Xbox 360 community games: 48 hours from submission to release

by Ross Miller { Oct 18th 2008 at 3:00PM }

In its latest developer diary, Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog highlights the NXE Community Games Channel, which we've heard about since February 2008. The separate channel will let theoretically anyone who submits a game and passes peer review to sell their title to other Xbox 360 owners (with Microsoft, unsurprisingly, taking a little bit off the top).

What is surprising to us is that the peer review process there's only 48 hours between the time of submission and release on the channel, a much shorter time frame than Microsoft's weeks-long certification process for Xbox Live Arcade games and title updates. Video embedded after the break; the New Xbox Experience launches November 19.

Tags: community-games, community-games-channel, new-xbox-experience, nxe, xna

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

halo 3 sucks. @ Oct 18th 2008 3:07PM

I look forward to having my console bricked for the 8th time.

GoldenS1104 @ Oct 18th 2008 4:03PM

Seriously... if you're gunna troll could you at least try not to fail? I mean c'mon, no one's gunna believe you have ever owned a 360 with that name. I swear... the internet is going downhill... troll's have no creativity left in them.

halo 3 sucks. @ Oct 18th 2008 4:58PM

Gamertag: Paris_H_ilton73

Kizzle @ Oct 18th 2008 5:06PM

I look forward to your console being bricked too, since you're a fucking idiot who shouldn't be allowed on Live.

swmarc @ Oct 18th 2008 9:56PM

If your 360 has bricked 8 times it something your doing, not the console. I am currently on 360 number two and that is because the first one was stolen.

Ridgecity @ Oct 18th 2008 5:16PM

I don't think he's trolling against the Xbox360... Anyone that can put up with 7 bricks for his console and gladly expects an 8th time, this my friends is a "True Fan"...

BigD145 @ Oct 18th 2008 3:13PM

More crapware and recolors of crapware. The good stuff will be owned and marketed by Microsoft and its partners.

BigD145 @ Oct 18th 2008 3:21PM

Ah, found it. Terms of use: http://creators.xna.com/en-US/help/termsofuse

Microsoft can do whatever they like with your submissions and they don't have to compensate you for it.

yyr @ Oct 18th 2008 3:44PM

That applies only to text posted on their Web site. Actual games published on XBCG remain the intellectual property of their creators.

BigD145 @ Oct 18th 2008 4:24PM

Your games aren't considered a "submission"? Their wording says otherwise.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 4:37PM

Dude, you aren't listening. The website creators.xna.com has different TOS than "Community Games".

In Community Games, YOU own the right to what you create and Microsoft does compensate you. Can we get off the whole assumption that Microsoft is "teh evil corporation"? It's really getting old.

This is the next big thing, and I can't believe people want to crap on it. Creators get 70% of the proceeds from sales of their work. That's a HUGE percentage.

Ridgecity @ Oct 18th 2008 5:22PM

Actually no. Microsoft reserves the right to buy your game AND compensate you. The only thing you own is the money you make by posting the game, and the "releasing the same game on another console" part is nowhere to be seen... but why would you? don't you wanna be part of Microsoft? They have a pretty good dental plan, and most game developers could use braces...

J.Goodwin @ Oct 18th 2008 3:15PM

I'm pretty sure that the reason this can happen is that XNA is sandboxed in NXE. It can crash itself, but it can't crash the system, and certain types of harmful actions are either unpossible or specifically protected against by the sandbox.

Is this one of the female humans who formerly worked for 1up?

Feep @ Oct 18th 2008 3:30PM

As a developer of a Dream Build Play entry in 2008 and someone who's been working with XNA 2.0 for several months, you guys need to shut your mouths. I've seen some INCREDIBLE entries, ones that easily exceed numerous XBLA titles in depth and graphical prowess. The system is exceptionally well-done, XNA is a wonderful tool, and guess what? If you don't like a game, don't friggin' buy it. Vote with your dollars, not with your mouths.

Ridgecity @ Oct 18th 2008 5:26PM

they do give $70,000 to the first place in that competition... is that a prize or your paycheck?

Feep @ Oct 18th 2008 8:31PM

Actually, it's 40k to first, 20k to second, 10k to third, and 5k to fourth. It's technically a prize, though the point is presumably to use that money to finish the game so it can be released on XBLCG.

j.howlett @ Oct 19th 2008 8:15AM

why not vote with both?

yyr @ Oct 18th 2008 3:42PM

Interested in seeing one of the first Community Games you'll be playing?

http://www.snake360.com

I've been working on it since January, and I know you guys are gonna love it.

VaultICEE @ Oct 18th 2008 4:05PM

I love Snake, and I might just have to check that out...

I'm really exited for the community games :)

J.Goodwin @ Oct 18th 2008 4:24PM

That looks pretty cool.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 5:08PM

Dude, how do you do leaderboards? A secret code or something?

Haggard @ Oct 18th 2008 5:37PM

How much are you gonna charge?

and is there a cow level?

TheOverlord#2 @ Oct 18th 2008 6:44PM

That looks fun!

