Everybody and his or her dog seems to think that they have a great idea for a videogame (in addition to their unwritten novel) and Microsoft has just launched a major new initiative to help bedroom developers make (and profit from) their own interactive blockbusters from the comfort of their bedroom.

In a clear challenge to Nintendo's WiiWare and Apple's AppStore, Microsoft officially launched 'Xbox LIVE Community Games' at this week's Gamefest conference in Seattle, promising that up to a whopping 70 per cent of profits made on any XNA-developed game would go direct to the developer.

"Microsoft has already opened up game development to the masses by offering the easy-to-use, affordable XNA Game Studio toolset," says the Xbox release that just dropped into our inbox.

"With this newly announced business model, Microsoft will have truly democratised game distribution by enabling XNA Creators Club members to participate in the multibillion-dollar-a-year console gaming industry."

Rigorous P2P reviews

Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business Group Chris Satchell said that the Community Games business model is, "designed to create the best possible experience for both consumers and developers."

Community games will need to be submitted by XNA Creators Club Premium members and have passed a rigorous peer-review system before being uploaded to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace catalogue for sale to consumers, with creators choosing their desired price point - either 200, 400 or 800 Microsoft Points.

The service will roll out in the USA, Canada, UK, France, Italy and Spain later this year along with the recently announced Xbox 360 dashboard revamp, featuring the Mii-like cartoony avatars.

XNA games go viral

A new XNA game store front will also feature alongside the familiar Xbox Live Arcade channel to publicise new and popular homebrewed titles.

Users will also be able to select content from a new-look Xbox.com website pay for it on their PC and queue it for download to their 360.

"The web is a great place to look through lots of content. You can take the URL for that piece of content and send it to your friends," said Boyd Multerer, general manager of XNA, speaking at the Seattle event.

Microsoft hopes that the best XNA games might even become viral phenomena like YouTube videos.