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    Xbox Live Indie Games

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    An official line of downloadable games for the Xbox 360 that were developed, peer-reviewed, and self-published by a community of indie developers using Microsoft's XNA framework.

    Xbox Live Indie Games Channels Moved To A Better Place

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    BradNicholson

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    Edited By BradNicholson
    Xbox 360Indie Games developers weren't big fans of the new dashboard update when it launched, as it moved their little corner of the Marketplace to a fairly undesirable and little-frequented spot: the Specialty Shops menu, which also houses the Avatar Marketplace and Game Room. After playing tough for a spell, Microsoft has reconsidered this move, and as of now, you can find the Indie Games channel in the higher profile Games & Demos section of the Marketplace, which is right next to the Xbox Live Arcade, Games on Demand, and Demos channels.

    Microsoft, previously, was confident in the traffic the Specialty Shops channel would provide Indie Games developers. In a statement given to Eurogamer, the company said. "… since the launch of Avatars, Xbox Live members have made more than 290 million customizations to their Avatar's clothing, so we expect people to regularly visit the Specialty Shops." 
     

    No Caption Provided
    == TEASER ==Regardless of whether the new placement will get more traffic (and word from developers is that they've received far less sales since the Specialty Shops placement), it's cool that the big, hard, and cold corporate beast that is Microsoft bent a bit for the little guys. It ain't easy being indie, but it looks like Microsoft is willing to provide a little bit of aid to those using its XNA tools. 
     
    Image and story via MTV Multiplayer.
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    BradNicholson

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    #1  Edited By BradNicholson
    Xbox 360Indie Games developers weren't big fans of the new dashboard update when it launched, as it moved their little corner of the Marketplace to a fairly undesirable and little-frequented spot: the Specialty Shops menu, which also houses the Avatar Marketplace and Game Room. After playing tough for a spell, Microsoft has reconsidered this move, and as of now, you can find the Indie Games channel in the higher profile Games & Demos section of the Marketplace, which is right next to the Xbox Live Arcade, Games on Demand, and Demos channels.

    Microsoft, previously, was confident in the traffic the Specialty Shops channel would provide Indie Games developers. In a statement given to Eurogamer, the company said. "… since the launch of Avatars, Xbox Live members have made more than 290 million customizations to their Avatar's clothing, so we expect people to regularly visit the Specialty Shops." 
     

    No Caption Provided
    == TEASER ==Regardless of whether the new placement will get more traffic (and word from developers is that they've received far less sales since the Specialty Shops placement), it's cool that the big, hard, and cold corporate beast that is Microsoft bent a bit for the little guys. It ain't easy being indie, but it looks like Microsoft is willing to provide a little bit of aid to those using its XNA tools. 
     
    Image and story via MTV Multiplayer.
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    Sinful

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    #2  Edited By Sinful

    cool i love it. i guess

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    sahest

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    #3  Edited By sahest

    How about making it available to more Live-regions?

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    FritzDude

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    #4  Edited By FritzDude

    Now i can see my non-existent content better. Awesome!

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    Kralle

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    #5  Edited By Kralle

    Xbox live just plain sucks in europe. No indie games, the music store is a joke, no netflix, no last fm, no community games and we wont be able to watch sports in HD Live! No fucking wonder the xbox is mostly doing fine in the US

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    DoctorWelch

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    #6  Edited By DoctorWelch
    @Kralle said:
    " Xbox live just plain sucks in europe. No indie games, the music store is a joke, no netflix, no last fm, no community games and we wont be able to watch sports in HD Live! No fucking wonder the xbox is mostly doing fine in the US "
    Wow really, dude, that sucks.
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    agentmoo

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    #7  Edited By agentmoo

    Good! I wonder if I can see a drop in my game sales and demo downloads from the period where it was in avatar land

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    tourgen

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    #8  Edited By tourgen

    This is a good move by Microsoft.  Don't forget they are making a cut of the indie game sales too (30% I think?) so I'm sure once they saw the sales data it was pretty clear they needed to make the move.
     
    Anyway, sure there is some junk in there but there is also some pretty good stuff for $1 - $3.

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    Fleshfeast

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    #9  Edited By Fleshfeast

    There are some seriously good games in the Indie Games section, you just have to be willing to wade through all the shit.

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    PatVB

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    #10  Edited By PatVB

    Awh this is such a a touching story

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    FinalDasa

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    #11  Edited By FinalDasa

     The specialty shop would make sense if there weren't already access to the Avatar marketplace and the Game Room store through other means.    

