Destructoid's Brad Nicholson writes: "Recently I got another chance to talk to Nathan Fouts, ex-Insomniac developer and creator/developer of the stellar Xbox Live Community Games title Weapon of Choice. The last time we spoke, the New Xbox Experience (and Community Games) had yet to launch. This time, we focused on things surrounding post-launch. Fouts and I touched on visual comparisons, large monsters with big teats, hotdogs, and his score for his game based on our review scale.
Despite the light-hearted nature of our conversation, Fouts did peg on something that many serious XNA developers are worrying about. Microsoft has yet to toss out any hard sale numbers for published Community Games. Fouts', rightfully worried and excited about how his game is selling, expressed that the lack of data was "gnawing at [his] spine." In a later e-mail, Fouts told me that there are a "myriad of reasons any dev would want to know how their game is selling," and the big one for him is to determine if his company Mommy's Best Games will "be able to keep making games or not."
Thankfully, it's not all gloomy – just this morning Microsoft released a list of the best-selling Community Games on Xbox Live Marketplace. Hard numbers still haven't rolled out, but it looks as though that information could be coming soon. The "My Business" section (which will give payment information) for XNA developers is undergoing maintenence over the next two days."
Weapon of Choice is Now Available on Steam.
Weapon of Choice is a high-energy, side-scroller in which each playable character is unique with their own special weapon and abilities! Blast insane aliens, find new player characters, and choose between branching paths.
Though it’s relatively easy to make games and sell them via Xbox Live Indie Games and other venues, four developers reveal how difficult it is to actually earn a solid living off of them.
Find out what indie developers like Nathan Fouts of Mommy's Best Games think will make the XBLIG service more successful.
