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[El-Suave]

Phil Spencer might have more wardrobe changes (into other indie dev T-shirts) at the Gamescom press conference than Lady Gaga has at one of her concerts.

 

[BY2K]

VMs.

And that means... ?

 

[funkystudent]

And that means... ?

Virtual Machine?

 

[Wynnebeck]

Maybe will.i.am is the new secret CEO of MS's games division.

Don't worry bro. I caught that joke.

 

[cyberheater]

Wasn't that a special model that wasn't produced for all consumers?

Yeah. I think you had to order it directly from Sony.

 

[derFeef]

Phil Spencer might have more wardrobe changes (into other indie dev T-shirts) at the Gamescom press conference than Lady Gaga has at one of her concerts.

haha, I hope so.
Also Crackdown.

 

[Raide]

Nothing. There focus on Indie Games was nothing.

So they basically had nothing to backpedal on or react to other than their own aging policies?

Even if they did see what Sony did, it was hardly a groundbreaking and monumental thing that Sony did. If MS can live up to the "Everyone Xbox One unity is a Dev Kit." now that sounds way more interesting from a developers perspective.

 

[Delusibeta]

So your complaint is there will be more content? what?

Nah, the complaint is that it's XBLIG again.

 

[Acquiescence]

Which ones have you sold on PS4 at launch?

infamous: Second Son and Killzone: Shadow Fall, plus DriveClub, mostly because the bulk of it is free on PS+, and free always tastes better. Oh, and timed exclusive The Witness.

Truth be told, it wasn't the exclusives that sold me on the PS4 so much as the fact that the console is considerably cheaper, more powerful, not hamstrung by an expensive accessory no one wants and the fact that Sony's attitude and policies regarding the system have been genuine and direct since day one.

 

[see5harp]

Sony said basically the exact same thing about numerous features, in February, 8+ months before we'll see the console...and they still won't be there at launch.

I dare you to say something positive about Microsoft. (and mean it, like I can with Sony and the Vita...which is awesome)

These companies can't just wave a magic wand and make fully realized features magically appear.

Don't bother he's a hater.

 

[FranXico]

Sony's gamescom surprise is going to be a bit more surprising. But this is a great move by MS. I was misinformed and thought the home unit was just going to be a debug unit... being an actual dev kit is awesome. It's obviously not going to be as powerful as the full fledged dev kit because you need overhead power... but for most indie games that's not an issue in the slightest.

Without spoiling it... Are you referring to games?

 

[jayfrontz08]

This is what Microsoft gets for first reporting thier would be no self publishing

 

[DirtRiver]

To be honest, if that's their big Gamescon surprise then I don't even know why they will do a press conference there. It's a pretty weak thing, a standard in this day and age.

 

[Moobabe]

Without spoiling it... Are you referring to games?

Don't dig! It could be anything if it stays a mystery! Like... an early release date

 

[LukasTaves]

My criticisms isn't just about the technical limitations (although if self-published games are forced to used only the stuff reserved for the OS, that's going to be a major problem), it's discover-ability and the concern that since we're talking about apps, Microsoft will shove them to their own Netflix-branded ghetto.



He's bending the truth. There is no why publishers will let massage apps have equal footing with their games. All WinRT apps (including everything self published) will be shoved to its own marketplace, mark my words.

If when they explicitly saying that they won't segregate developers based on their size and you still don't believe them, then i guess we will have to wait and see.

But I will say that not segregating developers and having massage apps appearing alongside AAA games are not mutually exclusive. You can have both.

 

[DopeyFish]

Nah, the complaint is that it's XBLIG again.

But it isn't?

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Show it with a bang at Gamescom was the plan apparently, with some devs on stage.

Microsoft copies Sony again!

 

[ascii42]

yeah but if they are not planning to have it in a separate storefront does it matter?

What sort of hardware resources they have access to. That's really the question.

