XBOX360<->PC Development: How significant this gen?

[mrcorbo]

Looking over the sales history of PC<->console ports there are few real success stories, at least in terms of 1M+ sellers.

Are Microsoft's efforts to create synergy between the PC and 360 games platforms going to bear fruit this gen, or are the markets so fundamentally different that there will never be any major crossover appeal?

 

[MasterDisaster]

Looking over the sales history of PC<->console ports there are few real success stories, at least in terms of 1M+ sellers.

Are Microsoft's efforts to create synergy between the PC and 360 games platforms going to bear fruit this gen, or are the markets so fundamentally different that there will never be any major crossover appeal?

for me this is a win-win situation, the port are only a little part of the whole thing

you can play the same games, with the same pad, wheels, cam, hd dvd on both 360 and vista
soon you will play with the same game against gamers on different platform ( Live everywhere will create a comunity of 180-200 milions of people from 360, PC, mobile users)

XNA is starting now (I can already use my hd dvd and pads on pc), but the real BIG thing, live everywhere is near to come, this is what the easy port between the two platform is a key factor

 

[mrcorbo]

for me this is a win-win situation, the port are only a little part of the whole thing

you can play the same games, with the same pad, wheels, cam, hd dvd on both 360 and vista
soon you will play with the same game against gamers on different platform ( Live everywhere will create a comunity of 180-200 milions of people from 360, PC, mobile users)

XNA is starting now (I can already use my hd dvd and pads on pc), but the real BIG thing, live everywhere is near to come, this is what the easy port between the two platform is a key factor

The effort is unquestionably there on the part of MS to bring the two platforms closer. I'll be curious to see if the marketplace and/or the devs embrace it, though.

For my part, owning a 360 and a decently specced PC it would definitely be something I would like to see take off. Especially if it is able to extend the community features of XBOX Live to the PC.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Looking over the sales history of PC<->console ports there are few real success stories, at least in terms of 1M+ sellers.

Alot of the ports this year were old PC games, there isnt much hype for old pc games these days. In terms of sales, there has been a few tho.

CoD2
Oblivion
Need for Speed: Most Wanted

all sold more than a million, all PC ports.

Which isnt bad, considering how young the plattform is. (having as many million sellers as the X360 has right now is crazy)

 

[Skrying]

All three of those either came out on the PC at the same time, or so closely that you really would not call them "ports".

This connection is mainly a good thing for PC gamers and also somewhat for 360 owners for boosting their online players for games. It should really help make games that are not so popular build a better online community. The one problem I can see is that often in a games life on the PC a mod will come out that a lot of that community turns to, that's impossible for the 360.

 

[infinity4]

heard with little tweaks a game can be made for both Xbox 360 and Games for Windows, huge advantage for m$ and devs

 

[habbe]

will XNA be some kind of universal middleware for the pc and console plattform ?

And is Games for windows only supporting XNA or other middleware aswell ?

 

[mrcorbo]

will XNA be some kind of universal middleware for the pc and console plattform ?

And is Games for windows only supporting XNA or other middleware aswell ?

There is no requirement to use XNA, it just makes development easier. The fact that the bulk of the assets you develop for a PC game or a 360 game using the XNA tools can be re-used when porting that game to the other platform should help developers with fewer resources release games for both platforms. And it's these smaller devs that help to fill out a platform's games library with unique and in some cases niche titles that larger devs would bypass in their search for the next 1M seller.