World of Goo developer 2D Boy believes Xbox Live Arcade "peaked" last year (2010) and that "Microsoft is not yet aware of this".

Studio co-founder Ron Carmel surveyed 200 independent game makers, some of which are responsible for significant - but undisclosed - XBLA titles.

He discovered that more developers want to make PSN games now than titles for XBLA. He also found PSN and XBLA seventh and eighth in a list of target platforms for 2011. The most popular was Windows, followed closely by Mac, iOS, Linux, Flash/browser and Android platforms.

Nearly three quarters of the developers surveyed said ease of working with a platform holder was paramount - followed by installed base and platform suitability.

When asked about specific platform holders, the majority deemed Steam, Facebook and Apple "very easy" to work with. Sony's PSN majority, like Google's Android, was "so-so". Most people found WiiWare "difficult", whereas Microsoft's XBLA was "excruciating".

"Given that ease of working with the platform owner was voted the most important factor in choice of platforms, it becomes perfectly clear why XBLA, despite being a very strong channel with a large audience and huge earning potential, is dropping in popularity among these developers," observed Carmel.

"But if things keep going the way they are, and XBLA keeps losing talented developers, I believe the diversity of games available on XBLA will diminish, quality will suffer, and revenue numbers will drop as players start to move away from an unremarkable portfolio of games. We will see a lot more 'genrefication' and big publisher franchises."

Pinball FX developer Zen Studios has jumped to Microsoft's defence after Super Meat Boy maker Team Meat savaged the Xbox 360 manufacturer.

In a podcast published on Gamasutra, Team Meat recounted its difficult experience with Microsoft and doubted it would ever work with the company again.

Zen Studios, however, feels the Microsoft bashing isn't fair, and told Eurogamer not all developers feel the same way about the company.

"They [Team Meat] totally have the right to talk about it," Mel Kirk, Zen Studios Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations told Eurogamer this morning. "It's terrible they had a bad experience like that. Where we're coming from is, when is enough enough? Let it go already.

"There are good things happening there and we're a company willing to stand up and stick by Microsoft. They were a great partner for us. They've done wonderful things with helping us with Pinball FX 2. If we can just get a message out there that we're willing to stick up for them, that's really what I'm trying to do."

A Twitter row of sorts erupted after Kirk sent press an email questioning Team Meat's motivation for speaking out about its experience with Microsoft. Braid developer Jonathan Blow waded in, telling Zen Studios directly: "trying to discredit Team Meat's negative experience is not cool."

Kirk rejected this accusation, however. "I'm really not trying to discredit their experience," he said. "The email left our press box without the 'not for publish' on it. It was meant to get inbound requests to do controlled interviews and control the message. Obviously this turned into something totally different. I'm not trying to discredit it. I'm just trying to put it in perspective. I'm not saying they're lying. I'm not trying to say they're making it up."

Zen Studios' experience with the Microsoft Game Studios' published Pinball FX paints a different picture.

"It's not evidence of a trend," Kirk continued. "I'm at liberty to speak for [Gunstringer developer] Twisted Pixel. They absolutely had the same type of experience as us and have a great working relationship with Microsoft. They would totally second our sentiments and echo what we have to say. There are a bunch of other studios as well. We've maybe broken the ice here. Hopefully there will be others.

"There are a few companies that had a bad time, and then there are a whole bunch of us over here who are having a great time and will continue working with Microsoft."

Kirk concluded: "Game politics are notoriously messy. We're a very negative industry at times towards each other. I don't want to be negative to Team Meat. I don't want to belittle their experience. I just want to simply say, Zen Studios has had a very good experience with Xbox Live Arcade, with our producers, with our team there. We're grateful for that experience. We feel like we owe it to them to stand up and just say, hey, we had a good time with you."

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The boxed PC special edition of acclaimed 2010 indie platformer Super Meat Boy lands on UK shelves on 26th August, courtesy of publisher Lace Mamba Global.

You'll have two separate versions to choose from: the Ultra Edition (RRP: £19.99) or the Ultra Rare Edition (RRP: £24.99).

The Ultra Edition includes the following content:

• 40 page comic/sketch book
• Poster
• Digital soundtrack
• Secret bonus content
• Over 350 levels
• Retro Warp Zones
• 16 unlockable characters
• Play as Alien Hominid
• Full level editor

The Ultra Rare Edition throws in a Super Meat Boy T-shirt as well.

If you're still on the fence regarding Team Meat's fiendish creation, maybe our Super Meat Boy review will encourage you to do the right thing and open your wallet.

