Fun Infused Games: Indie games ‘buried’ by Xbox Live dashboard

Posted February 6, 2012 by Luke Stratford in Industry News, News.

Are indie titles being forced into obscurity in the Xbox Live marketplace?

‘Ultimately I do not believe the XBLIG market is growing,’ states Kris Steele, developer for Fun Infused Games, on his blog ‘I believe these numbers show that. I believe the biggest factor is Microsoft’s burying of XBLIG.’

It’s a harsh stance to take, but in light of the latest Xbox Live Dashboard update, it’s plain to see that the changes made to the layout and structure of the dashboard have pushed the indie game market out of the public eye. Although unable to launch a solid argument against the changes at the time, Steele has been gathering evidence, albiet only on Fun Inused Games’ own releases, showing a distinct downward trend in user interest as the dashboard was updated, shuffling the Indie Game marketplace deeper into the deck.

There’s some issue with the research made, however, given that this is charting the output of a single studio. If other developers were to put up similar statitistics, to form a more comprehensive overview of indie game trials and sales, then we could come to a more solid conclusion. As it is, this attributes the decline to one of a range of different influences – that’s not to discredit the idea that the update affected user awareness of the Indie market, but it’s nothing I’d start waving around in court.

If other studios are feeling the pinch now that their primary marketplace has been relegated into the background, then by all means, they need to stand up and make themselves heard.

Tagged as Fun Infused Games, Games Industry, Online Gaming Market, Sales, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Indie Games, Xbox Live Marketplace