I tend not to go off on news topics, but ‘ehh… today’s special. No doubt you’ve heard about Microsoft’s big news that’s making Indie developers all giddy. $99 a year to “activate” an Xbox 360 so that you can test your games on it. Sounds great, but there’s 1 little thing that could pose a problem for some.
… Alright. Nothing against C# as a language, ‘cause I’m sure it’s a great and efficient once you get used to it. However, despite Microsoft’s big shiny banner of cross platformness (Windows and 360), it’s a *bit* of a kick in the teeth to anyone thinking/working cross platform where it matters. PS3 and Wii. Which, of course, means C++.
Now sure, it’s my understanding that classic kits do the C++ thang just fine. But it gives Microsoft an interesting advantage. Anything “cool” developed on this new platform of theirs will likely stay on Xbox. Porting to the Wii or PS3 becomes a heck of a lot more difficult, when you have to change the language.
Not to mention, your choices of open source libraries like libogg, libvorbis, libpng, zlib, and many others becomes quite short. Or rather, it looks like that time you’ve saved by using a “better” language like C# will now be spent porting any favorite libraries you have. Eeek! Alright, the popular ones probably have ports, but you get the point.
I’m sure glad to have ruined the celebration. 