Microsoft Japan unveils cheap 360 line for educators

Microsoft Japan has unveiled a special offer designed to encourage the use of XNA Game Studio Express in educational establishments.

A report from ITMedia says that the Xbox 360 Special Purchase Programme, currently set to last for a year, enables schools and universities to buy specially-discounted packs that provide the hardware necessary for cross-platform XNA development.

The packs consist of a Xbox 360 Core System, a 20GB hard drive and Creators Club memberships. Free copies of the Impress-published ‘You can do programming: XNA Game Studio Express’ are also included to help students get started.

The programme is intended to help create facilities for more people to participate in game research and development, as well as furthering the use of Microsoft’s XNA platform