Are you as excited as we are at today’s arrival of the Zune HD? If you've already picked yours up from your local retailer or are eagerly awaiting your delivery from Zune Originals, we are pleased to announce the immediate availability of XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions to support Zune HD. This add-on for XNA Game Studio 3.1 adds the following functionality to the product:

• The ability to target and develop for the Zune HD media player.
• The addition of new Touch APIs to the XNA Framework for use on the Zune HD.
• The addition of new Accelerometer APIs to the XNA Framework for use on the Zune HD.

You'll also find new documentation and examples integrated into Visual Studio help that will show you how to leverage the new APIs, as well as a tutorial on how to update the Platformer Game Starter Kit to use the new Touch API's.

Barring the new input models available, your game should port over relatively easily. 

Beyond the changes outlined here, all of the other XNA Game Studio functionality with the Zune HD remains the same as it did with earlier versions of the device.

You'll find the download for the XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions by following this link. If you have questions or need help getting started using XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions, please use this thread.

Enjoy your Zune HD!

Kluch you know you made my day even more. I NEED MONEY. LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN GET FREE ZUNE HD. For all the free advertising I've been doing! lol.

Want Zune HD in Europe! :(

Now release it somewhere outside of USA, like England for example, and then I'll be impressed.

Michael Klucher:

You'll find the download for the XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions by following this link.

Well, maybe you'll find the download there in a couple hours. :(

Wait, internet available in API. That would be awesome-sauce.

Thanks XNA Team, this is really awesome!!!

Michael Klucher:

If you have questions or need help getting started using XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions, please use this thread.

Any word on a store where we can sell our Zune games a la the AppStore? (although at this point I think it's a matter of "when" not "if")

The Zedox:

Wait, internet available in API. That would be awesome-sauce.

*cough* connect.microsoft.com *cough*

;)

Nick Gravelyn:

The Zedox:

Wait, internet available in API. That would be awesome-sauce.

*cough* connect.microsoft.com *cough*

;)

NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS. Yes, caps was needed, I'll still do one though, if I remember later today.

Jim Perry:

Michael Klucher:

You'll find the download for the XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions by following this link.

Well, maybe you'll find the download there in a couple hours. :(

It took me a few refreshes but I got it eventually

UberGeekGames:

Thanks XNA Team, this is really awesome!!!

Michael Klucher:

If you have questions or need help getting started using XNA Game Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions, please use this thread.

Any word on a store where we can sell our Zune games a la the AppStore? (although at this point I think it's a matter of "when" not "if")

Microsoft won't comment on rumors or speculation.

But if you want this, be sure to put it up on Connect!

John Sedlak:

But if you want this, be sure to put it up on Connect!

Done!

The link is https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=489994&SiteID=226

Vote now!

I have been waiting for this and wishing it held back at the same time. I want to make games for the HD so badly but I can't afford one and an XNA subscription. Now I feel peer pressured into selling my kidney.

Daimwn:

and an XNA subscription.

You actually don't need a subscription for Zune development. Besides the cost of the device itself, developing for the Zune is free.

UberGeekGames:

John Sedlak:

But if you want this, be sure to put it up on Connect!

Done!

The link is https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=489994&SiteID=226

Vote now!

I had submitted one suggestion for all of the Zune models a while ago:

https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=417936&SiteID=226 (pls read MSFT feedback).

Ultrahead:

https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=417936&SiteID=226 (pls read MSFT feedback).

Hmm, well that may support my "it's not if, it's when" theory, at least depending on how you read it. ;) Maybe we'll get something more concrete from the current one.

The Zune HD feature I was most excited about was the inclusion of proper 3D capabilities (there's a GPU integrated in NVidia's Tegra architecture), enabling 3D XNA development, with shaders, not constrained anymore to using only SpriteBatches and stuff alike. But in this summary there's no word on it. I was expecting that a later version of XNA would be released with these capabilities for Zune HD, and as the release today is just called "extensions" (instead of XNA 3.2, XNA 4, whatever), I'll keep my hopes up that this will be made available in the future, but a future sadly not so near (say, not this year). IMO, this is as frustrating as the absence of a store similar to AppStore - in this case, we know that MS is working on it (accordingly to the Connect posted in this thread), but a "ZuneStore" was widely expected to be available as soon as the Zune HD was released.

The extensions released today are the same 2d based API as we had for previous Zunes with additions for media/touch and accelerations - plus it works with the ZuneHD.

Anything else we will all have to wait and see.

I don't think the connect post confirms or denys anything, so lets not over analyze something and call it an announcement.

Hervan:

but a "ZuneStore" was widely expected to be available as soon as the Zune HD was released.

Not sure who thought that... i certainly didn't. There would have been far more rumours and leaks if it was going to happen this week. I still think its the logical extention of what we are seeing happen but have no idea when.

Hmm, so I wouldn't be able to set any RenderTarget or run any Effects then call GraphicsDevice.Draw(..list of triangles...) on the Zune HD? No support for vertex shader/pixel shader at all?
That's disappointing.

In the API you have not there is no support for RenderTargets or Shaders...

We know the Tegra chip in the HD can do 3d but you have no access. Like I said we all have to play wait and see.

But do we know how good that Tegra chip is at (theoretical) 3D support anyway?
E.g. how does it compare to other chips in similar mobile devices? E.g. the PSP, the iphone, an eeepc (mine supports pixel shader 2.0), etc

I don't want to spread misinformation, but this interview basically says that apps on the Zune Marketplace will be closely sanctioned by MS, and be available for free. It also says that games on the marketplace will be a "case by case" basis.

Interview

Taken from this: News Story

What I am taking away from this is that for right now, there is no way to immediately sell/give away the apps/games you create with XNA on the Zune HD (unless you put the code up for download), as it "conflicts" with Windows Mobile app store. MS still holds the keys it looks like, but maybe in the future we can get an app store. Maybe something akin to Indie Games on the Xbox where quality and review boards are used to keep out the, uh, "less-desirable" software...

Quote from Brian Seitz, Zune Marketing Manager: "That being said, we know people want things like this [apps] on their devices so we're going to build them ourselves, they're going to be super high-quality, and they're going to be free."

All in all, I'm happy some ZHD tools are out, but still a sad panda about no 3rd party app store.

Yeah, bring the Zune HD to Canada as well. I mean, we are so close... yet so far away! It's a little hard to develop for a device that isn't being sold here yet.

Joel Bennett:

Yeah, bring the Zune HD to Canada as well. I mean, we are so close... yet so far away! It's a little hard to develop for a device that isn't being sold here yet.

Also when is the unit going to arive Down Under?

I'm pretty sure that international roll out of the hardware is a long way from the XNA team's decisions...