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In the second part of our exclusive interview, published today, Microsoft XNA lead Chris Satchell has given some hints as to the future of the XNA platform.
Asked what was next for the XNA framework, given that the recently-announced Xbox Live Community Games distribution system is the last major piece of the XNA initiative to fall into place, Satchell said: "Well, we’re extending to Zune this year.
"Beyond that, I think there are other platforms we could extend to such as, for example, smartphones."
Given Apple’s committing to gaming on mobile devices yesterday, such a move would be an effective counter strike from Microsoft to promote its own Windows Mobile smartphone platform.
Also touched upon in the interview is whether users will have to pay to play Xbox Live Community Games, to which Satchell responded: "We haven’t decided that yet.
"To be honest, we’re not really focused on the business model, we’ve been focusing on this pipeline and connecting people. Once we’re in beta more will come to light. For now, it’s just getting this distribution to work – it’s a hell of a lot of work!"
For further details on Microsoft’s determination to let the community police itself and how ratings boards such as the ESRB have been involved in the project, check out the second part of our interview here. The first part of the interview is also available to view here.
