Microsoft requires accessory manufacturers to pony up
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Aug 11th 2005 at 8:00AM }
According to CNET, Microsoft will require that all companies who wish to manufacture and sell
Xbox 360 add-ons become licensed to do so. Furthermore, they'll need to pay Microsoft a share of revenues earned
on the sale of such devices That means more money for Microsoft and a more rigourous certification process
for hardware add-ons.
Consumers will be impacted by this in several ways. First, whenever manufacturing costs increase companies tend to pass at least a portion of these costs on to consumers. This will mean higher average costs on hardware accessories for the Xbox 360, but most of us won't even notice because the increases are likely to be modest.
Second, this will mean less diversity in the peripheral community. Third-party hardware manufacturers who don't want to play ball won't be given access to special code that will enable their devices to run on the Xbox 360. This will mean that some manufacturers may decide to exit the business.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, this should mean higher quality hardware components in general. Nintendo revitalized the games industry in the late 80s when it required that game developers obtain a Nintendo stamp of approval prior to releasing games for the NES. This was a direct response to the plethora of low-quality titles that flooded and eventually drowned the Atari console. As a result of Nintendo's quality program, consumers flocked to the console because they could be reasonably sure that they were going to get a quality gaming experience.
[via Xbox-scene]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I seriously doubt that this will be good for the consumer. While the Nintendo/Atari argument is a good story, it just doesn't play out that way anywhere else. Would we say that the Windows XP "platform" is being drowned under a sea of low-quality software? Okay, maybe we would, but it doesn't make PCs less appealing or prevent good software from coming out. In fact, it's the software that keeps people coming back to Windows rather than switching to Mac.
Monopolistic control almost always leads to less competition, lower quality, and reduced innovation. That's true of games and it's true of peripherals as well. A Microsoft tax on peripherals will hurt the console in the long run.
billymo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
n8 - i don't know about that. here's what i do know... 18. that's the number of mad catz controllers my friends and i went through in two months after the first xmas the xbox was out. we played halo once a week and every week someone was going through a controller, same problem... right trigger. mind you we used it a lot, but 18 of them? luckily for me i was smart enough not to buy the 3rd party peripherals to begin with, and my "duke" controller still works just fine (especially as a paper weight) but i know i could plug it back in and play nearly 4 years later.
in all fairness, mad catz repaired all the controllers. we sent them all back in one big box after we couldn't contact anyone about their "guarantee", but it was still a quality factor that will hopefully be dealt with through this agreement.
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
I feel your pain, but I seriously doubt that Microsoft is really getting into the business of testing peripherals. In other words, it'll be more focused on compatibility than quality.
On the flip side though, MS will be able to reject any peripheral that they don't like - those that have "too many buttons" or include cheat features, integrate functions of devices that only MS wants to sell, etc.
Example: what if madcatz wants to make a controller with an integrated keyboard, microphone and headphone jack, but Microsoft doesn't want devices with too many functions integrated because it reduces the number of times they collect their new peripheral tax? They deny the certification, and consumers now have to buy three devices - the controller and the headset, and the keyboard.
Example 2: Microsoft decides that because many of the games for the x360 are going to be online, it doesn't want any controllers that include programmable buttons or autofire buttons that would give one player an advantage over another. Cert denied.
That's just a few ways that MS can shoot themselves or the consumer in the foot with this plan. I'm sure there are others.
BM5k @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
All this will lead to is higher price accessories, and more unlicensed homebrew ones.
The Nintendo/Atari story is of no relevance, because it applies to SOFTWARE not HARDWARE. Requiring SOFTWARE titles to be licensed is one thing. It gives control over game content to the console manufacturer. Wether this is good or bad depends on how tight a grip they maintain over the process. It worked for the NES. And there are still a lot of homebrew UNLICENSED games around.
Hardware licensing will prevent people from using the XBOX any way that MS doesn't want them too.
That being said, the XBOX 360 will probably kick ass, just like the XBOX. But I'll probably won't buy one for the same reason I don't own an XBOX: Microsoft.
TiaMaster @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
>"In fact, it's the software that keeps people coming back to Windows rather than switching to Mac."<
Uh, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *snicker* "Its the software..." *snicker*
Thank God the companies (okay, M$ only at this present time) are starting to do this again so we don't get craptacular products from craptacular companies anymore...
At least I hope this will happen..
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Uh, what's so funny, Tia? I said software, not OS. There are few people I know who wouldn't prefer to use Mac OS, but they feel like they can't because they won't have access to the software they like - whether that's games, shareware, or defacto industry standards that are only available on Windows.
If you've got a different view, don't just snicker, 'splain!