Deciding on which platform to target at this stage in the console life cycle

Ok, so I am in the process of building a game which for intents and purposes would best suit a console as the host platform. I have moved from XNA to Unity, mainly due to all my XNA code being lost in a crash and the productivity gains you get from Unity. So obviously with XNA I was aiming for the Xbox Live Indie Games platform, which the potential to upgrade to Xbox Live Arcade. Now with the switch to Unity, publishing on XBLIG is a no go. But I fear this may be a moot point.

As we are coming to the end of this console generation, with no details on development strategies for forthcoming consoles, is it wise to target the current gen consoles? Bearing in mind, I am under no illusions that the timeframe for my project will take under a year. I am aiming for the 18 month period. Also, discount the cost issue of Xbox development, assume that this side of things will be taken care of. We are fairly safe to assume that in 18 months we will probably have 2 new consoles on the scene and the older gen ones will be phased out, or completely shelved.

So this leads to the dilemma, what platform do you choose to develop on? Obviously, I can release it on PC, that isn't a problem, but as I say the game would benefit greater with a console release. Should I continue the development as it is, building in Xbox controller support for the potential of moving across to the Xbox platform? With a worst case scenario of releasing solely on PC? Do you think there would be the market for XBLA games after the launch of the new consoles? Or will Unity support the next gen consoles and should I wait that out in hope? Too many questions! Discuss!

 

Why?

No, really, why?

 

Do what's best now and not what might happen in the future.

Make the game for PC with xbox controller support, then however the console market looks when it's finished you'll be able to port it to other platforms easily.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqgSO8_cRio&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

This is mostly an indie/hobbyist community and consoles are pretty much out of the question for most of us. You're not likely to get much if any informed opinion here.

If you have enough money to consider licensing Unity for consoles, go for it.

If you don't have that money, it's a non-issue. Develop your game to support game pads anyway, why not?

 

Well the answer to this is that it's a sports game and while there is the possibility it will sell on PC, these games I feel are better suited to consoles and the living room environment. Of course with the ease of porting to both PC and console a PC release is also likely, but it's more the question about console support.

So while I will be developing with PC as the lead platform for the time being, do you, or any of the Unity crew, believe that Unity will be supporting the next gen consoles?

 

The clear winner would be the Wii-U.

 

The most important question is probably do you currently have a development agreement with MS to make an XBLA game? If not then you would likely need to get the game to a presentable state to pitch it to MS in the first place in order to become a licensed developer. Cost isn't the only factor for a developer wanting to release a game on XBLA, it's an entirely different world to XBLIG and requires direct approval from MS rather than just paying a sum of money, the same goes for Sony Nintendo platforms too.

Even ignoring the upcoming generational shift it's in your best interest to develop the game with consoles as a second choice platform in case you can't become a fully licensed Xbox developer. As others have suggested the sensible option is to develop your game for PC first and get it out there then look at how the console landscape is at that time rather than making those decisions so early in development.

 

By far the biggest Nintendo fanboy in this forum

 

Cough*only*cough

XD

 

Licensing Unity isn't the only consideration.

I think the real question MojopinStudios is asking here is if we believe that Unity will be supporting the next generation of consoles,
since if he is to release on them (no matter in which order) the support has to be there.

I think - considering the past and without being certain about anything (in life) - that the most likely scenario is that they will support the most popular future platforms, it's in their best interest.

Now with Unity you are not limited to one platform and of course there is work when you want to port, but that would be true in any case (well except if you had dev kit access from day 1). As an indie the realistic scenario is to try and get out on the PC,Mac,Linux (with the possibility of Ouya and some high-spec mobile devices maybe), with consoles being something you will be able to get a feel for 2/3 of the way into your development, when you have something worth showing to publishers, microsoft etc.

This is realistic, because even if everything goes wrong (you don't find a publisher, microsoft rejects you, you don't have access to money you thought you would etc), nobody can stop you from releasing for PC, Mac and Linux, meaning this is your back-up plan anyway.

 

Thanks for articulating what I was trying to say koyima! Yeah, just trying to suss out an opinion as to whether Unity will have support for next gen consoles. Obviously it is in their best interests, and providing support for Wii U shows that they are already thinking about this, added to that, the past support for Xbox 360 proves promising, but is the lack of support for PS3 a conscious decision by Unity or was there an impass dealing with Sony? I'm sure there will be developments in this area long before I am ready to look into console publishing, but I was just looking to feel out the concensus for you guys.

 

Unity supports all three primary consoles: PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

 

Ah right! For some reason I had look at it and thought it was only Xbox and Wii U, thought it was strange that PS3 would be omitted, seems like that worry was unfounded. Well, that's certainly good news for potential support in the future. Hopefully the next gen platforms will decide to offer a relatively low cost entry method for indie developers, in the vein of XBLIG. I think it should be a lucrative market if they get it right.