Which company is Game Development's best friend?

The answer may surprise you.

Some of you may know what this is, and if you don't, you're about to find out.

XNA is a Game Development platform designed by Microsoft. It can create games for both the Xbox360 and the PC at the same time. No porting required. When Microsoft originally made promises to fill the Xbox Live Arcade with new original games, they did not lie. Instead, they just announced it a little too early.

While development kits for its rivals, Sony and Nintendo, tend to cost a lot, XNA Game Studio costs almost nothing. I say almost, because compared to the HUUUGE costs of competitors development kits, this IS nothing. You can develop games that will work on the PC for free, but have to join a Creators Club for $100 dollars a year. That's cheap.

Nothing else compares to what Microsoft has done here. This makes available to ANYONE who has motivation, the full tools to create an Xbox360 game (well, maybe only for the arcade, but there's still money).

Want a list of what you need?
To develop for PC:
Have Visual C# Net installed, and you can get an express version for free.
Download and install XNA Game Studio Express - $0
Knowledge of the C language.

To develop for the 360:
Have Visual C# Net installed.
Download and install XNA GSE.
Join Creator's Club -$99
Knowledge of C language.

Yar? Now go make some games for me.