 

[VanWinkle]

A few months ago this was not being planned by them internally, and they explicitly said it wasn't going to be possible (and that was the clear message behind closed doors). There were even factions within Microsoft aware of the stupidity of the situation who were proactively looking for loopholes to effectively allow self publishing in a practical sense even if it wasn't technically the case.

This is a change in policy and strategy from earlier in the year, and the fact it isn't going to be ready at launch is evidence that this change is recent.


Great news for independent developers and publishers in any case. Looking forward to hearing more because the devil is in the details.

Thanks for the info. I figured Kevin Dent was talking out his butt. The guy is an absolute joke.

You know, I have to wonder how he of all people got "briefed" by MS on their new policies when so many more well known and accomplished indie devs never heard a word on it.

 

[Raide]

To be honest, if that's their big Gamescon surprise then I don't even know why they will do a press conference there. It's a pretty weak thing, a standard in this day and age.

Wait, we can turn all of our home consoles into Devs kits? Someone call Kotaku!

Also, MS are planing more than just this announcement at GamesCom. Are people really thinking they are planning to get on stage for 5 mins, talk Indie and then get off?

 

[Ahasverus]

Wouldn't this make piracy easier?

 

[la flama blanca]

And that means... ?

Means he has no idea.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Good news. Good job in finally joining Nintendo and Sony...

 

[Conor 419]

I believe The Journey was made by Lionhead's "B Team."
The "A Team" has been working on something for quite some time according to job listings.

Pretty sure that shitty XBLA game was made by their B team, you have to bear in mind Lionhead took heavy losses after the Fable 3 disaster.

 

[Barzul]

Sony's gamescom surprise is going to be a bit more surprising. But this is a great move by MS. I was misinformed and thought the home unit was just going to be a debug unit... being an actual dev kit is awesome. It's obviously not going to be as powerful as the full fledged dev kit because you need overhead power... but for most indie games that's not an issue in the slightest.

This couldn't be Microsoft's biggest announcement though? Could it...

 

[Panajev2001a]

VMs.

So, basically the same approach Sony and IBM took with PS3 more or less... Hypervisor and either GameOS or OtherOS running on top of it.

 

[shinnn]

To be honest, if that's their big Gamescon surprise then I don't even know why they will do a press conference there. It's a pretty weak thing, a standard in this day and age.

every console being a "devkit" is standard?

 

[R3TRODYCE]

Nope, back at crying. Or meowing? Pretty sure it's mostly meowing.

Yeah I spoke too soon lol, but it's just the usual people so no harm done.

 

[Chao]

Sure Microsoft, what else

 

[FranXico]

Microsoft copies Sony again!

I wouldn't go so far (especially considering how much Sony copies others), but this does show how obsessed some of their management is with Sony's E3.

 

[Panajev2001a]

every console being a "devkit" is standard?

Every PSVita is basically one, PSM license is free, every modern smartphone or tablet is one.... Good to have a successor to XNA announced though.

 

[casmith07]

I just think this is like PS3's "OtherOS" capability.

Lauded as a grand PR move, but ultimately just a PR move. This won't be used by 98% of consumers.

 

[Dreamgazer]

I still wish we have some answer on what game engines will be supplied with the home devkits.

ex: Oculus Rift dev kits got full unreal developer kit licenses for free.

It'll be pretty pointless if I have still have to pay a hefty licensing fee for say, Unity.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

To be honest, if that's their big Gamescon surprise then I don't even know why they will do a press conference there. It's a pretty weak thing, a standard in this day and age.

Yeah, it's cool that this is all changing for the better, but it's still pretty clear that MS has spent all of their time since they announced the console defending/backpedaling/changing policies and systems.

 

[Boke1879]

Sony's gamescom surprise is going to be a bit more surprising. But this is a great move by MS. I was misinformed and thought the home unit was just going to be a debug unit... being an actual dev kit is awesome. It's obviously not going to be as powerful as the full fledged dev kit because you need overhead power... but for most indie games that's not an issue in the slightest.

Can you give us a hint maybe about what the Sony surprise is? Also do you think this is MS big reveal as far and GamesCom goes?

 

[DeadlyVirus]

I really do think that the "every X1 can become a devkit" will open a lot of doors for jailbreaking and piracy

 

[ethomaz]

I really do think that the "every X1 can become a devkit" will open a lot of doors for jailbreaking and piracy

Not if it is locked to the App OS.

Now the virtualizations OSs started to make sense.

 

[Knuf]

So while others are giving away devkits to indies for free, MS forces them to buy retail XBones (and Live of course mandatory to upload your finished game) with a profit and inflating numbers of Xbones sold in the process?
Well, they're geniuses if you ask me.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Wait a second. How is this so great when in the February reveal Sony already revealed this? What? I don't get it. Can someone explain how this is different

 

[TheOddOne]

A few months ago this was not being planned by them internally, and they explicitly said it wasn't going to be possible (and that was the clear message behind closed doors). There were even factions within Microsoft aware of the stupidity of the situation who were proactively looking for loopholes to effectively allow self publishing in a practical sense even if it wasn't technically the case.

MS: "Nope, not possible."
MS: "Well fuck you MS, we gonna do this regardless."

 

[Miles Quaritch]

haha, I hope so.
Also Crackdown.

Would love for a new Crackdown to be revealed.

 

[Leonsito]

Devkit funcionality is interesting...

 

[harSon]

Good news. Good job in finally joining Nintendo and Sony...

Assuming it's as advertised, and once everything they've described comes to fruition, I'd say they're a step above the competition. Mostly due to the fact that neither Sony or Nintendo have a system in place where legitimate applications can be released onto their respective consoles. It might not be a big deal to some people, but I think it has the potential for some exciting stuff.

 

[chubigans]

MS: "Nope, not possible."
MS: "Well fuck you MS, we gonna do this regardless."

Never has this been more apt:

 

[JABEE]

So they basically had nothing to backpedal on or react to other than their own aging policies?

Even if they did see what Sony did, it was hardly a groundbreaking and monumental thing that Sony did. If MS can live up to the "Everyone Xbox One unity is a Dev Kit." now that sounds way more interesting from a developers perspective.

Sony didn't do anything groundbreaking. Policy like this shouldn't be big news. It's how it should be by default. What the individual companies do to cultivate a culture that allows Indie Devs to thrive and the focus and investment Sony is putting in Indies is the difference.

Microsoft's example of putting a small Indie Dev at their E3 Press Conference was talking about Mojang and Minecraft.

The Devkit idea sounds cool though, but it's about supporting and communicating with your partners, not just sticking to policy and then reacting when shit hits the fan.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

I'm so glad Nintendo and Sony stuck by their guns this generation. Would have been pretty scary right now, if MS was uncontested in the console market.

 

[Clear]

What sort of hardware resources they have access to. That's really the question.

Yep, seems to me that all they are actually promising is the ability to run unsigned code under certain circumstances/restrictions on the retail box. Most likely they'll sandbox it off on some kind of VM with heavily managed system libraries.

The main thing though is that its an approach that's wholly at-odds with their long-standing mandate of heavily curating their online service. The need to control the environment in order to maintain security is inevitable going to impose limits on titles produced this way, so it turning into a ghetto is inevitable.

 

[V_Ben]

MS: "Nope, not possible."
MS: "Well fuck you MS, we gonna do this regardless."

Internal divisions within the games unit about something that should be a foregone conclusion?

Now that is ludicrous. Thank goodness they're taking steps to rectify this stuff.

 

[jbug617]

Would love for a new Crackdown to be revealed.

they hinted at it so much. I think they have to reveal it soon.

 

[Black Republican]

Sony's gamescom surprise is going to be a bit more surprising. But this is a great move by MS. I was misinformed and thought the home unit was just going to be a debug unit... being an actual dev kit is awesome. It's obviously not going to be as powerful as the full fledged dev kit because you need overhead power... but for most indie games that's not an issue in the slightest.

you need to start a thread with your rumors, insides etc