It turns out that after all the kerfuffle over the placement of Indie games on XBLA, Microsoft may be getting ready to ditch XBLA entirely. Microsoft’s digital distribution strategy has been so focused that the line between XBLA games and traditional disc retail games is becoming blurred. Michael Wolf, the Global Marketing Manager for XBLA had this to say on whether XBLA would disappear,
“Personally, I’d say absolutely, yes,” Wolf says. “I think digital distribution has to be like that. I don’t think XBLA will be leaving soon. It is an incredible platform. We have XBLA fans, I don’t think it’s going to be announced anytime soon. One thing Microsoft has proven is that we continue to try and adapt and innovate in experiences.”
If we take into account this revelation with how XBLA indie games have been handled, Microsoft either wants to make it easier for indie developers to release retail quality games, or they want to abandon indie games entirely and make xbox a more AAA focused console. If it’s the latter, then it’s just going to leave more market room for Valve’s rumoured Steam console to take hold.
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