Co-Optimus

[bapenguin]

Developers Struggle to find the Demand that Once Was

Read The Full Article: On the Download Issue 36: The Decline of XBLA

[CaveBo]

The dashboard is difficult to navigate. Everyday Xbox users can find things relatively easy, but if my wife wants to watch Netflix or set up a game for the kids when I'm not around, she has a lot of trouble! And "launch week" does seem to be the only time that XBLA games get good visibility. I'd like to see more titles under the "Sales & Specials" tab. Even small discounts on 2-3 month old games may remind me of a title I didn't have time/ points for earlier!

[Shazoo]

The early adopters, the core gamers - they’ve moved on from the consoles and back to the PC

Couldn't agree more, with xbox's lack of competitiveness and uniqueness in almost all aspects of their service and console I moved on back to PC.

[txshurricane]

It's not just XBLA that has changed - the consumers have changed. There's no unifying game experiences anymore. Every studio is struggling to climb over each other to get Little Johnny's mom's cash.

[bapenguin]

It's not just XBLA that has changed - the consumers have changed. There's no unifying game experiences anymore. Every studio is struggling to climb over each other to get Little Johnny's mom's cash.

That's sort of what I said at the end. That said, smaller studios aren't struggling on the PC at all. It's a completely different market. These studios once thrived on the console, but can no longer find ground there.

[txshurricane]

It's not just XBLA that has changed - the consumers have changed. There's no unifying game experiences anymore. Every studio is struggling to climb over each other to get Little Johnny's mom's cash.

That's sort of what I said at the end. That said, smaller studios aren't struggling on the PC at all. It's a completely different market. These studios once thrived on the console, but can no longer find ground there.

That's because Little Johnny plays the Xbox - his dad plays the PC.

[Engineer Seven]

I think the biggest problem is the locked prices. There's no reason why a game that now costs $10 new at retail should have DLC costing $10 or $15 dollars. The weekly sales also need to be expanded, have things on sale from multiple genres or games instead the current system of 'This is Call of Duty Week!' 'This is Battlefield Week!'

[smurphster]

Price is definitely an issue. Another issue is DLC. Why does Microsoft cripple games like Dungeon Defenders? Consoles have always had the edge when it comes to ease of use, but the expense has grown out of control. PC has been catching up in terms of ease of use, while still offering DLC, mods, and a better price point. I don't like this trend. Consoles need to get their edge back and be more flexible.

[CoopBob]

I was glad that XBLA games "grew up" but I agree that arcade and indie games get absolutely buried which is a shame. This is the problem when a company tries to be everything for everyone.

It's a little different but I hate when I decide to start digging around to see what's new in games and it's all buried beneath the crap ton of music game DLC that constantly comes out.

[TenFresh]

I agree with all the reasons the dashboard has become a mess, and I\'d be truly saddened if development for it drops off as a result. I enjoy sitting back on the couch and playing games on the console so much more than on my PC. I bought Trine on Steam and had it for half a year before I got a PS3 and actually played it. So much more feasible to gather 3 friends around the TV than the PC.

And let\'s not even get into all the smack-downs the indie marketplace has suffered. Eeeeesh.

[kevinclough]

I think the dashboard update is the primary culprit in my mind. I find it difficult to quickly find what I am looking for. I don't use it every week though so that might be part of the problem. I think Microsoft is trying to bring Xbox's interface in line with what they are doing with Windows 8, so I don't think it is going to get better anytime soon.

[Jhooud]

So are there any rumblings of a dashboard redesign? I'm with the bulk of the group in not really liking the way they've organized the interface and the choices they've made in organization...but I haven't heard anything about Microsoft planning any changes.

[stealth]

stupid article

xbla is still thriving

[kevinclough]

He didn't say xbla was dead, just declining. I read something similar on gamasutra and that was coming from an xbla developer who would know the actual sales numbers.

[vherub]

The picture is even more dire on the wiiware service. And I would argue that android and ios apps are even more severely frontpage/top 10 or doa. Psn and live really need to copy some of the features of steam, like wishlist building (as well as for future content). They should have far more sales of older content, and finding content needs to be streamlined. It's great that I can purchase xbox content from my browser (sony needs to make this an option), but that browsing experience isn't particularly appealing.
I find myself relying on external sites and forums for services the system should provide.

[Knees76]

"For every Trials HD, which has sold over 1.5 million - you have an Adventures of Shuggy that struggles to find its ground with less than 7k in sales"

Maybe that is because Trails HD is one of the best game ever offered on XBLA and Adventures of Shuggy isn't. So now we are blaming the 360 dashboard on XBLA sales? And while Trials Evolution was promoted heavily it still killed in the sales department and guess why? If your game is that good the word will get out.

I for one enjoy the current dashboard. If I have some extra coin and want an arcade game I can cycle to that section of the dashboard and browse "games". It very basic and simple to do and understand.

And this isn't changing anytime soon. With companies like Verizon, ESPN, MLB, Netflix, these are the big boys. For better or worse these are the things you are going to see on the front page going forward. This isn't steam, this is a complete multimedia device.

By the way it took me 9 seconds to find the Adventure of Shuggy. I honestly want to ask you who was navigating to find that game?

[Knees76]

It's not just XBLA that has changed - the consumers have changed. There's no unifying game experiences anymore. Every studio is struggling to climb over each other to get Little Johnny's mom's cash.

Now this I would agree with. Everyone trying to get their hand in the cookie jar.

As a developer the only way to get above this is to make a better game than the next. Some are able to pull this off, most aren't.

[Knees76]

The dashboard is difficult to navigate. Everyday Xbox users can find things relatively easy, but if my wife wants to watch Netflix or set up a game for the kids when I'm not around, she has a lot of trouble!

Really, does she also have trouble using a computing too?

I hear this argument a lot but I don't buy it. You literally have to push 4-5 buttons to get to Netflix or into your game library. And it's only using two actual button on the controller RB and A.