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    MysteriousBob

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    #12  Edited By MysteriousBob
    @Kralle said:
    " Xbox live just plain sucks in europe. No indie games, the music store is a joke, no netflix, no last fm, no community games and we wont be able to watch sports in HD Live! No fucking wonder the xbox is mostly doing fine in the US "
    Huh. I guess UK Live is different to mainland Europe then because we have Last FM, Indie Games and Sky Player. 
     
    Also: everyone needs to own Rescue Me Knight.
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    T0mF5

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    #13  Edited By T0mF5

    I tried looking for this channel yesterday and couldn't find it.

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    mrbrian

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    #14  Edited By mrbrian

    Its time for a new Indie Games Quick Look!

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    BraveToaster

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    #15  Edited By BraveToaster

    I'll be avoiding that.

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    Piranesi

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    #16  Edited By Piranesi

    Wish they would get their act together with the Indie games - so much decent stuff is lost in the hoard of crap. They could at least stick a standout one on the main "showcase" area each week to promote the community rather than hide them away in long lost menus. They're not going to get a Fruit Ninja or Angry Birds style hit without some kind of help.
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    Kralle

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    #17  Edited By Kralle
    @MysteriousBob:  Sounds like it :( 
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    napalm

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    #18  Edited By napalm
    @Sinful said:
    " cool i love it. i guess "
    Lmao.
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    bhhawks78

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    #19  Edited By bhhawks78

    Wake me up when the best indie games are still entertaining past 45 seconds.

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    Pie

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    #20  Edited By Pie

    Saw this before and wondered. 
    It would be nice if they would redesign the  tab to suit the demo and arcade games tab.

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    Daveyo520

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    #21  Edited By Daveyo520

    BABY MAKER EXTREME!

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    bloodlines

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    #22  Edited By bloodlines

    Still no indie channels in europe :( , i really hope microsoft does something with this.

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    Waffles13

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    #23  Edited By Waffles13

    I think it's time for another Indie Games Roundup by the GB crew.

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    landon

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    #24  Edited By landon

    I've found one cool indie game. That thing has worse games than the DSi store.

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    CptBedlam

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    #25  Edited By CptBedlam
    @Bloodlines said:

    " Still no indie channels in europe :( , i really hope microsoft does something with this. "

    I'm German and we got the xbl indie store since it started.
     
    (no last.fm though)
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    StarFoxA

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    #26  Edited By StarFoxA

    I have around 50 indie games. Great that the channel is getting more exposure!

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    cornbredx

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    #27  Edited By cornbredx

    Well, I never bought any indie games because they usually suck and I dont want to go through a thousand pieces of crap to find the good ones.  
     
    That's why I wish there was someone who reviewed those so I knew which were good. Only ones i know about, for instance right now, is the ones on the GB Indie Quick Look. If they want more sales they need to make better games.  
     
    When i do check them, I demo them, and they always suck. To many awful ones to go through to find good ones and the rating system doesnt help for some reason. 
     
    i get it, though, they get decent profits just by being there. Good for them, able to con more people into buying thier slideshows. Bravo!    
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    syzygyeolith

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    #28  Edited By syzygyeolith

    No Indie games in Australia either. I honestly don't care that most of the titles apparently suck.. I've heard enough about some of the good titles that I really would like to see it on our store.

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    Tyrax

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    #29  Edited By Tyrax
    @Waffles13:  
    "I think it's time for another Indie Games Roundup by the GB crew." 

    I'd like to see that too, just sort by rating next time
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    RedRocketWestie

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    #30  Edited By RedRocketWestie

    I didn't even know "Specialty Shops" existed. When I want to customize my avatar, I go in through the "Customize Avatar" item on my profile. 
     
    Bad application of logic, Microsoft. Good job correcting the mistake, though.

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    NMC2008

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    #31  Edited By NMC2008
    @Vinchenzo said:

    " @Fallen189 said:

    " @Vinchenzo said:

    " A better place? Yeah, on my dick. "

    Nobody is going there. "
    Just like the XBL indie games section. "
    Excellent. 
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    Synthballs

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    #32  Edited By Synthballs
    @sahest said:
    " How about making it available to more Live-regions? "
    This! Australia is missing out.
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    LordAndrew

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    #33  Edited By LordAndrew
    @CornBREDX said:
    " That's why I wish there was someone who reviewed those so I knew which were good. Only ones i know about, for instance right now, is the ones on the GB Indie Quick Look. If they want more sales they need to make better games. "
    You want reviews? You should check out StarFoxA's blog if you haven't yet.
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    NekuCTR

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    #34  Edited By NekuCTR

    Virtual land value? What the hell is going on anymore!?!?!?!

