XBLA Wants Your Exclusives - The UpStream

I have a bit of information for my aspiring game developers - if you want to publish your game on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, don't submit it to the PlayStation Network. If you do, your application for XBLA will be denied. Well, that is all assuming it is published on PSN before XBLA.

Obviously, this is all about getting exclusive content for Xbox, or at least getting the head start on the competition. This isn't the only policy Microsoft has that is similar; even the big publishers are required to have the same content on-disc across all platforms if Microsoft will allow it on their platform. As far as these demands, I understand and approve of them. Microsoft wants to protect their platform and, of course, their users.

To read what Chris Lewis of Xbox Europe has to say, hit the break.

We're a little biased, so obviously we're going to look to protect our own space as best we can and get exclusivity.

Whilst I can't be specific about the terms and conditions, you can be very confident we seek to maximise our own advantage to ensure the playing field is even, and certainly plays to our advantage wherever possible.

As you can also imagine, our partners have to be mindful of the relationship they have with all platform holders, and they need to be equitable. But there are contractual situations where we get agreement with different people to do different things, and through what we have available on Xbox Live, we are able to offer things other people can't offer, that allows that exclusivity and unique elements to it that might not otherwise be available elsewhere.

I suppose if you are a PS3 owner, this will sound like a bad thing, but as an Xbox 360 owner, I am alright with Microsoft giving the upper hand to their owners. What do you think? Is it okay for Microsoft to deny PSN-first titles for the XBLA or are they just doing what is needed to make their platform the best it can be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.