The Xbox One keeps changing. After Microsoft MSFT -1.86%previously announced that all developers would need to find publishers for their Xbox One games — effectively shutting down the burgeoning indie gaming scene — it has now walked back and announced that self-publishing is allowed after all, the company confirms. This comes about a month after Microsoft removed its controversial used games and DRM policies. The previous months have still done massive damage to the Xbox One brand with hardcore gamers, but each step since E3 has been a step in the right direction.
According to Mark Whitten, corporate vice president for Xbox:
“Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox LIVE. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox LIVE. We’ll have more details on the program and the timeline at Gamescom in August.”
The little but about each Xbox One serving as a debug is a tantalizing detail, and at this point, something of a wild card. We’ve reached out to Microsoft and will clarify with any additional information.
This leaves us with a console quickly approaching the PS4. Microsoft has successfully removed all the most controversial features from its new console. It’s following Sony SNE -3.11%‘s lead by responding to an explosive video gaming community and giving gamers what they’re asking for. The Xbox One now differs from the PS4 in just two crucial ways. It has a TV tuner and the Kinect, two features geared towards a mainstream audience. Also, it still costs $100 more.
Self-publishing is no small deal for both gamers and developers. Indie games have quickly moved from a niche hipster phenomenon to a force to be reckoned with in the video gaming world. Games like Journey and Hotline Miami generate some of the most impressive buzz in the gaming blogosphere, and Minecraft has proven itself one of the most popular games across multiple platforms for a shockingly long time. This trend isn’t slowing down — development is getting easier for small teams, and consumers are growing used to buying games online as a matter of course.
This doesn’t mean that Microsoft has suddenly become Sony in this regard — that company has spent the past few years aggressively courting indie developers and has designed the PS4 from the ground up for small-team development. Sony has also angled its marketing towards the sort of core gamer who has a real-soft spot for indie games, so I’d guess two quirky games, equally lain, will perform better on the PS4. Self-publishing is a big step in the right direction, but it’s a complicated field.
It still puts Xbox One on an increasingly even footing with PS4, continuing the strange narrative that Microsoft has been pursuing for months. When these consoles were first announced, audiences found them noticeably, and surprisingly, different. We had Xbox One, with its controversial DRM but curiously bold vision of what a modern video gaming console might look like, and we had PS4, with its all-out commitment to the core gaming market, but perhaps alienating to less committed gamers.
Over time, we’ve moved closer to something more like we had last generation: two consoles with certain differences, but functionally very similar. Microsoft still has those Kinect and TV functions, but neither of those has sold well enough to feel like they will move any needles. It does have Titanfall and Halo 5, two major console exclusives that will likely arrive in 2014 — I’m not sure Sony yet has any exclusives capable of moving plastic as well as Halo — but we’ll see if those prove strong enough to swing large numbers. I have a feeling that a lot of consumers will look at the two relatively similar systems, and then buy the one that costs $100 less.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2013/07/25/as-xbox-looks-more-like-ps4-sony-still-has-one-key-advantage/
