XNAGSE (rename please)

I nearly missed it - Microsoft has started the XNA Game Studio Beta, so the software is now available for download. You will need Visual C# Express 2005 beta (who names this stuff?) installed first, but I would actually consider that a plus. We don't need another IDE, just a more efficient pipeline for making games.

This looks like a good move for Microsoft, if the promise of homebrew games on the Xbox Live Marketplace hold true. That could spur sales of consoles like triple-A titles can't, not because they're higher quality, but because fun, simple games can be brought to market quickly using a small team and a small budget. In other words, it will become popular for the same reason PC gaming flourishes: there are lots and lots of PC games.
Yes, games written with XNAGSE probably won't push the console to its limits, graphically or otherwise, but that's not why they'll sell. They'll sell because there is an excellent content distribution mechanism already in place. As a book I read once said, just look at Deer Hunter. No TV commercials, no magazine ads, no fan sites, but there it was on every Wal-Mart shelf with a $20 price tag. And it sold.