MDA offers grants to budding game developers to create games for Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel

Singapore, 16 December 2008 – This holiday season brings good tidings for budding game developers in Singapore. From today, anyone with the passion and the talent will have the opportunity to create and quickly commercialize their games on the world’s most popular online marketplace for gaming consoles – Xbox LIVE. This will be boosted by a grant of up to S$50,000 for each successful application from the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) under the MDA-Microsoft XNA
Development Initiative.

From today, Xbox LIVE members in Singapore will gain access to the new Community Games channel which promises to democratize game development and revolutionize the way consumers get and play community-created games on Xbox 360. Community Games is a new distribution channel that allows consumers to create, submit and start commercializing their creations with minimal barriers of entry.

On the MDA-Microsoft XNA Development Initiative, Mr Seto Lok Yin, Assistant CEO (industry), MDA said: “We are extremely excited to work hand-in-hand with Microsoft on this initiative. Together, we can help discover young talents who will come on board to use the platform, test their creations, and market their games for revenue generation. Now, we can equip game developers with the full-spectrum process flow, from concepts to product launch, and progressively building up development capabilities for larger titles. This initiative fits perfectly well with our effort to nurture
Singapore media talents.”

Singapore is the first country in Asia to launch the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel today, less than a month after the service was launched in the United States and parts of Europe.

CarneyVale:Showtime, first Singapore game set to be published on Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel

Along with the launch is the debut of CarneyVale:Showtime, the first Singapore game set to be published on the Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel. Developed by the Singapore-MI GAMBIT Game Lab1 , a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office (IDMPO) hosted by MDA, the game had earlier beaten 350 entries from around the world to win the top prize of US$40,000 at the 2008 Microsoft XNA
Dream-Build-Play competition. With the deployment, millions of Xbox gamers in the world will now be able to purchase and enjoy CarneyVale:Showtime for about S$8 or 400 Microsoft Points.

“I am very pleased with the results that have been shown by the students from the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab. It proves that Singapore students have the capability to produce a game that is of international stature,” said Ms Teo Chor Guan, Programme Director, Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab. This positive outcome complements Singapore’s IDM R&D efforts to fuel innovation for commercialisation and making an impact internationally.

An Explosion in Next-Gen Gaming Content A host of new and creative ideas created with the freely available Microsoft XNA® Game Studio software are already appearing on the Xbox LIVE Community Games channel. They include 3-D fighting experiences like “Colosseum” and games for the
entire family like “Word Soup.”

By the end of 2008, Xbox 360 owners are expected to have access to the largest, most creatively diverse game library across all next-generation platforms, with over 1000 titles spanning Community Games, Xbox LIVE Arcade and retail Xbox blockbuster titles like Gears Of War® 2.

Said Mr Alan Chou, Regional Marketing Manager, Xbox 360 in South-east Asia: “Xbox LIVE is the leading online console gaming service with over 14 million members and we’re thrilled to announce the launch of Community Games in Singapore. Microsoft has made it easier for budding developers to make the next Xbox 360 hit. MDA’s enthusiasm and strong support for Community Games will go a long way in growing the local gaming industry, while the trailblazing path set by Team Gambit will inspire
many more to follow.”

There is already a ready pool of budding talent raring to get onto Community Games. Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Digital Media and Infocomm Technology (DMIT) is the first in the region to offer a 15-week module utilising the XNA Game Studio software, with a lab fully-equipped with 22 Xbox 360 consoles. With the launch of Community Games, students taking the module will be required to submit their final game assignments for peer review and potential release on the channel.

Dr Timothy Chan, Director of DMIT, said: “The Xbox LIVE Community Games Channel gives students an invaluable opportunity to experience the complete workflow in game development, from conceptualisation to development to marketing of their own games.”

For more information on MDA-Microsoft XNA Community Games initiative and CarneyVale:Showtime, please contact:

Ms Serene Tan
Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: +65 97263155
Email: Serene_Tan@mda.gov.sg

Ms Jasmine Wong
Assistant Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: +65 97263158
Email: Jasmine_Wong@mda.gov.sg