Lance James, Versus.Evil

Launching Your Game on Consoles

(White Nights Conference Berlin 2019)
The official conference website — http://wnconf.com

Transcript

1. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 …powered by indies
2. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 WORKING WITH SONY, MICROSOFT, AND NINTENDO LANCE JAMES – VERSUS EVIL LANCE@VSEVIL.NET @MYLL_ERIK
3. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 THE BASICS • YOU NEED A GAME • NEEDS TO BE FINISHED* • CONSOLE SPECIFIC WORK SET UP FOR EACH PLATFORM • LEGALLY REGISTERED/LICENSED • ACCESS TO DEV/TEST KITS AND PORTALS • AGREEMENTS OR APPROVALS • RATINGS GETTING STARTED
4. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 HANDY TIPS FOR EVERY PLATFORM • TIME • LANGUAGE • POC • PLANNING • DOCUMENTATION • PROCESS • WHEN YOU HAVE QUESTIONS – ASK FOR HELP • WORK WITH SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE
5. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 THE PROCESS EACH PLATFORM IS DIFFERENT GIVE YOURSELF TIME XBOX ONE = 3-5 WEEKS PLAYSTATION 4 = 3-4 WEEKS NINTENDO SWITCH = 3-6 WEEKS ABOVE DOESN’T INCLUDE FAILURES
6. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 MICROSOFT XBOX ONE • After you get a title ID, you’ll get a product group on XDP (Xbox Developer Portal) • Partner Center • On that Product Group you can “Add Product” to get your game listed. • Take note of the options here for your game and choose accordingly. • Once you have your game on XDP: • Product Configuration • Catalog and Artwork • Marketplace • The Sandbox • Service Configuration • Achievements • Rich Prescence • Localized Strings • Leaderboards • Hero Stats • More…
7. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 MICROSOFT XBOX ONE • CERTIFICATION • OPTIONAL CERTIFICATION? • SUPPLEMENTARY FILES • RATINGS/WORKBOOKS • XDP CERT REQUIREMENTS • ACHIEVEMENTS DOC • TEST ACCOUNTS • SYMBOLS • ADDITIONAL FILES • THE PROCESS • E-MAIL THE CERT TEAM TO SCHEDULE YOUR CERTIFICATION START • ONCE CONFIRMED, UPLOAD BUILDS TO CORRECT SANDBOX FOR CERT (.99) • UPLOAD DOCUMENTATION VIA SUPPLEMENTARY FILES ON XDP • ALERT CERT TEAM THAT FILES ARE READY TO BE CHECKED • WAIT FOR REPORT (ANYWHERE FROM 3-7 DAYS)
8. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 MICROSOFT XBOX ONE • CONGRATS, YOU HAVE PASSED CERTIFICATION • NOW THE MARKETING TEAM WILL GET INVOLVED AND YOU’LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR CERTAIN OPPORTUNITIES. • BY BEING THROUGH CERT AND SITTING HERE, YOU’LL OFTEN GET HIT UP FOR CERTAIN SPECIALS, DISCOUNTS, OR OPPORTUNITIES UP UNTIL YOU LAUNCH • THE OPS TEAM WILL TAKE 2-3 WEEKS TO GET YOUR STORE PAGES AND MARKETING MATERIALS ALL FINALIZED. • FINALIZE YOUR LAUNCH DATE • FOR HELP WITH THIS, ASK THE MARKETING TEAM AT MICROSOFT. THEY CAN HELP STEER YOU
9. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 MICROSOFT XBOX ONE • NOT ALL ITEMS ON XDP ARE REQUIRED FOR CERT • OPTIONAL CERTIFICATION SHOULD BE USED WHEN TIME ALLOWS • NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR LOCALIZED FILES • CHECK COMMON XR FAILURES • ATTEND MICROSOFT DEV EVENTS • GET ADDED TO THE ID@XBOX NEWSLETTER
10. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 SONY PLAYSTATION 4 • YOU’LL START BY GETTING PRODUCT ID’S AFTER YOU GET APPROVAL FOR YOUR GAME. • YOU’LL NEED PRODUCT ID’S FOR EACH SONY REGION • SIEA (AMERICAS) • SIEE (EUROPE/AFRICA) • SIEJ (JAPAN) • SIEJ-A (ASIA) • ONCE YOU GET PRODUCT ID’S YOU CAN THEN ADD YOUR GAMES TO DEVNET • ONCE YOU GET YOUR GAMES ADDED TO DEVNET, YOU’LL SEE THEM VIA TPRNET AND GFQANET. • SET UP YOUR REQUIRED SERVICES FOR EACH GAME • TAKE A LOOK AT THE SERVICES AVAILABLE – THEN REQUEST WHAT YOU NEED • TALK WITH YOUR RELEASE MANAGER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU MAY WANT OR READ UP ON ALL THE SERVICES VIA DEVNET
11. SONY PLAYSTATION 4 • GFQANET (OR FQA) • WHEN YOU ARE READY TO GET YOUR GAME IN TO TESTING YOU’LL DO SO VIA GFQA. • TO SPEED UP THIS PROCESS, BE SURE TO GROUP YOUR PRODUCTS SO THAT YOU HAVE A PRIMARY REGION AND THEN SECONDARIES. • YOU’LL NEED TO FINISH YOUR WORK WITHIN THE PS4 NEIGHBORHOOD AND USE SKEED SILVER BULLET TO UPLOAD YOUR BUILD TO SONY. • YOU’LL NEED TO UPLOAD BUILDS FOR EACH REGION • YOU’LL GET SPEC.XML FILES THAT YOU’LL NEED IN THE NEXT STEP • MDT FORMS • THESE ARE FORMS THAT TELL THE QA TEAM WHAT YOUR GAME HAS AND LISTS OUT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ANSWER. • YOU CAN ALSO IMPORT THE SPEC.XML FILE FOR EACH GAME AND IT’LL FILL IN MOST OF THE INFO FOR YOU BASED ON THE GAME’S OUTPUT. • YOU’LL NEED TO INCLUDE A ZIP FILE CONTAINING ANY ADDITIONAL REQUESTED FILES BASED ON YOUR TITLE BUT TROPHIES ARE A MINIMUM. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019
