap and if they are filtered off to their own section so they aren't getting in my way while I search using the A-Z searches for actual XBLA games or DLC, I give Microsoft two thumbs up. I don't want to find all those stupid "we used the vibration motors in the controller to turn it into a sex toy" games while I'm looking for content that's worth downloading.

And besides that, the indie games are a specialty shop. If they want Microsoft to change the entire Games Marketplace to make it focus on indie games instead of big titles and DLC that will make Microsoft money, they are going to be waiting a long god damn time for that one.

Of course to be fair, I don't want to find avatar items or Rock Band songs when I'm searching for games either. These indie people need to get off their high horse because the Games Marketplace isn't all about them.
Very well put.

99% of the indie games are pure shit and do not deserve the chance to make money. They've ruined any good games out there because no one wants to cipher through that much dribble in order to find the "hidden game". I'm happy Microsoft shoved them in the basement far away from things I care about. There's no need to whine when it's really their own fault for flooding Live with garbage.
When is playing down the little guy in a commercial environment ever a good idea?
Has WalMart not taught you anything?
 

PeePantz

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Sep 23, 2010
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Erana said:
When is playing down the little guy in a commercial environment ever a good idea?
Has WalMart not taught you anything?
The only time it's a good idea is when it's a street vendor selling you terrible knockoffs like a "Goochee" bag that looks like shit and falls apart the next day.

I'm not a big fan of killing the little guy when they make a quality product. However, if something is an abomination, you just have to get rid of it.