Also...Battle Mode = Light Cycle 2.0!

Markez @ Oct 18th 2008 8:22PM

You embiggen all of us.

Good job :)

yyr @ Oct 19th 2008 12:20AM

Leaderboards are done this way: when the game is over, you get a 16-digit code (it's just numbers and A-F so it's not that bad). Enter it on the Internet Ranking page at www.snake360.com and you'll be added to the leaderboards.

...and guess what? I do have a level with something that resembles a cow...looks more like a buffalo though... lol.

Thanks everyone for the feedback =)

Magdalen @ Oct 18th 2008 3:43PM

"...with Microsoft, unsurprisingly, taking a little bit off the top"

Of course they are going to take a portion of proceeds, and they hav every right to, Ross. MS is providing the infastructure and large install base to provide other's games. It would almost be absurd not to take a cut. Just because they are a large corporation that makes money doesn't make them evil; there are many other things that makes them evil, like Vista.

Youthinized @ Oct 18th 2008 3:44PM

This makes NXE more anticipating.

I wonder how much they'll charge? More 1600 point games??

yyr @ Oct 18th 2008 3:57PM

The possible price points are 200, 400 and 800. The creators choose the price when uploading the games.

Youthinized @ Oct 18th 2008 5:19PM

Thats actually pretty damn cool!

And if these are starving artists. Some might put their life work into a game for 200 points!

Or some cheap fun fps!

Jacksons @ Oct 18th 2008 4:00PM

I've got a PC for user made games, I like the 360 for the good stuff. Sorry, just saying.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 4:42PM

Don't worry. There is some amazing quality in the game available right now. To good games WILL float to the top quickly, I assure you of that.

BIGFAT @ Oct 18th 2008 4:52PM

and i like the 360 for the controller, so fuck M&K
i want user made stuff on the 360
just sayn'

tmmoore_nc @ Oct 18th 2008 4:03PM

Such a quick turnaround time doesn't give me hope for their quality.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 4:44PM

That's just to peer review the game. These games have been worked on for a long time. Honestly, most games take months and months.

Joel @ Oct 18th 2008 4:48PM

they mean reviewing the game to make sure it meets xbox live standards to release is 48 hours. Not that games will be made in 48 hours and released. These game might take months to years to make but will be release on the xbl in 48 hours after being submitted for review.

tmmoore_nc @ Oct 18th 2008 4:53PM

48 hours to review a game is pretty tight, no matter the length. A lot of stuff can be missed in such a short amount of time. Castle Crashers comes to mind.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 5:02PM

Creators are responsible for testing their games properly, however they do it. The peer review phase isn't for a proper test, it's for filtering out inappropriate content. Even so, Microsoft is obviously going to keep a finger on the delete key as well...

Obie @ Oct 18th 2008 4:13PM

Kathleen! I missed her from the 1up days, she actually was one of the first people to preview Left 4 Dead.

And while I forsee a bunch of junk coming from this, I also sense there will be a few gems in there, so it's all good.

DarkNessBear @ Oct 19th 2008 3:07PM

Yah, wtf. Didnt know she went to Microsoft. Could explain her 360 bias.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 4:58PM

This is the next big thing. The tools they have made available are staggering in complexity. This isn't a simple drag-and-drop editor or a mod engine. This is a set of technology that people will build game engines on top of. This is not something just anyone can do. This is honest to god no-holds-barred build-your-own-damn-game-engine complexity. They are also making XBL available as an online platform to these creators. I can't express how excited we are for this to see light.

Choke @ Oct 18th 2008 5:10PM

Yep.

People who think Little Big Planet gives the community an "awesome amount of control" ain't seen nothing yet.

Edge @ Oct 18th 2008 5:14PM

For sure, but to be fair, LBP's tools are much more accessible to the non-programmer, and there is certainly a market for that.

I wonder how long it will be until someone lists "LittleBigPlanet" on their resume...

time @ Oct 18th 2008 5:37PM

I'm going to try and take advantage of this... I've always wanted to get into game development and I just finished a computer science course. this should be fun :)

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Oct 18th 2008 6:43PM

Fuck yes! I wonder if the other console manufacturers are going to take a step in this direction as well.

Monkey Thing?!!? @ Oct 18th 2008 9:53PM

Considering the excellence we've seen in Wii Homebrew, i'd be very much willing to give this a shot

Of course, you don't have to pay for homebrew, but the fees seem nominal, at least.

Nick8708 @ Oct 18th 2008 10:05PM

If you're at an eligible university, Microsoft will give you a free 1 year subscription to the XNA Creators Club, which is what you need to build and test the games on the 360. I'm not sure if they're still running the program and I can't really look it up right now since I'm at work, but I'd bet they are. If you find the site and your school isn't listed, they have the option of mailing them some paperwork to get the free sub.

It takes some knowledge to get started with, but it's by far the most approachable platform for building games I've seen. Pick up any book on C# (which is a wonderful language, especially for non-programmers, and Microsoft's VS makes it almost silly easy to use) and XNA and you're well on your way.