I don’t think anyone could have seen Microsoft, who completely dominated the previous generation in terms of being the go to brand for third party developers, and for most costumers, bungle this generation as badly as they did- a lot of which has to do with their somehow doing the exact opposite of the things that brought them so much success with the Xbox 360.
When we sat down with Dmitri Ogorodnikov, from Brainy Studio, an indie game developer from Russia, who are currently working on TurnOn, we decided to pitch the question to him straight up- what can Microsoft do to recover momentum this generation?
“They need to make new updates such as a new console, which could deliver from a productivity point of view and is powerful than the new PlayStation (NEO),” Ogorodnikov said. “Also, not to torment on our game’s certification but since it was our first cert certification it was not easy. We hope it will be easier in the future.”
As for game certification, while in general, it appears as though Microsoft have made efforts to make the indie game certification process easier, it does sound like some lingering problems persist- and Microsoft would do well to address them fast, to garner more support for their platform.
As for the idea of a new, upgraded console, while Ogorodnikov did suggest it as a possible fix for Microsoft, it doesn’t seem like he is too much of a fan of it as a developer.
“These are only rumors at this point but if it’s true, then from the developers point of view you will have to develop, test (QA) and support 2 versions of the game. It cost you more time, money and nerves,” he said, rather candidly.
This sentiment does echo one that other insiders have stated developers are feeling about these new consoles- and it also makes you wonder whether or not Sony may be rushing with the entire initiative.
