Microsoft’s Phil Harrison recently spoke to Games Industry International about the changes made to the Xbox Live experience, including the marketplace and the new DVR video capturing ability of the Xbox One which will help spread awareness of indie titles.
“Ten years of Xbox Live has given us a pretty good understanding of what consumers like, what is important to them and where we can continue to innovate. Look at some of the things we’re doing on Xbox One with the marketplace re-imagined, and with trending and recommendations built into the store. We’re really pushing hard on this, we’re not standing still by any means. Also the virality we’re building into the platform that you won’t see on competing stores.”
The Xbox One’s DVR capability “is strongly related to the ID@Xbox programme too, where these viral tools will help independent developers connected with their audiences. Upload is a feature that accrues benefits to any developer or publisher, irrespective of type or size. It’s going to be a big, big win for games discoverability.
“One of the number one questions that any independent developer has to ask themselves, irrespective of platform, is what is our acquisition strategy? How do we connect our smart game idea with the audience? It’s no longer about buying a couple of double page ads in the specialist press and getting a preview, review and tips over three months. It’s a bit more sophisticated than that.”
Will it help ID@Xbox devs see increased exposure on the Xbox One, especially compared to the PlayStation 4’s front and centre approach of marketing indie games? Stay tuned for November when both consoles release to find out.