Tools Spur Xbox Content Creation

Two new Xbox 360 toolkits are available to help create content for the Xbox 360 console. Version 2.0 of the XNA Game Studio, a tool for noncommercial game developers, boasts better integration with Visual Studio 2005 and new facilities for building interactive online games that allow Xbox 360 and PC users to compete head to head. However, it is incompatible with the recently released Visual Studio 2008. Separately, a new HD DVD Emulator will let film studios and disc creators test and debug interactive HD DVD content using an Xbox 360 console rather than dedicated hardware.

XNA Game Studio 2.0

Released in Dec. 2007 after a short beta-testing period, XNA Game Studio 2.0 updates the year-old XNA Studio Express, a free tool for amateur game developers.

As was the case with its predecessor, Xbox 360 games created with Game Studio 2.0 may not be sold commercially, although developers may sell PC games created with the tool. (Commercial Xbox 360 game development is tightly controlled by Microsoft and requires a publishing license.) Game Studio is part of the XNA Creators Club program, which aims to introduce students and non-game software developers to game creation on Microsoft’s platforms and maintain their interest with a variety of free tools, tutorials, and community forums. Eventually, Microsoft reasons, a dedicated community of game developers for Microsoft platforms will ensure a steady stream of content for these platforms. Game Studio Express garnered more than 750,000 downloads and has been used by more than 300 universities as a teaching tool, according to Microsoft.