12. SONY PLAYSTATION 4 • BOOKING SLOTS • YOU’LL NEED TO BOOK SLOTS FOR FQA TO START TESTING. • YOU’LL SEE THE AVAILABLE SLOTS AND YOU CAN PICK WHATEVER WORKS BEST FOR YOU. (NOTE THAT THEY NEED THE FILES THE DAY BEFORE FQA IS SCHEDULED TO START) • SLOTS AND MDT FORMS ARE DONE VIA GFQANET • YOU’LL NEED TO GO BACK TO DEVNET • UNDER SERVICES, YOU’LL SEE SUBMISSION. • OPEN THAT UP AND GO TO GEMS • WITHIN GEMS, YOU’LL SEE THE GAME BUILDS • RAISE A QA REQUEST FOR EACH BUILD • FQA • YOU’LL GET IN PROGRESS BUGS VIA GFQANET • TYPICALLY ANYWHERE FROM 3-5 DAYS CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019
13. SONY PLAYSTATION 4 • TPRNET • THINK OF THIS AS YOUR MARKETING AND STORE SET UP AS WELL AS PATCHING REQUESTS AND DLC • YOU’LL NEED TO HANDLE EACH REGION SEPARATELY THOUGH EACH REGION HAS GENERALLY THE SAME SPECS AND REQUIREMENTS • OF NOTE, IS THAT A PATCH REQUEST MUST BE STARTED IN TPRNET AND THEN IT’LL SHOW UP VIA GFQANET. • FOR FQA (YOUR GAME) YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE MUCH OF THE TPRNET WORK DONE, HOWEVER BEFORE PSN OPS TAKES THE FINISHED GAME, YOU’L HAVE TO HAVE ALL OF THIS DONE. • PSN OPS TAKES OVER AFTER THE GAME HAS PASSED FQA • THIS IS YOUR STORE BEING SET UP AND ALL PSN SERVICES HOOKED UP • GENERALLY TAKES 1-2 WEEKS CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019
14. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 NINTENDO SWITCH • TITLES VIA NDP (NINTENDO DEVELOPER PORTAL) • AFTER YOU GET APPROVAL, YOU’LL SEE YOUR TITLES LISTED VIA THE “MY PRODUCTS” TAB. • NOTE THAT YOU CAN SELECT A ROM FOR EACH REGION OR HAVE REGION SPECIFIC ROMS WHICH WILL BE ADDITIONAL TIME FOR LOTCHECK • FOR EACH GAME YOU’LL SEE SEVERAL TABS THAT YOU’LL NEED TO NAVIGATE THROUGH AND FILL OUT. • PRODUCT INFO • INCLUDES GAME CODE, PUBLISHING INFO, AND LINKS TO OTHER IMPORTANT SECTIONS – SUCH AS OMAS IF YOU’RE DOING ANYTHING ONLINE • RELEASES • THIS IS WHERE YOU’LL SEE YOUR SUBMISSION FOR LOTCHECK (AND HOW YOU’LL UPDATE THE GAME LATER AS NECESSARY)
15. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 NINTENDO SWITCH • Releases • Under Releases Tab you’ll see each version of the game you’ve submitted. • You’ll get some top level info on each submission and it’s current status • For every release you’ll have some areas to complete • Release Info • Features • Guidelines • Test Scenarios • Age Ratings • ROM Upload • Issues
16. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 NINTENDO SWITCH • Releases • Once every item is completed, you can submit to LotCheck after you upload your ROM. • As Nintendo finds issues, your “Issues” tab will populate with items. • You can view issues via your Issues tab or via the “messages” tab on your product page. • Some issues can be fixed without needing a new ROM while others will require a new ROM and a re-upload. • Once you pass LotCheck each region has different timelines for getting store pages, pre-orders, and other marketing materials live. • LotCheck has ranged from three or four days to two weeks depending on the title.
17. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 NINTENDO SWITCH • NCMS • This is where you’ll handle setting up your store pages, prices, marketing materials and more • You’ll have to do this for each region (NOA/NOE/NOJ) • SLIM • This is where you’ll create the Legal Lines for your title. You’ll need to do this ahead of ROM Upload as it’s required for submission. • OMAS • This is the section where you’ll set up any of your online services to include data collection, servers, independent server approval and more. • This section also needs to be done and approved prior to LotCheck submission.
18. CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 SUMMARY • IF YOU DON’T KNOW – ASK FOR HELP • GIVE YOURSELF TIME • START EARLY ON DOCUMENTATION • WORK WITH SOMEONE
19. lance@vsevil.net CONFIDENTIAL – VERSUS EVIL 2019 contact@planofattack.biz