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The two-man team behind ruthless indie jumper Super Meat Boy has begun its next title, and it sounds like a far cry from the conventional platforming of its break-out hit.

Team Meat co-founders Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes confirmed to Eurogamer that work is underway on an "ambitious", "fun", "more experimental" project, though were coy on more precise details.

"I think it's safe to say that Meat Boy was a very straightforward game. We didn't really reach outside the box in terms of design," explained McMillen. "I think with the new game we definitely get a bit more experimental with the design.

"I think it's going to be more ambitious design-wise and it's going to be more of a challenge for us. It's a bigger project. It's going to be fun and that's exactly why we're into it. It's going to be pretty fresh."

Earlier this year the pair confirmed they were approved 3DS developers, though it seems like the platform is not currently foremost in its plans.

Though a 3DS port of Super Meat Boy was considered, that's been ditched in favour of the new game. Indeed, they currently don't even have a dev kit for the system.

"We said we're approved as 3DS developers," said McMillen. "We don't have dev kits though – not many people do. At least that's what we heard. Who knows, maybe they're lying to us.

"We've asked about when we could get one and they said there's stock coming, but we probably shouldn't even talk about this.

"We were originally kind of into porting Meat Boy to it, but the game we're working on now is very exciting and it probably won't work on the 3DS. I don't know if it will or not, or if it would be a good idea for it.

"We're going to approach the next game in the same way we did Meat Boy. We're just going to make a game and if it works on whatever system it works on then good, but we're not designing this game with a specific system in mind."

Team Meat isn't quite done with Super Meat Boy though. The pair confirmed a Mac version is still in the works.

"Later, later," replied Refenes when asked when it might be ready for release. "I'm doing my absolute best. It's something that's bugging the s*** out of me, that I want to get finished.

"It's a lot of mental effort getting back into working on a game that I worked on for 18 months straight. The difficulty is not in the work, the difficulty is in the motivation and the desire to open up the code again and work on it when I'd rather work on new stuff. I'm doing it, it's just taking a while."

Team Meat's sublime debut picked up a near perfect 9/10 when it launched on PC and Xbox Live Arcade last year. Take a look at our Super Meat Boy review for more.

Steam users can now nab a level editor for sadistic platformer Super Meat Boy.

The free update allows players to engineer their own versions of the game's death trap levels.

There's also support for adding custom music, titles and more than 20 characters.

A post on Team Meat's blog reveals a final bug-fixing update next week will complete work on the game.

"After that we will be closing the book on the PC version, porting SMB to Mac and swiftly moving on to game #2 (because we can't seem to stay happy without working on something constantly)," Team Meat's Edmund McMillien explained.

McMillien previously told Eurogamer the two-man team's follow up will have nothing to do with their eponymous fleshy hero. "There will be another game but it won't be Meat Boy. It'll be totally new."

Hoping for a reprieve in the future? Bad news. Team Meat's blog post confirms this is the end. Full stop. "It's time to hand the reigns to the SMB community and retire."

"There won't ever be a Super Meat Boy 2."

Eurogamer Editor Tom Bramwell basted the game with a golden 9/10 upon its Xbox Live Arcade release last year.

PC game Super Meat Boy Ultra Edition will launch in the UK as a boxed title between July and September this year.

Brighton publisher Lace Mamba Global is doing the honours.

"Super Meat Boy is an absolute crazy phenomenon on the internet," boss Jason Codd said.

"The game has sold far more than 400,000 copies already online, and there is a special boxed edition available in the US, so we expect there to be a huge demand for a similar retail edition in the territories we're serving."

The US Ultra Edition contains a 40-page booklet including never-before-seen art, behind-the-scenes info and an extended version of Team Meat's comics; the soundtrack and additional audio samples; and a mini-poster.

The rock hard retro platformer launched late last year on PC and Xbox Live Arcade. Eurogamer's Super Meat Boy review jumped onto a 9/10.

Ruthless indie platformer Super Meat Boy gets a thick, juicy slab of new PC content this week, developer Team Meat has announced.

The Super Meat World add-on, which unlocks once you've collected 20 bandages in the game, offers eight new chapters incorporating over 140 new stages.

It's designed as a free level portal via which you'll be able to check out new stages made by Team Meat, guest developers and, soon, other users.

The PC-only level editor which will facilitate that "is currently being rigged to Steam, and will soon be released as a public beta," according to a post on the developer's blog.

"Super Meat World is a work in progress. More features will be added as time passes," the post clarified.

To celebrate the update, the game is currently available from Steam with 50 per cent off the standard asking price.

Super Meat Boy launched late last year on PC and Xbox Live Arcade, scoring a near perfect 9/10 from Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell.