XNA Will Unite Game Development for Xbox, Windows, and Windows Mobile

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/mar04/03-24XNALaunchPR.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/...XNALaunchPR.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Microsoft Corp. today announced XNA (TM) , a powerful next-generation software development platform. XNA empowers developers to deliver breakthrough games while combating rising production costs and ever-increasing hardware complexity. Games for future iterations of all Microsoft® game platforms -- including Windows®, Xbox® and Windows Mobile (TM) -based devices -- will be unleashed by tools and technologies from the XNA development platform.<br /><br />XNA is the catalyst for a new ecosystem of interchangeable, interoperable software tools and technologies from Microsoft, middleware and game development companies. By integrating software innovations across Microsoft platforms and across the industry, XNA forms a common environment that liberates developers from spending too much time writing mundane, repetitive boilerplate code. Instead, XNA frees game creators to spend their time where it matters most --on the creativity that differentiates their games."<br /><br />Wow. 8O I've been hoping for a simple DirectX port to Windows Mobile (GAPI doesn't really count), but this is much deeper and broader in focus. This is potentially huge news! Unfortunately most of the focus seems to be on cross Xbox/Windows development, but my hope is we'll see some developers look at Windows Mobile and port their apps if it's easy enough for them to do so. :-)

[cmchavez]

Can we say "Halo for Windows Mobile"? :D

[Mojo Jojo]

..."Halo for Windows Mobile...

Now that would be a cool...

&lt;daydream> Ahhh Sweet&lt;/daydream>

Maybe in a couple years when handheld specs can match current PC's? An Xbox emulator like the SNES emulators now?

[pacemkr]

Any info on pricing? Free for personal use maybe? :wink:

Otherwise this looks like a very promising move by Microsoft.
I'm no professional programmer, but I tried game programming and it was hard! 8O
I suspect that game developers need all the help they can get.
Maybe Doom 3 and Half Life 2 will finaly be released. :lol:

[sponge]

The problem with D3 and HL2 isn't engine creation, content creation is what takes up most of your time.

Personally, it sounds like .net for gaming. Don't expect games that really push the boundries to use it.

[pacemkr]

What do you mean by .NET for gaming? (bad/good)
If we talk about .NET, isn't it extremely powerfull.
I think it unites everything under one roof so to speak.
So would XNA, wouldnt it?
Not to go off topic, but thats exactly what I dont understand about linux. How can it be so popular without that uniting foundation. All the standarts and so on.. Or maybe I'm just too ignorant on that. :oops: I never tried programing for linux (couldnt get as far as getting all the drivers for my hardware to work), so I'm not the one to judge, but I just never saw that unifying power bettween all the versions. (kernel?)

[Ryan Joseph]

Now you're talking! Halo for WM world be so sweet that I'd just let them have my credit card. Here's hoping! :snipersmile: