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ArsTechnica has an article up describing what you get in the free Microsoft XNA Game Development Studio for the PC and Xbox 360, what paying a $99 annual fee can get you, and how this just might be the start of a wave of great new games that can be built for Windows and Xbox 360 from the same code base. There are more commercial versions of the product coming, if memory serves, so this isn't an exhaustive description, nor is it hands-on impressions, but it's a good read.

From my soapbox I can pretty much say the very positive claims made about Microsoft's managed code initiatives are spot-on. As a software developer I've spent some time working in C# and readily admit that it is an excellent language that brings a lot of innovations to the table. (Which isn't a surprise given that MS poached all of the brightest minds from the best compiler companies back when the .NET stuff was built, gutting their competition like Borland in the process.) Even if Microsoft's own DirectX managed code interfaces are obscure and difficult to use, all it will take is a few clever coders to pump out very easy to use libraries to reduce the complexity until you're ready to dig deeper into detail on your own. I think we are definitely going to see some great things produced using this new software.

Ars digs in a bit with what you get, and what you can pay an extra annual fee to get.

Paying the annual fee lets you upload your Xbox 360 creations for other subscribers to the program to try out, but Microsoft will have to choose your game to include it for sale on Xbox Live Arcade, and nobody knows what the terms of that choice might be. Would Microsoft have an option to own your code and content outright? Do they control digital distribution even if you own the product? Would you be able to sell it simultaneously on Windows? The devil, of course, is in the details. ArsTechnica is good at digging into these kinds of issues, so I'm hoping they go more in-depth with a follow-up article soon. Until then, click through and see what just might be a rekindling of a golden age of game development.

The official XNA faq reveals some interesting information. You can debug your game on your Xbox 360 via a network connection to your PC, and networking functionality on XBL is not enabled. Also, you will need the Professional Edition coming out in 2007 to build and submit commercial Xbox 360 games for approval.

From Aeropause.