So this looks like the definite response to Little Big Planet then.

Awesome, I wonder if creators can decide to release their games for free just for recognition.

Having a few of these games under your belt can go a long way towards getting a job in the industry.

Soooo....the demos are time based?? That's pretty crumby.

Hmm. Cool.

Maybe I need to get that xbox...

I don't get it. Are we the consumers going to be able to play these or just developers?

@Alex: That's one way to look at it. But there are a lot of differences between the two.

I'm sure these demos will turn into full versions soon enough.

hmmm hope this goes over well, this could show promise...maybe community competitions leading to game designer contracts in the future

cant wait till, more info on new xna feature here [creators.xna.com]

Looks cool.... But how are we supposed to download these games? Wheres the interface for that?

@Alex: Little Big What?

time limit sucks...
as soon as they straiten out the live arcade drm ill take par in this...

Why do people keep comparing this to LittleBigPlanet?
This should be compared to free flash game sites on the internet I used to play in computer class back in 2002.

lol how anti climatic. Still good news, just not big news.

The Dishwasher!!! ZOMG yes I was waiting for something that might show when I can play this on my 360. Oldschool 2D Beat-em-ups FTW.

Will this thing include Quake2?

Theres a .NET migration of Quake2.
[www.vertigo.com]
Has to be "easy" to adapt that thing to XNA, I guest.

You may need free asserts, but theres some opensource ones. Of course, you may need that the license of XNA and "XNA Interface" able open source games.

@Alex:

Watch out , soon people will be saying how this is a rip off of Little Big Planet and how Microsoft needs to get original ideas..

Best news ever ^^ been waiting for this quite a while ^^ now to get my game out there >:) Hopefully some SMUP fans will enjoy it >:)

Well, time to start converting all my crappy flash games into forgettable XNA games.

LET THE COMMUNITY SHOVELWARE COMMENCE!

Wow! I thought I was impressed with LittleBigPlanet, but this is an even bigger step with user-created content! =O Microsoft, color me VERY impressed.

I for one amd pleased. Another step of indie game development.

Well, its about time they promoted XNA.

I cant wait to see the great, inovative titles this helps to produce.

@NotAZombie: From Joystiq:
" "For the first time, community games will be distributed through Xbox Live," [Chris] Satchell said. "'Xbox Live Community Games will give creators a huge audience to share their creativity with. Game distribution will be democratized, allowing the community to control the content. Create, Submit, Peer Review, Play are the four key steps ... We want creativity to flow through this pipeline. "

These look like those mini games the eye toy can make. remeber those eye toy demos that was showed like a couple months ago? little big planet owns this crap lol.

@NotAZombie: We will. That's why there is a time limit on how long you own the game for. Once that's up it gets released if its good enough and we have to part our cash. Gamers can bitch all they want about how the time thing sucks but indie devs should be loving this. Free tools to make a game and a youtube like system to show them off for free.

Hmmm, that's nothing different than what any Creator's Club member has now.

I guess it shows how the games that you do download are integrated with the "My Games" tab (something that happens with games you deploy with the XNA 2.0 drop in December already).

But it doesn't show the interface for people to browse through available games and choose the ones you want to try, etc. -- and I'm pretty sure they won't just be thrown into the professional XBLA pool.

I'm assuming non-CC members won't have the XNA Creators Club tab nor XNA Game Studio Connect.

So was the point just to show "hey here are some XNA-created games available via XBLA" or to show the future community stuff?

@JerrD74: hopes his license issues get fixed soon: Don't ge me wrong though, I love -LOVE- this idea. But making them deactivate after however many days isn't cool.

@egyptomix: Exactly, good thing is started freshening up on Visual way back when they first announced/started XNA. Still hard at work on my games though lol.

@JerrD74: hopes his license issues get fixed soon:

ehh just download it again like we do with trial demo's on the computer :P

@ShareYourTreats: These demos do, but there's potential for far, far, far more than either flash demos, or LBP here.

[video.google.ca]
[video.google.ca]
[video.google.ca]

And these are merely small tech demos.

