GDC: 'Three in four games made with XNA' - Microsoft
10:30, Mar 5th 2007 by Michael French
As it announces a number of new developer initiatives, Microsoft has made a bold - and perhaps questionable - claim, saying that three-quaters of games in development are being devised first for its platforms using its XNA tool.
Speaking to Dean Takahashi at The Mercury News, Microsoft's development manager Chris Satchell has said "We are in a leading position in this generation," as the company announced a numer of new XNA initiatives ahead of GDC.
Satchell said over 320 Xbox 360 and XBLA games will be on the market by the end of the year.
Amongst Microsoft's new XNA initiatives are revelaing the first XNA-made XBLA game, a co-op action title Schizoid by Torpex Games, and revealing more industry support for the XNA Game Studio Express suite: a free licence to GarageGames' Torque X Engine is to be given to each member of the XNA Creator's Club, while both Softimage and Allegorithmic ProFX are devising new tools for the XNA community.
The company has also revealed more details behind its Dream-Build-Play contest. As well as the chance to win an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract, at $10,000 grand prize is up for grabs from a prize fund of over $40,000. The winner of the competition, which requires entrants to make a game using XNA Game Studio Express, will be announced on August 13th at Microsoft's Gamefest Event in Seattle.
