Originally Posted by
jhguth It is Microsoft's fault that they made a high barrier to entry to develop apps, requiring new hardware and an SDK without a lot of guidance. It's also Microsoft's fault that getting your app approved is a headache, and creating an Xbox LIve title is damn near impossible. It's also Microsoft's fault that WP8 doesn't support OpenGL, so game developers have to do some work to bring their app to the platform. etc...
and Instagram is not literally facebook sharing, maybe you mean figuratively? if it was literally the same thing, we would have it on WP8.
Its function is the same. The coding is not the same, but what it does is essentially photo sharing that Facebook already handles.
As for the REST of your whining, the barrier isn't high for app development. For Xbox LIVE certification, definitely. However, the fact that single-person groups are able to handle the task to make solid games shows that it's apparently not THAT high of a barrier. Complain about OpenGL all you want, but DirectX has survived numerous iterations somehow, so it can't be THAT bad.
Also, it's been stated numerous times than it's considerably easier to port to WP8 than it was to WP7. They're getting Unity 4 engine support shortly (it sounds like), so they're clearly working to improve the tools that developers can work with. Like I said, I hate that Microsoft is working to improve the situation with Windows Phone, and they're reacting so negatively because a third party hasn't done what a specific person wants.
I mean, I really want MLB.TV this season. There isn't an app available. You know who I'm blaming? MLB. I'm not going to give them my money if they aren't going to support the platform. I'm not going to turn my back on Microsoft because MLB chose to not make an app. The things I pin on Microsoft are those such as not having great Skype integration (as they own the company) and the lack of Microsoft-published games (such as
Halo and
Forza). I'm not holding them responsible for things that they do not control.
Is it Microsoft's fault that
Pokémon isn't on the Xbox? No, that's Nintendo's.