I have been following some of the new Xbox stuff like most of you probably are too. I am surprised to not really see anything M$ is doing to promote indie development. Is there some information I am missing? They killed XNA, closed the game studio, and now DRM the @#$@ out of Xbox? I don't get where they're going with this thing. I can see some obvious points that they want to make the Xbox an "all in one" entertainment piece or something, but what about the gaming part? Isn't that what the Xbox should excel at? I mean, why would I buy a new Xbox as a media device when my PS3 already does most of my media needs?

I am confused as to why they didn't jump on supporting indies better, like other companies are doing...

I'm convinced that games was just the Trojan to get Microsoft into your living room and your life. You want games? Sony and Nintendo are your greatest hopes. Maybe the Game Gods will be merciful and allow Halo, 343, and Bungie to spin-off and become independent entities. (That's my wish anyway)

Regarding "Xbox One"

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I personally dont like what they are doing.

Everybody focusing on everything else then on core gaming...

If i want everything else PC is better solution, and on top of that it has all the stuff console will have, and without restriction.

I am surprised to not really see anything M$ is doing to promote indie development.

I have seen exactly the opposite.

Here's the most official answer I could find on that:

"In the past we had retail games which came on disc, we had Xbox Live Arcade and we had Indie Games, and they had their own discrete channels or discrete silos," he noted. "With Xbox One and the new marketplace, they're games. We don't make a distinction between whether a game is a 50-hour RPG epic or whether it is a puzzle game or whether it is something that fits halfway between the two."

Through this move, Harrison believes that Microsoft will "solve fantastically some of the challenges that independent developers face, particularly around discovery and connecting their game to an audience, by some of the platform features we have in the machine itself."

--- Gamasutra article with Microsoft spokesman

I have read that traditional games, XBLA, and XBLIG will be merged to a single location.

I have read absolutely nothing that says XBLIG-style independent games will go away.

How is that not doing anything to promote indie development?

I have read absolutely nothing that says XBLIG-style independent games will go away.

I didnt either. I just havent read anything that brings something new or exciting to the table.

Do you have any official Microsoft statements that say it is going away (not just moving)?

I only have this:

When a reporter from the tech site Shack News asked Matt Booty, general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms, if Microsoft will continue to require indie game developers to find a publisher to get their games on Xbox Live Arcade, he said: "As of right now, yes. We intend to continue to court developers in the ways that we have."

source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/microsoft-abandoning-indie-game-developers-xbox-one-6C10037826

That article is worth reading. I didnt mean to say anything related to it going away, just that its not improving. Yes, they are "merging" them, but so what. If anything, it sound like it will reduce exposure, cause confusion and generally be frustrating as a developer. I didnt see them bring anything new to the table to support the indie community. So far, they just state it will remain basically the same. I just think that is silly and would have loved to see them support some new service that makes it easier/smoother/accessible to low budget indie developers. It would have given me a reason to buy the box, even though I dont generally play console games and I dont need a media center. I wouldnt mind developing for it, because I know how popular it is. Not to mention, I also enjoy many other Microsoft techs, and it would be nice to be part of that one.

The reporter asked about XBLA, not XBLIG. The two are very different.

XBLA is the pure digital version of major published games. That's for the big companies.

XBLIG is for the little guys, hobby developers, and small companies.

So far from what I've read, the changes will increase the status of the XBLIG crowd (normal people making hobby games) which is a good thing.

But if Blu-Ray, XBLA, and XBLIG are merged into one, then are you saying that there will still be 3 separate types under the same roof? Because sounds like to me that they are doing away with the differences and are just putting all the games in one place. And also making all the games have the same rules, ie. needing MS or 3rd-party pub to get games on The One.

Well maybe Im not understanding what I read properly, but regardless of how any of you or me interpret something, That article is about indie development, and some major players in the indie scene are disappointed, and I am disappointed, and I would like to see something concrete on how Xbox One better supports indie development. Not keep it the same as it has been. (minus the merging of the store concept, whoopee). Has anyone found/heard something like that?

I'm convinced that games was just the Trojan to get Microsoft into your living room and your life.

I think that was part of the actual stated goal of why Microsoft got into the console industry with the XBox in the first place, according to (iirc) this article.

Maybe the Game Gods will be merciful and allow Halo, 343, and Bungie to spin-off and become independent entities. (That's my wish anyway)

343 and the Halo franchise is owned by Microsoft still, but Bungie bought their independence about 5 years ago, and is now working on a semi-MMO Sci-Fi series of games for Activision as part of a 10-year contract. Just google for "bungie activision contract", and "bungie destiny game" (or see the wikipedia article).

So, uh, 1/3rd of your wish is granted.

XBLIG is for the little guys, hobby developers, and small companies.

But XBLIG required you to build on top of XNA, right? And XNA is dead, and I haven't heard anything about XNA games running on XBone, so.....? (To me that sounds like XBLIG is simply not coming to xbone)