Xbox Development Kit arrives with ‘significantly reduced price,’ Sidecar attachment

Apr 5th 2011
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What’s this, you ask? The subsequent generation of Xbox 360 development , that’s what. With an incredibly small amount of fanfare, Microsoft has ushered in a striking new Xbox Development Kit, that is purportedly designed to extend efficiency and decrease cost for Xbox 360 dev teams. Other than boasting an undisclosed uptick in RAM, built-in flash memory, a more capacious hard disk drive and a slimmer form factor, this XDK may also be sold at a “significantly reduced price from its predecessor.” ‘Course, the people in Redmond aren’t saying what exactly that sticker will appear to be, but those taken with taking the plunge regardless may even be able to license a Sidecar attachment that permits debugging and disc emulation. We’re told that said accessory could be shared among multiple XDK consoles, and in turn, it’ll lower the total price to create, test, debug, and release an Xbox 360 or Xbox Live Arcade game. It’s still a guessing game in relation to an exact launch date, however it’ll become “the usual kit” when new orders are fulfilled at some point. Be at liberty to peruse the gallery below while you’re interested, and toss out a wild guess as to what that Sidecar will opt for on eBay through the next century. Aim high, bub!

Xbox Development Kit and Sidecar: slimmer, sleeker, cheaper

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Microsoft has released a new Xbox Development Kit it really is designed to extend efficiency and decrease cost for Xbox 360 development teams of all sizes. It is going to feature additional RAM for development purposes, built-in flash memory, larger hard disk drive drives and a smaller form factor at a significantly reduced price from its predecessor.

The brand new XDK console gives developers the choice to license a Sidecar attachment that permits debugging and disc emulation. Not all members of a development team need these capabilities, so this new Sidecar option offers greater flexibility for residences. The Sidecar may be shared among multiple XDK consoles, removing the necessity to license additional higher cost debugging consoles. These changes will reduce the total price to create, test, debug, and release an Xbox 360 or Xbox LIVE Arcade game.

“Microsoft is legendary inside the industry for providing easy-to-use tools that let developers to create positive games with out a huge time investment. Now we’re offering those tools at a lower price to minimize their monetary investment besides,” said Pete Isensee, principal program manager for the Xbox Advanced Technology Group. “The redesigned Xbox Development Kit could also be a trademark of our continued investment inside the platform; it’s one piece of our ongoing programs to support Xbox 360 for future years.”

The recent XDK and Sidecar can be available to all developers who’ve existing licensing contracts with Microsoft. When the recent XDK console launches, it could become the same old kit when fulfilling new orders.

Independent developers without publishing contracts who’re excited about creating games for Xbox 360 should look at XNA Game Studio, which might be used with standard retail Xbox 360 consoles. XNA Game Studio is offered to download at no cost on App Hub at http://create.msdn.com. By becoming members of App Hub, developers can launch their titles on Xbox LIVE Indie Games with no publishing contract.

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