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    joeq1159

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    #35  Edited By joeq1159

    Finally!

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    sins_of_mosin

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    #36  Edited By sins_of_mosin

    Bought my first indie game this past weekend, Solar.  I've had points sitting for a long time so what da hell eh?  :D

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    Brackynews

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    #37  Edited By Brackynews
    @RedRocketWestie said:
    " I didn't even know "Specialty Shops" existed. When I want to customize my avatar, I go in through the "Customize Avatar" item on my profile.  Bad application of logic, Microsoft. Good job correcting the mistake, though. "
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    meteora

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    #38  Edited By meteora

    It was hard as hell to find the indie games, so this is good.

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    Hamst3r

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    #39  Edited By Hamst3r

    Thank fuck. Burying it under Specialty Shops killed Indie Game sales so bad. It more than halved them.
     
    I'm glad that Microsoft has corrected this so quickly. :)

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    Vextroid

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    #40  Edited By Vextroid
    @syzygyeolith said:
    "No Indie games in Australia either. I honestly don't care that most of the titles apparently suck.. I've heard enough about some of the good titles that I really would like to see it on our store. "

    The problem isn;t Microsoft its our rating system. By law unrated games cant be sold in Australia. (Inde Games dont go through ratings)
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    Waffles13

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    #41  Edited By Waffles13
    @Tyrax said:
    " @Waffles13:  "I think it's time for another Indie Games Roundup by the GB crew." I'd like to see that too, just sort by rating next time "
    Sort by ratings and take the top 5 and bottom 5.
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    kalmis

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    #42  Edited By kalmis

    Good move MS

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    Bouke

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    #43  Edited By Bouke
    @Kralle said:
    "Xbox live just plain sucks in europe. No indie games, the music store is a joke, no netflix, no last fm, no community games and we wont be able to watch sports in HD Live! No fucking wonder the xbox is mostly doing fine in the US "

    this; and PS3 having free online play, it suddenly looks equal maybe even better!
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    deactivated-5a98cbe47ca3b

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    #44  Edited By deactivated-5a98cbe47ca3b

    I'm glad this change happened. The developers deserve to share a space with the other game shops. Sticking them with the categories they did just... Didn't make a lot of sense.

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    skrutop

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    #45  Edited By skrutop

    The entire specialty shop should be eliminated.  Get avatar clothing through the editor, put game room in the games & demos section.  Done and done.

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    TheDarkVoid

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    #46  Edited By TheDarkVoid

    indie games on xbox live mostly suck..that's why they moved them
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    ToxicAntidote

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    #47  Edited By ToxicAntidote
    @Kralle said:
    " Xbox live just plain sucks in europe. No indie games, the music store is a joke, no netflix, no last fm, no community games and we wont be able to watch sports in HD Live! No fucking wonder the xbox is mostly doing fine in the US "
    No indie games you say? What country are you from btw? I'm from Sweden, and I can browes indie games just fine, and I do so every now and then. 
    We don't have Netflix though, but Zune works just fine for movies. But some TV-shows would be nice too. 
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    bloodlines

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    #48  Edited By bloodlines
    @CptBedlam:
    Okey then it's has to because i'm in norway.
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    Hand_banana

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    #49  Edited By Hand_banana
    @Bouke:  Not for us in Europe. Tons of games on PSN  aren't available in Europe but all the games on xlbig and xbla(not all countries have xblig but most have xbla) are  available. Sure you have to pay to play online but you don't have to be a gold member to download all the awesome and affordable games. 
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    Bouke

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    #50  Edited By Bouke
    @Hand_banana:
    I'm not sure what titles you refer to when you say that "tons of games on PSN aren't available in Europe..."! Overall i think XBLA has a better offering then PSN, but you can't expect me to be happy with the fact that i can access that content for free!? I mean i still have to pay for the content so it would be stupid if only gold members could access XBLA! 
     
    In the US you have a ton of services you can access if you're a gold member and people still bitch about the price! In Europe you can (for even more money), only play online and use the Zune marketplace with only a handfull of bad movies. Thats why i'm saying that if you compare XBL and PSN; PSN keeps looking better and better. Now if Sony would just get some cross game chat to work!
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