Sorry, but that's not true at all.  Complaints have been filtering in over the last several years from some of the most successful small studios out there, including a few that started out with Microsoft.  The developers of games like Braid, Machinarium, World of Goo, Retro City Rampage, Odd World, and Meat Boy have all spoken about problems they've had with the way Microsoft deals with small developers.

Quite honestly, I do not understand the sudden hate against anyone who points out a problem.  I'm extremely happy that develpers complained about PSN years ago, as it resulted in most of those restrictive policies being thrown out.  I think that's awesome.  It means more games for me to play.  Now, however, I'm seeing a lot of Xbox fans who don't want improvements.  I cannot understand that.  Never mind that they're siding with a massive corporation against small businesses who are trying to survive--they're also siding with a massive corporation against the games themselves.  Makes no sense to me.

And, actually, Microsoft themselves seem to agree, as they've been working on changing those policies, just as I said they would last year when I made a thread about this very subject.  The complaints were varied and included subjects such as the ridiculous need to have a publisher, Microsoft's silly stance that they would not publish a game that had been on ANY other platform (the reason Machinarium skipped Live), endless red tape, not delivering on promises about promotions, patch size restrictions and costs, making developers jump through hoops, and just not treating them very well in general.  It's all out there if you go look.

could you link the thread?

Criticism for any of the Big Three is far from uncommon.  One indie developer or another will appear to talk about the problems they've had, the red tape they've had to cut through.  However, it's probably fair to say that Microsoft often gets more bad press in this regard.  They've gained a reputation for being expensive and difficult to work with.  Most recently, Brian Provinciano, developer of Retro City Rampage, has stated that his experience with Microsoft has been the worst of the lot.  Also in the news, due to his latest game being a PS4 exclusive, Jonathan Blow said once more that he does not have a good relationship with Microsoft.

My question is, will this be something Microsoft addresses with their next gen console?  They dominated in this area early, but now that others are catching up, developers have more of a choice than ever before.  If Microsoft doesn't take steps to fix these issues, they might alienate enough developers that they end up far down the line in terms of platform consideration.  Thoughts on the future of XBLA?

--------------------------

Jonathan Blow - Braid, The Witness

I used to think very positively about the xbox as well, but them Microsoft changed that by treating me pretty badly (and then treating other indie developers, including friends of mine, really horribly).  --  http://the-witness.net/news/2013/02/a-clarification-about-our-ps4-exclusivity/

"I think the thing that they don't understand -- between that and the cert stuff that they do -- they just kind of make themselves a pain in the ass. For a big game, for a triple-A game that costs 60 bucks, and has a giant budget and all these people working on it, the amount extra that that pain in the ass adds is not that much," Blow said.

 "But if you make an XBLA game, the amount of bullshit that adds is gigantic. It can take a third to a half of the effort required to build your game, in some cases, and I don't think that they understand that. I don't think that they understand that, at least for that size of game, they're competing very heavily with Steam and iOS for developer mindshare."

 Cert -- or certification, in which a developer's game must meet certain technical requirements dictated by Microsoft before it can be released on the platform -- isn't the only problem.

 "I can live a comfortable life, and just put my game on Steam without that much of a hassle, or I can have the XBLA business people dick me around and give me asshole contracts that I need to spend three months negotiating back to somewhere reasonable, that they knew," said Blow. "And then have all these arguments with them and go through this horrible cert process. It's like, at some point, the question 'Why should I do that?' arises."  --  http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/126427/Interview_Jonathan_Blow__Xbox_Live_Arcade_A_Pain_In_The_Ass_For_Indies.php#.UTaCITswd8E

Brian Provinciano - Retro City Rampage

He also appeared critical of Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, tweeting, "[It took] two bouts of 6+ months of pitching, paperwork, negotiation just to get onto XBLA. It's absurd. They don't make it easy." and added, "It cost more to do the XBLA version than all other SKUs combined. Made more on all other platforms. XBLA: 'a learning experience.'"

Conversely he praised both Nintendo and Sony saying, "Nintendo's great to work with. Both Sony and Nintendo are welcoming to indies."  --  http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/02/26/retro-city-rampage-developer-says-vita-version-most-successful.aspx

Ron Carmel - World of Goo

Nearly three quarters of the developers surveyed said ease of working with a platform holder was paramount - followed by installed base and platform suitability.

When asked about specific platform holders, the majority deemed Steam, Facebook and Apple "very easy" to work with. Sony's PSN majority, like Google's Android, was "so-so". Most people found WiiWare "difficult", whereas Microsoft's XBLA was "excruciating".

"Given that ease of working with the platform owner was voted the most important factor in choice of platforms, it becomes perfectly clear why XBLA, despite being a very strong channel with a large audience and huge earning potential, is dropping in popularity among these developers," observed Carmel.

"But if things keep going the way they are, and XBLA keeps losing talented developers, I believe the diversity of games available on XBLA will diminish, quality will suffer, and revenue numbers will drop as players start to move away from an unremarkable portfolio of games. We will see a lot more 'genrefication' and big publisher franchises."  --  http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-04-xbla-has-peaked-says-world-of-goo-dev

Team Meat - Super Meat Boy

Outspoken indies Team Meat will no longer have a commercial partnership with Microsoft, a co-founder at the studio has said.

Edmund McMillen has criticised the Xbox manufacturer for its lack of support during production of the 2010 XBLA hit Super Meat Boy.

“I don't think we'll work with them [Microsoft] ever again,” McMillen said on the IndieGames.com podcast.  --  http://www.develop-online.net/news/38606/We-wont-work-with-Microsoft-again-Team-Meat

Jakub Dvorský - Machinarium

"First we wanted to create an Xbox Live version of Machinarium," Amanita boss Jakub Dvorský says. "Microsoft contacted us some time ago. They were interested and very nice. But after about half a year of negotiations, they told us they were not interested anymore because they decided they don't want to support games which are not Microsoft exclusive. We had already released the game for Mac and Linux, so they said they were not interested anymore."

 Dvorský's experience is in part the result of a Microsoft policy exposed by Eurogamer earlier this year. In short, Microsoft reserves the right to not publish games on the Xbox Live if they have appeared on other platforms, such as the PlayStation 3 or Steam, first.

----

"It doesn't make much sense to me. Why would we need a third-party publisher? The game is ready. We do all the PR and marketing. You just need to put it there on the platform. Why would we need an EA for getting us there? It doesn't make any sense.

 "So we decided to approach Sony and they agreed they wanted the game, so we started to port it" - an explanation, then, for why PS3 owners will get to enjoy Machinarium, and Xbox 360 owners will not.  --  http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-21-making-an-xbla-game-the-inside-story-article

That's actually what got me started thinking about this, the way Nintendo is said to have improved with the Wii U.  The Wii had some issues, we know that, with some crazy policies and strange restrictions, but obviously they were open to revision.  I think Microsoft needs to do the same kind of evaluation, as downloadable games are going to be huge next gen.  They're not going to have a headstart like they did with the 360, which built up so much momentum for their online network.

However, if Microsoft is anything, they're smart.  The people who run things pay attention to what is being said in the media.  They know that Nintendo is updating their policies and Sony is said to be aiming for a certification process "somewhere between iOS and the PS3".  I don't expect them to not adapt.

Seriously!

 10 good indie games thats lolworthy,

I find indie games in general to be more innovative and fun than the regurgitated AAA cod clones, to each their own i guess

I am not joking at all.
The sad thing is, that you fail to see how indies are a bunch of vocal retards who managed to create about 10 good games over a whole generation for 2 platforms. They love theirselves more than their games and think there is somehow a big following for their games. There is not.

Asking $10 for a 2D sidescroller shooter is cool for guys like you, heh?
And the game can be shitty as hell, it will get great reviews anyway, because it is from an indie dev. Yeah the graphics are from the 90s, the soundtrack kills your ears and the game is repetitive, but it is somehow retro and made by an indie: 8/10!

Asking $10 for DLC for a game that has great visuals, something called online multiplayer, great sound effects and a story is a rip off though, because Activision / EA / UbiSoft are oh so greedy.

Seriously blowfish are the perfect example of what went wrong with indies. This is a game designer who made one (in numbers: 1) game 5 (!!!) years ago. Since then he gave sooo many interviews and even tried to influence how Microsoft / Sony should build their machines. He lives in an ecosystem MS created. This is the irony here. He made money, because MS created XBLA. They even published his first and only game. That was his market place. Now MS / Sony invest BILLIONS of USD in R&D for a console and he says, he wants to have a different architecture and another focus. Who the hell do these indies think they are?

Nobody pays $400 / $500 USD for a gaming console just to play Braid. He should be thankful for every blockbuster game out there, because those games are selling the hardware and increases the userbase he tries to sell his $10 download-only game to.

And this Fish guy, who made Fez, which is not even an outstanding game, talks at the GDC towards the Japanese game developers "You and your games just suck"... WHAT THE FUCK?! Those Japanese game developers basically created the industry he is working in. Yeah, I know there were games in the West as well, but yeah... The gaming industry would not be the same without Japan. Period.

I can keep on ranting, but I am getting tired.

There are great indie / XBLA / PSN games out there. State of Decay was very good for example, The Walking Dead was one of my favorite games in the past years. But the way some indies try to present themselves and their games is ridiculous. They will get away with everything, just because they are indies.

pokoko have I ever told you how amazing of a human being you are? You seem to be one of the only people who actually gets it. I don't understand all this big corporation defending. If they do something wrong, then whether you are a fan or not you should be pointing it out because eventually that'll lead to a better product/service. It just saddens me that so few people seem to get this concept.

Nonetheless, you understand and I'm happy at least there's one person out there.

Because being treated well should be standard, it isn't news worthy. Being treated badly should be reported. Maybe you are right though about developers exaggerating, especially Blow since he seems to hold a grudge against MS. 

You can't presume MS's policies are the only reason they are losing out on exclusives.

Sony money hats games as well. No Mans Sky is only confirmed for PC.

Well hello games confirmed that no mans sky is currently being developed on pc and one next gen platform and it certainly isnt x1 as there not on id@xbox list and shahid more or less confirmed its ps4,but the reason theres hundreds of indie games being developed on ps4 certainly isnt because sony moneyhatted them all put it that way

In what way?