Taking Stock of the Xbox Live Indie… Apps
January 6, 2010 | Geoff Gibson
A while back I wrote an article about how Microsoft’s Xbox Live Indie Game’s channel should be considered for a name change (read it here). Something along the lines of Xbox Live Apps, or Xbox Live Apps and Games. Whatever the case, at the time, the XBLIG channel was beginning to become a home for “games” that weren’t actually games at all. Now, stuff like massages, flashlights, screensavers, and “girl guides” are becoming even more prominent than ever.
Anyway, the reason why I bring this up is that back when I first wrote that article it was fairly controversial. Most people, at that time, had never even considered what I was saying and were taken aback that the service was not catering to indie game developers so much as it was beginning to cater to application developers.
So, now that a couple months have passed, I feel like it would be a good idea to take stock in the channel and lay out every single “game” on the XBLIG service that is actually more of an application. Check out what I found:
- 360 Mega App Pack HD (has a couple games inside, but also many applications)
- A Perfect Massage
- Aquarium HD
- Beer Screensaver
- Calculator 360
- Celebrate
- Chillax HD
- Christmas Tree
- Clock 24-7
- Cocktail Paradise
- Drift
- EyeCandy: Chromodose
- Fart Machine II: Revenge of the Fart
- Fire
- Fireplace
- Fireworks HD
- Fireworks Screensaver
- Fireworks Spectacular
- Flashlight
- Fractal Dive
- Fridgy
- Gallery Landscapes
- Gallery World Cities
- Game Finder (unsurprisingly not an actual game)
- Halloween HD
- LED Display
- Let’s Draw A Picture Together
- Mayan Countdown
- myFishTank
- Ocean Scenes
- Pilot Test
- Plasma Break In
- Pumpkin Carver
- Pumpkin Chop
- Reef Rave
- Remote Masseuse
- RPaints
- Rumble Massage
- Scare Me
- Shiatsu Massage
- Spectra Musical Massage
- Stereo3D Gallery
- Tarot 360
- The Oracle
- The Periodic Table
- The Amazing Rumbling Hypno Disc
- TV Calibration
- Ultra Powered Massager
- Wizard’s Tower Screensaver
- World Clock
- Zens 360
Whew! And those are just the ones I could find. I’m sure there are more hidden in the XBLIG channel depths that I missed. Also take note that if there was even an inkling of a game underneath the “app” I did not add it to this list, otherwise this list would be even larger.
So, according to my list, there are currently 51 applications on the XBLIG channel which amounts to a solid 7% of all “games” on the service. Interesting numbers.
While I’m not convinced the service will ever become dominated by applications, it still makes you wonder just what else can be created that’s not actually a game.
Did I miss something? Did I include an app in my list that’s actually a game? Leave it in the comments!
[...] its console and actively encourage the platform’s perversion, the same perversion our own Geoff Gibson has been keeping track of since October. He wants to see more flashlight apps, more integration [...]
Do we actually need Apps on the Xbox though?
Most people have an Xbox in a lit room. With a bulb. And even if the bulb is off, the TV will be giving off light. Why then would anyone use a flashlight app? I can really see people picking the TV up and pointing it under the couch searching for loose change?
A Massage App? With a 360 pad? Cant see it being comfortable or relaxing somehow.
I don’t mean to judge, everyone is free to do what they want after all.. but lets leave the silly iPhone apps to the iPhone crowd. People who value a fake coin to flip on their phone screen so they don’t have to dirty up a coin in their pocket.
Huh, really interesting. When I look at it that way, the games itself are real simplistic as well similar to the iPhone store. Wow, the whole XBLIG channel ended up a lot like it as a whole, interesting, considering I hate Apple. n_n And love MS. Though it’s true some of the “apps” are ridiculous (i.e. Yule log [hello, free on TV folks], flashlight). I guess it gives people interested in ‘breaking in’ and learning new skills a chance to showcase that, doesn’t mean it needs to be bought, but hell just saying your “learning process” or app is on the XBLIG chan, that’s impressive so by all means let ‘em!
yea nice Work