XBLA’s Braid Needs More Sales

XBLA offers great opportunities for the indy developer but everything comes at a price. Over the last three years Braid‘s developer Jonathan Blow spent a reported $180,000 to create the popular Braid title on Xbox Live. He’s going to need a lot more sales before he can celebrate the highly valued, highly reviewed title.

The Independent Games Festival was kind to him, giving him the “Innovation in Game Design” back in 2006, since then he’s put his money where is mouth is; his own money. There are good times and bad times when you’re discovering your dreams. The reviews surely made him feel great about the work he has done over the last three years but a review won’t pay the bills.

It may be a hard road ahead for Jonathan, hopefully at least breaking even on the project. Although he may not look back at the game as a financial success we can only imagine he’ll have a lot easier time getting funding or publishing for his next title, if that’s the path he chooses.

(Thanks, Kotaku)

0 thoughts on “XBLA’s Braid Needs More Sales”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Episode 367: A New BeginningEpisode 367: A New Beginning

The podcast is back as Paul S. Nowak is back from his vacation, and he brought back a new co-host with him. Devin Grimes, who once upon a time wrote for GameStooge, is now a part of the team. This week’s podcast also includes a new Gaming History, discussing the Nintendo DS.

The news items include:

  • Ebola scare drives sharp rise in Plague Inc. downloads
  • Twitch bans ‘sexually suggestive clothing’ in new terms
  • Dying Light cancelled for PS3 and 360
  • Xbox One available for $349 Starting November 2
  • Sony apologizes for Driveclub‘s ongoing launch woes

No Listener Feedback, but a new Question of the Week: “When did you first start listening to this podcast?”

Gamers Rejoice: Rhythm Game Instrument Compatibility!Gamers Rejoice: Rhythm Game Instrument Compatibility!

Compatibility. This is all we’re really asking for when it comes to rhythm gaming on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. So far it seems Microsoft isn’t just on board, but enforcing compatibility between instruments from Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Konami’s Rock Revolution. Sony has also confirmed this behavior on their blog.

What does this mean for gamers? It means we’ll be able to go out and buy the franchise of our choice and not feel we’re locked out of other rhythm games. You can choose the accessories that work best for you and enjoy all the games each developer provides.

This enforcement keeps the developers/publishers in check because they’re going to be highly competitive and looking for any advantage to lock the customer into their product, that’s just business. Having a moderator to say “play nice” is important for the console makers as it allows their customers to be happy and purchasing all this licensed great content. Microsoft and Sony will make more money if customers don’t feel they can only buy a single product.

It’s not about the accessories, it’s about the games. Accessories may make a game better so let the customer decide which will be better and may the best company win!

As for Nintendo? As long as their accessories always use Wii Remote controls everyone is fine, once they break this protocol they’ll have to build their own enforcement or start to lose the edge other console makers are sharpening.

(Thanks, GamerScoreBlog)

Episode 695: Attack of the VCEpisode 695: Attack of the VC

Life By You looks promising, Armored Core 6 is kicking all sorts of butt, and NBA 2K24 gets more and more predatory and dismaying.

The news this week includes:

  • NBA 2K24 players say new badge regression system feels like a “second job”
  • Nintendo reportedly gave private Switch 2 demos to developers
  • Atari acquires massive Atari archive after revealing a new 2600 that takes cartridges
  • Starfield mod tools are coming in 2024

Let us know what you think.