How to get the Platformer starter kit to appear if you install a new edition of VS 2008 after installing XNA Game Studio 3.0

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We recently ran into an issue on the Creators Club forums that I wanted to describe in a bit more detail in case anyone else runs into it in the future.

Description of the issue

If you install one edition of Visual Studio 2008, then install XNA Game Studio 3.0, then install another edition of Visual Studio 2008, the Platformer starter kit will not be available in the New Project dialog in the 2nd edition of Visual Studio 2008.  Repairing XNA Game Studio 3.0 will cause most of the XNA Game Studio 3.0 project templates (such as Windows Game, Xbox 360 Game, Zune Game, etc) to appear in the New Project dialog in the 2nd edition of Visual Studio 2008.  However, repairing XNA Game Studio 3.0 will not cause the Platformer starter kit to appear in the 2nd edition of Visual Studio 2008.

For example, the following scenario will result in the Platformer starter kit appearing in Visual C# Express but not appearing in Visual Studio 2008 Professional:

  1. Install Visual C# 2008 Express Edition
  2. Install XNA Game Studio 3.0
  3. Install Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
  4. Repair XNA Game Studio 3.0

How to work around the issue

If you run into this issue, you will need to use the following steps to work around it:

  1. Go to the folder %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft XNA\XNA Game Studio\v3.0\Setup on your system, right-click on the file named platformer.msi and choose to uninstall it
  2. Go to Add/Remove Programs and choose to repair Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0.

After performing the above steps, you should see the Platformer starter kit available in the Visual Studio new project dialog under the Visual C# | XNA Game Studio 3.0 node for each edition of Visual Studio 2008 that you have installed on your system.