@Alex: Uh, what? Little Big planet is a game where you can create custom levels and objects. This is a program where you can make your own game from the ground up.

I think it's a good step forward. There are probably many gamers who wouldn't mind dabbling in the art of creating video games, and who knows, this might be an avenue for some people to break through into the professional market.

@Dakobah: ha, very true.

Looks lame! I'd rather mess with forge on Halo 3.

My concern will be how to sort through the garbage. There is bound to be a FLOOD of lame games coming out now. Sounds like it will be a mess of junk trying to cash in quick and a few good needles in a haystack.

@Alex:

I think that's a bit of a narrow way to view this. Its more of a realization of what was intended when XNA was first announced years ago. LBP is just one game with level creation/distribution. This is more of a platform for games to be created and distributed by amateurs.

This is potentially one of the best things the industry has ever seen, and at a very important time. Garage studios are dying, smaller devs are being absorbed by mega-publishers and the industry is a little shaky for the next generation of devs. This is something that could ultimately help the industry as a whole, including Sony and Nintendo because these amateur devs could go on to make innovative titles whereever, not just for MS.

I hope to see positive comments from Sony and Nintendo about this initiative and hope their fans can see this too.

When is this coming?

@Alex: Yes, because MS just popped this out right when they saw LBP. They didnt plan this out at all. No sir.

@lifeinthefridge: hmm mircosoft.. hmm original ideas.. hmmm donut..

@Deezenuts: You're not understanding. It's possible to make smaller and larger games. A service like this has to start somewhere and be built from the ground up. THis is a game that is truly supporting the 16 year old indie developer working on his own to showcase his talent, but it also supports the upstart developer teams that have been around and not been able to get their feet off the ground because of the rising cost of developing games and distributing them. THis is a true step in the right direction, while LBP is basically an advanced level creator.

I think this will be glorious for us Shmup fans. I see a ton of new Shmups hitting the market Bring tem on. (and to the guy who says he made one, tell us what it is, I'll be all over it.

Though I like the Idea, I don't like how they keep leaving out the fact that you'll have to charge for other people to play your games, thus the time limits on the demos (I'd love it if they announce if you can make free games). Also this was announced before LittleBigPlanet years ago so basically LBP was Sony's answer to XNA :D

One difference between LBP and XNA games, is that user-created content for LBP is free, whereas I am assuming that to create an XNA game, you need to buy the XNA software (which if it is anything like Visual Studio, it's not cheap).

How may i ask can people compare the xna to what is essentialy a platform game level editor in LittleBigPlanet?

From what i understand from the keynote the XNA section will act as a taster section for new developers to put demos of thier games online for consumers to try. The consumers the provide feedback and rate the game and developer in the time period the game is available.

This all sounds incredibly interesting and forward-thinking on Microsoft's part. Who's to say we won't see the next Cave Story or Desktop Tower Defense come out of this? I'm liking it A LOT.

I don't see what the big deal is, is the XNA about indie games or is it a new xbox live interface (like what Sony is trying to do with Home)? I personally think that XNA is too similar of an acronym to XMB and may confuse consumers (i.e. average Americans).

@optimusprime: The XNA Development Kit is $99/year, which is cheap if you're looking to be recognized by someone in the industry.

@optimusprime:
XNA Express itself is free... the Creators Club isn't

they probably have a time limit because in reality they are shareware, and in reality, these devs want to get paid for their time, so I am sure in the future their will be a buy button underneath it, so you can fork over 200 points for a game.

I'd rather wait for the tools to use the Playstation Eye to create these sorts of mini games from one's own drawings and objects,as was demonstrated last year. That's last year.

@Alex:

Nope, this has been announced since XNA was first launched. Microsoft have always said this was in the pipeline.

@optimusprime:

Oh...and XNA allows developers to develop ny sort of game they want and LBP is a glorified level editor.

So thats Two differences already....any more and we are DEFINATELY going to have to give up on comparing the two.

Anything that helps people get their art out there is great IMO. I know we may have to wade through a pool of shit to find one gem, but one gem is better then none.

As someone who has always created for the PC community be it Mods or Skins. I look forward to all the "Big 3" so to speak of doing more with the community