Poetic.Injustice
Member
To explain why, I caught up with Brian Provinciano, who released the game Retro City Rampage on damned near every service and console there is. He gave an illuminating talk about what he learned from the experience, and hes become an outspoken critic of Microsofts policies. His platform summary for Xbox Live Arcade was short, and to the point: Most expensive, a bottleneck, damaged PR, hindered other platforms success.
Self-publishing basically means that the developer can release their game directly to the stores without a middleman, Provinciano explained. We're able to sign straight distribution agreements with them, we get a simple revshare, and that's that. The problem is that Microsoft does not allow developers to self-publish, you have to have a third-party publisher, or you can be published by Microsoft Studios.
So you have to pitch Microsoft Studios if you want to be on Xbox Live Arcade, and the negotiations and contract portion of this process can take six to nine months, according to Provinciano, if not more.
Like any publisher, Microsoft Studios takes more from you than a simple platform revshare, he said. In addition to their publisher cut, Microsoft Studios also requires at minimum a timed exclusivity, so you won't be able to release on other platforms day one.
So you end up with less of the revenue for yourself, Microsoft gets a cut as the publisher and the platform holder, and you have to be exclusive to the platform for a set amount of time. Or you can go through a third-party publisher, since Microsoft will only allow companies that release retail games to have slots on Xbox Live.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/...bullies-developers-into-signing-with-publishe
More at the link.