Link: http://beefjack.com/news/microsoft-are-screwing-the-pooch-with-xbox-live-arcade-hard-lines-dev/

“Microsoft are screwing the pooch” with Xbox Live Arcade – Hard Lines dev

Sony and PSN far more helpful to small developer-publishers than Microsoft, Andrew Smith of Spilt Milk Studios has said during a panel at the Explay 2011 interactive festival today.

Microsoft‘s treatment of smaller developer-publishers on Xbox Live Arcade is hurting the platform, a panel of industry figures agreed today in a talk at the Extended Play 2011 Interactive Festival.

The talk was called “Shiny New Things” and the panel included Andrew Smith of Hard Lines dev Spilt Milk Studios, Simon Barrat of FourDoor Lemon, Paul Croft of Mediatronic and Ed Fear of Curve Studios.

The panellists all agreed that Sony and PlayStation Network had proved far more helpful in comparison to Microsoft’s attitude with Xbox Live Arcade, with Smith voicing his frustration that “Microsoft are screwing the pooch” with XBLA. Their comments underline figures recently released by TIGA that show twice as many UK studios develop for PSN compared to XBLA.

The panellists did think that Microsoft could turn things around, but that the company would have to act quickly, and that all console platform holders could be more helpful to smaller developers when it comes to enabling their game to get age ratings.

Earlier, we reported on comments from Journey developer thatgamecompany that working with Sony and PSN was “like a fairytale”.

The Extended Play 2011 Interactive Festival is being held from Thurs the 3rd of November to Saturday the 5th in Plymouth in the UK. Thanks to our reporter on the ground, Emily King.

......except every year since this generation began, XBLA has consistently released not only more games then PSN but more critically acclaimed ones. Developers bitch but in the end MS gets the games out because the sales are worth it. Unless its advertised/hyped, most PSN games are but a whisper in the wind sales wise.

I could be wrong but it doesn't look like they develop for psn or xbla, but only do phone games, of which none look like they belong on a console. Not to mention what sales2099 said.

here is their webpage: http://www.spiltmilkstudios.com/

of the four people mentioned in this talk only one has actually released on the xbox. I question what they really have experienced with ms than.

What sales2099 said.....also a business model is a business model if you dont like it shove it and keep doing what you are doing. Consumerswill vote with their wallet in the end.

Interesting that the developers making these sort of comments do not actually produce quality content on either PSN or XBLA.

More than likely, they are complaining because Microsoft wanted to actually review their proposal and was unwilling to bend over backwards for a bad idea. Sony, on the other hand, is begging to get exclusives even if they are bad, and probably did help them out. However, the reality is that success on neither platform really comes from massively indie developers that are prone to make huge mistakes in the development process... And claims like these aren't going to win them support from Microsoft.

I highly doubt that's their aim for saying such.

Actually, I think it is. Why would a developer make a comment about a platform - one they could potentially make millions from - and not desire to improve or critique their submission process?

Development is a business. Its not a bunch of raving, lunatic fanboys that say things because they prefer another platform. They want to make money - to put bread on the table for themselves and their families. If they feel that a company is doing things that prevent them from earning money, or take away money they made, they will say such things.

Look at what XBLIG developers did when Microsoft had errors and problems with their platform. They called them out, and Chris Curra and the rest of the MS team did what they could to respond.

So where are all of these PSN games??? Seriously, I don't understand why gaming journalist keep giving attention to these bridge burners and their complaints instead whatever games they actually have developed. The unquestionable superiority of content that XBLA has released over PSN as a whole would make it seem that these developers, for whatever reason, just didn't make the cut with what they wanted to do.

And yes, for the record, I do know and understand that it's a traffic generating headline and story, but it sets gaming journalism back quite a ways.

You really said it all.

Looking at that website... yeah they need all the help they can get... they can't even program HTML...