Australian Small Devs To Get 360 Kits

Microsoft Australia recently announced a deal with the Bracks government and the Games Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) to provide the Victorian game developers community with eight Xbox 360 development kits.

This may not sound like much, but "to put it in perspective for small developers," said Ms Tracey Fellows, Managing Director, Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, "each kit is valued at around $15,000 and they really are the key to developing games for the Xbox 360. The kit provides all the codes and protocols needed to program a game for the Xbox 360."

Microsoft and the Victorian government will be investing jointly in the kits, with the GDAA managing their loan distribution to "cutting-edge local games developers." The key component of the scheme is that it gives smaller development houses a leg up in a fast moving industry with rising development costs. Tom Crago, President of the GDAA, commented that "Given the rapid changes occurring globally in our industry, the early roll-out of this program in the development cycle will ensure we leverage and grow our local skills base."

No word yet on which development houses will be receiving the kits, but there are certainly plenty to choose from - over half of the game development industry in Australia is based in Victoria, employing over 700 people.

News Source: ign