As rumors swirl around and as we get more glimpses into the almost-always-online future of the Xbox One, people are a bit bothered by the possibility that this is simply the way future gaming is going to be.
Unfortunately, that's what happens when Microsoft reveals a so-called "console" and almost completely ignores games. It doesn't inspire confidence that gaming is going to be the focus in our future game industry.
This is where indies step in. Now, that word - indie - is becoming rather blurred. Have you seen Minecraft's sales lately? Have you seen the graphics for The Witness? To me, "indie" simply means "not AAA big-name retail release, and priced accordingly". Indie games are anywhere from $5-$30 and they are meant to provide entertainment at a lower cost of entry than a full-blown $60 retail game.
Last gen, indie developers made splash after splash. We had Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars, Fez, Binding of Isaac, Journey, Braid, Super Meat Boy, and many more games. Not to get off topic, but most of the popular indie games were revivals of old arcade-style games, and that was cool. What happens, however, when indies in the 8th generation of gaming decide to brand out beyond pick-up-and-play arcade experiences and explore other genres? We already saw it with Journey. We already saw it with Telltale's Walking Dead. We're gonna see it again with The Witness. Perhaps even the almighty shooter genre will be co-opted by indie devs. Unlikely, but a man can hope, right?
Anyway, back on topic. Games are getting expensive. Next-gen, they're going to be even more expensive, what with required online, used-game fees, and (of course) more DLC racking up the price of games. Indie games will always be the cheaper alternative, and there is a possibility that next-gen consoles will thrive based on how they treat indies.
Though it may seem completely foreign to us, what if someone bought a PS4 to play indie games? It sounds crazy, right? I mean, who would spend the money just to play a bunch of indie games? Well, people once said that about smartphones and tablets (especially tablets). We were told that people wouldn't care to buy a brand-new tablet just to play $1 apps. Boy oh boy, we were wrong. In the same way, it is impossible to predict where the next "craze" will appear, and being able to grab four $15 indie games for the price of one big AAA retail release is something that more and more people are going to consider, especially with the status of our global economy.
I don't know about you folks, but I will definitely be spending more money on downloadable indie games this year than I'll be spending on brand-new retail releases. That's simply because indie games often offer a more convenient method of playing games (short, quick, quirky, and fun). Nothing against The Last of Us, but I'll instead be dropping my cash on Spelunky HD and Fez when they hit PSN this summer. Will there be other gamers like me in the 8th gen, people who only buy the occasional $60 release but instead spend a lot of money on smaller downloadable titles? That's hard to say, but it appears (based on pieces of tech known as "smartphones") that the gaming market is moving in that direction.
Obviously, big-name, big-budget AAA titles are always going to be an integral part of gaming, but if the Wii-U and Vita have taught us anything, it's that videogame droughts DO exist, even in the magical new world of the 8th gen. It's never a bad thing to be able to ride through those game droughts with some fun, cheap indie games at your disposal.
With Arkane Austin no more and Lyon living for who knows how long, the superb Dishonored is in serious danger; Microsoft cannot be trusted.
I love the Dishonored series so much and really want Dishonored 3. Microsoft better not screw this up.
I mean, I think the fans will probably kill Arkane Lyon by cooking up reasons to hate whatever they do next without playing it. I've never seen a game so artificially disliked as Deathloop.
Lol, why don't we just say, we are worried about all studios owned by MS now. They will keep closing studios until they have none left ...🙄
A renowned industry insider has suggested the rumored PlayStation May 2024 showcase featuring Silent Hill 2 could happen this week.
Bogus!
Why would Sony do that and how would this benefit them?
1) It would piss off their media partners (IGN, Gamespot, Edge, etc.) since they would have to allocate resources fast to cover the event.
2) Risk of not having great coverage or proper coverage from the various source
3) It could give the impression that they are not confident in their own stuff.
4) They would miss the chance to hype the event losing viewers and losing free marketing time.
Again I'm calling it bogus unless it's a small showcase before the big one or because they want to announce that Hellbalde 2 is also coming on PS5.
As far as I can remember, they typically give a week heads up for these sorts of things.
Last year it was a weeks notice.
https://blog.playstation.co...
May 17th announcement for may 24th show.
Nintendo always tweets that a direct is happening tomorrow but no one cares.
Sony gives a week or days of notice and we get anti sony type fake outrage like this.
But good luck trying trying to get some Sony hate going...
You just mention it!
Sony gives a week in advance NOT just a couple of days.
So I fail to see what Sony's hate movement I'm trying to start when it's a basic business strategy to not piss off your partners (ask Sega).
And I doubt it's hate to ask how it would benefit Sony in doing so.
@Versus
Huh? What?
Bro you really should relax, if what you read was some kinda negative against Sony.... seriously, is that what you got from the comments?
Bro, he was debunking the rumor, and gave perfectly good reasons why it would be unlikely, and your Nintendo Direct comparison is different, as this is supposed to be a BIG Sony showcase, not a surprise 20 min direct, and Sony 's pattern has been one week.
Slow down warmonger.
@thesoftware730
"1) It would piss off their media partners (IGN, Gamespot, Edge, etc.) since they would have to allocate resources fast to cover the event."
That is implying Sony is preventing them from doing their job properly therefore negatively affecting their business...but i guess that's a reach in your mind?
And it's not like they need that many resources to cover the stream. They just need 3 people to react to the stream live and make some easy articles made up mostly of summaries of Sony provided press releases. They would have enough time to "prepare" if it was announced with one days notice.
Before I get tons of replies for Sony given a week in advance, my initial comments are related to the notion that the Show could happen this week as the title mentions.
Now to be fair the complete article mentions that Jeff said the Show could happen later in May giving time for Sony to give the normal 7-day notice.
Again not trying to start a negative thing here just thinking that it's bogus that Sony will have a show this week
Here is a look at the new Joker Trailer. Warner Bros. Games today released a new MultiVersus trailer revealing the first look at gameplay for The Joker, who will join the roster as a playable character when the upcoming free-to-play platform fighter videogame launches on May 28th.
My Vita is packed with Indie games from PS Mobile.
Infact, I recently bought and reviewed the fantastic PASSING TIME. If you're interested I suggest you watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Basically, it's a football game played by touch controls only, it really is quite amazing!
I've been playing lots of PS1 and PSM games on my Vita recently.
As someone who has championed indie games for years, I always loved Microsoft’s support for solo/small dev teams through its XBLA marketplace.
However, and I don’t know if anyone can confirm/deny this, I’ve been hearing that they’re pulling the plug on this initiative, thereby making it harder for indies to self publish.
I will finally get my Xperia Tablet Z next week and that is gonna be my center for mini-games and indie-games :) I do believe indie games are very important for next gen. Can't wait to try out The Witness.
Yes the witness is a game I want to try along with some delicious survival horror games like amnesia a machine for pigs, among the sleep, asylum , etc. Don't forget distance is an arcade racing game with track editor also available for Linux. Independent game developers have proven to bring quality innovative titles at reasonable prices.
Like the blog and what are your favorite indie games. Ummm how is traveler tales an indie game developer?