Microsoft wants to do for video games what YouTube has done for video: open it up for do-it-yourselfers.
The first step toward that goal, to be announced Monday, is the release of a free set of game-development tools called XNA Game Studio Express on Aug. 30. Prospective do-it-yourself game developers can download the program (from www.microsoft.com/xna) to their Windows PC and create games for PCs and for Xbox 360 systems