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Requirements for getting a title on XBLA

Fri, 2007-09-07 05:03 — Tomacco

Gamespot is reporting on one of the sessions at this years Austin Game Developers Conference titled, "Getting your game on Xbox Live Arcade.". As per usual, the talk started off with Microsoft touting the latest numbers for everything 360. The meat of the session, intended for indie developers, was a bit on the conceptual side, but seemingly interesting none the less.

On the numbers side Kim Pallister spoke of the following stats:

  • 11.4 Million 360 user base
  • 7 Million Live users
  • 45 Million Achievement earned
  • 550 Million total gamerscore

When the numbers turned to the XBLA service, it got a lot more interesting. On average XBLA titles are making $125,000 in the first week of release. On top of the first week numbers, it was revealed that far more than with boxed games, XBLA titles are making making more money than expected further into their "digital" shelf life, to the tune of 65% of earnings coming after the title has been released for two months. While I'm no mathematician, I think that it's safe to say that on average, XBLA titles are making almost half a million dollars (and those numbers will continue growing).

In terms of actual suggestions for a successful title, it went from the obvious: perhaps a 2D shooter has been done before, to the interesting: modes where you aren't punished for sucking, to the bizarre: games that make use of some of the peripherals such as the controllers that will be coming with Scene it. While I can imagine a couple of cool ideas for these peripherals, I can't imagine a smaller dev shop deciding to cut down the potential user base by requiring something that costs much more than the game itself.

Comments

Posted on: Fri, 2007-09-07 10:03 #1
Interesting.

Interesting.

 

Posted on: Fri, 2007-09-07 16:38 #2
Given the history of MS

Given the history of MS releasing free games with xbox peripherals, I'd be kind of surprised if the Scene it controllers don't come with a XBLA game.

In general, though, I think the Scene-it controllers are kind of an overreaction to the Wii. Not as much of an overreaction as PS3's motion controls, but an overreaction none the less.

I bet MS is kicking themselves for not pulling the trigger on the Hostile takeover of Nintendo they considered several years ago.

Posted on: Fri, 2007-09-07 19:16 #3
I know I'll be picking up

I know I'll be picking up scene it as soon as it comes out (the wife loves scene it), so it's not a knock against that game, just the idea that someone is going to develop a game around the controllers.

Now, on the other hand I can completely see their being multiple games come out of the XNA initiative that make use of them.

Posted on: Sat, 2007-09-08 07:05 #4
Well, it all depends on a

Well, it all depends on a couple things:

1. Does Scene It! sell like gangbusters? If so, then releasing a game based on the peripheral (and also in the same target market) is not really a risk. A You Don't Know Jack game would be perfect (I know I always bring up that example but c'mon, you know I'm right!).

2. Do third-party peripheral manufacturers get to release cheaper alternative controllers? If so, that could also bring the cost to the consumer down and make XBLA buzzer-based games more viable.

I, too, will probably own Scene It! the *second* it arrives because I love trivia games and have friends to play it with that also love trivia games (and Scene It! in particular).

Posted on: Tue, 2007-09-11 17:59 #5
I was under the impression

I was under the impression that the Scene It controllers would only be sold as a set of 4 with the Scene It game. A purchase the game and get the controllers free setup. Last I read the target price was to be $60 and boxed to fit into game racks (such as at Target etc).

I do believe it is a based on the art of the board game also, so any use of the controller in a thrid party game would most likely require licensing fees and other such things which would make it more than just cost prohibitive making players buy a controller but the points cost on XBLA.

Did I miss something?

Posted on: Tue, 2007-09-11 18:05 #6
I agree that the controllers

I agree that the controllers are packaged with the game. The point I was making is that for some games this might make sense (such as how the racing wheel "kinda" works with Mad Tracks) but thinking that any developer would make an XBLA title with the Scene It controls as the primary controller is ludicrous.

 

Posted on: Tue, 2007-09-11 18:32 #7
Yes, $60 nets you Scene It

Yes, $60 nets you Scene It and the 4 buzzers. Obviously, any 360 controller is superior in number of applications over a scene it buzzer because it has more buttons.

But an XBLA game that is *compatible* with the buzzers isn't a horrible idea IMO. You could still play the game with a 360 pad but if you've got the buzzers then you could take advantage of the compatible buzzers from Scene it and still sell in the digital space at low cost.

I'd think devs would love that idea. I mean, obviously trivia buffs will buy Scene It...and if your XBLA game is trivia-based you would think your target market would probably already have the buzzers to take advantage of the compatibility.

But maybe all my protestations are just due to my longing for a reemergence of You Don't Know Jack!.