According to Gamasutra's Simon Carless, the independent scene is facing an uphill battle when developing for consoles, specifically in the realm of digital distribution. Carless argues that the difficulty in bringing a title across all platforms, both for technological and business reasons.

Other than some retro titles (e.g. Joust), a very small number of downloadable title are appearing on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is one of the few exceptions, and Capcom's Christian Svensson said it required "considerable coordination" to get the titles on both consoles, which indicates to us that less established independent houses would have insurmountable difficulty.

Carless notes that Sony's collection, retro games aside, are predominantly first party (though we should note that flOw went to Sony because they actively sought out the independent title). Nintendo has always talked about bringing original games to the Wii, and there have been murmurings of a Game Channel, but so far all the only tangible indication of a non-Virtual Console title is Impossible Mission.

Carless' analogy to the film industry (three separate formats for theatre chains), though admittedly ham-fisted, does not account for industry history. It may be unfair to the independent developer, but there hasn't been a time when gaming was controlled by a single format. Sure, development teams are now much larger and require a bigger budget, but that hasn't stopped smaller teams from succeeding with Geometry Wars, Ragdoll Kung-Fu, and Alien Hominid (pictured). The state of indie games isn't ideal, but it seems to be getting better. We say keep on fighting, Simon.

Some of you have been working very hard. You've been blasting FBI and KGB agents in XBLA's Alien Hominid HD like you were born to do it, and why? All to earn the loving praise (and promised prize) from creator, The Behemoth. The indie-developer has documented, in excruciating detail, the laborious process they undertook to hand craft each trophy, which will be sent out to the winners as determined every Saturday afternoon. But this ain't no t-shirt you can buy in a store, or win on a gaming blog. These are for champions only! So get practicing ... you've got a ways to go before you'll trump the likes of Bilgewater or Eric The Duke.

Castle Crashers is a chaotic storm of spinning swords, overly aggressive primary colors and the occasional (but never displeasing) decapitation -- which is why we like it. Though the GDC demo boasts only a few notable changes from previous iterations, it still warrants a look. A long and loving look accompanied by a forlorn sigh and the formation of a gently sparkling tear.

One of the most interesting things about the game is the manner in which it draws your attention. It's even a little conflicting, as if two sets of fingers are snapping in your face in an alternating pattern. When you're not trying to spot your character deep within the colorful anarchy of battle, you're adopting a wider view of all the over-the-top action. It's like a tug of war, and one not too dissimilar from the battle between order and chaos that's at the core of the game.

Microsoft has sent word along that yes, Alien Hominid HD will in fact be on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday and that it can be yours for the low, low price of 800 Microsoft Points. This is actually a pleasant surprise as Alien Hominid is seen as one of the more full-bodied titles on the XBLA block and one that could have fetched a heftier price. Suddenly, 1200 MS Points for Lumines Live feels even more ridiculous.

The developers over at The Behemoth also have some treats in store for those awesome enough to scale their leader boards. Should you be a bad enough dude to land at the top of any of the charts, The Behemoth will send you a trophy. No fooling! A physical manifestation of your skills in which to utilize while gloating! The contest is set to last "until we get tired of sending you guys stuff."

In other news, serious cat? It looks like you've got this Wednesday off, buddy.

Earlier this week somebody over at Xbox.com flipped the wrong switch and activated what looked to be the next set of games for Xbox Live Arcade. Although they quickly course corrected and pulled the page, the URL for Alien Hominid HD is still active. They've also updated a few bits of information to the page since accidentally posting and used a spell -check. The earlier new and "imprived" graphics are a sure sign the page was activated too early. The only thing that's a little sad is Alien Hominid looks to be only two player co-op locally, which means no blasting away with your buddy on the other side of our third rock from the sun. So, we don't know if Alien Hominid HD is ready to roll, but it sure looks like Xbox.com is locked, loaded, spell-checked and ready to go.

Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:

At the vgXpo in Philly last weekend I was asked to serve on a panel discussing how to make Philadelphia into a video game Mecca. Tough question. Among life's imponderables, that's right up there.

At first blush it seems like a mega-long shot. Sandwiched between New York and Washington, Philly has a long-standing municipal inferiority complex. And even though it's the nation's fourth largest metropolitan area (behind NYC, Los Angeles and Chicago), this Rodney Dangerfield of a town seemingly gets no respect.

Although Philly area people are avid gamers, from a game development standpoint, there isn't a whole lot happening in or around the City of Brotherly Love. A suburban company, eGames, cranks out some nice casual fare for the PC crowd. Majesco, more familiar to console and handheld fans, is headquartered in New Jersey, closer to New York than Philly, truth be told. Maybe the most happening thing in town right now is Newgrounds.com, the Flash portal operated by Tom Fulp, who also designed the indie hit Alien Hominid.

There's two ways you could look at this, depending on how cynical and jaded you are. You could jump up and down knowing that Alien Hominid, one of the most successful and interesting indie games ever made, is coming to Microsoft's popular Xbox Live Arcade service this winter ... or you could grind your teeth knowing that your perfectly suitable Xbox copy isn't backwards compatible (yet?) so, if you want that side scrolling action, you'll be shelling out for the same game again. Granted, it was only $20 to begin with, and a $10 XBLA price would still keep the total well below your average AAA title, but it's the principle dammit!

This is a slippery slope for Microsoft to be on. Cynical (and/or cheap) gamers have foretold the day when Microsoft would use future profits to determine the fate of backwards compatibility on a particular title. Conspiracy theorists will point to Alien Hominid's relatively spartan and humble graphics as proof positive that Redmond isn't playing fair. Of course, these accusations will be premature since there are certain to be more backcompat updates before the Fall console launches, but they'll be made regardless.

Game Informer reports that Alien Hominid developer The Behemoth is also bringing their in development title Castle Crashers to XBLA in early 2007. For more indie-dev goodies, check out the excellent Gamasutra podcast this week for an interview with The Behemoth's John Baez.

[Thanks, Shizzle]

[Update 1: 1UP previewed the game at the Comic-Con expo that began today. They confirm the obligatory 360 upgrades like high-def and widescreen support, but also note that "the developers are looking into adding a few bonuses here and there to give the Live Arcade version something extra for players who are familiar with the original" but add "we don't have any details on that front at this point."]