Nobody can rival Microsoft and Xbox for downloadable games, says Castle Crashers dev

Console indie community "would not exist" without XBLA

[Godchild1020]

I think Flow, Flower and journey can put up a fight. Probably not sales wise but enjoyment and gameplay. Pushmo on the 3DS is a great one as well.

@Dirty, I'm sure Journey sold fairly well and made a profit for them. What makes you think they won't just developer for all platforms or what makes you think they will move to solely to XBLA? What if their 3 game contract ended with Sony and now have the money to build on more platforms.

[DiRtY]

And the lacking sales are the reason the developer did not renew the contract. They will develop for XBLA from now on.

[moegooner88]

What lacking sales, Journey broke PSN sales records and became best selling PSN game of all time, TGC just want to share their material with more audience.

[GribbleGrunger]

Yeah, someone offered to buy me a Ferrari for Christmas but one look at the sales put me off taking the offer.

[Ducky]

^ Ferrari have lower sales because their cars have a drastically higher price than 'common' cars.

XBL/PSN games are priced in the same range, so your analogy doesn't work.

That being said, I don't think TGC went multi because they had disappointing sales and I'm glad that more people will get to experience their future titles.

[MikeMyers]

The production of Ferrari cars is limited and often sold out. How does a service selling the same games and for the same price relevant to your analogy of high-performance cars?

This isn't Honda sales versus Ferrari sales. It's a console service competing with another console service that both sell Indie games.

[ABizzel1]

I disagree, PSN has some great titles just like XBL. But what I will say is MS does a much better job at marketing and advertising them on the Dashboard and since Sony only has the XMB they can't offer the same advertisement unless you go to the PS Store and hopefully notice the ad that goes by.

Another bonus MS has is it was more accepting of Indie Devs. while the other consoles remained closed. But with PSMobile and the new PlayStation Store (better at marketing games) Sony should be able to remedy that.

As far as Castle Crashers on PS3 it was at a disadvantage because it was already on 360 for what 2 years before it came to PSN, so it was going to have a hard time selling on PSN.

His statement reigns true for now, but it seems Sony at least are trying to be more open as well. What would be great is if mods are allowed on the next consoles as long as they go through the developer's approval (UT3 allowed mods on PS3 so do it more often). Mods would be easier than ever if the rumors of SOny and MS using off the shelf parts are true. Not to mention Skyrim would actually work on PS3 by now.

[nukeitall]

@ABizzel1:

Say what you want, but whatever vodoo magic MS does, it has certainly helped indie devs.

Before MS and until today, there is still no other console manufacturer that allows indies to create games with superb development tools, sell them on the market without a publishing contract and at less than a $100 cost.

MS deserves credit for that!

In regards to PS Mobile, it is just a closed platform on an essentially open smart phone platform.

"Sony at least are trying to be more open as well."

It's kind of odd, since Sony was very open with their PS3 hardware this generation (while the PS Vita was and is pretty closed), yet their dev kits cost $10k and indie devs have no access.

Sony definitely deserves credit for that, but I doubt Sony will continue to pursue that course next generation as seen by the PS Vita memory cards.

[BitbyDeath]

@DiRtY, Journey didn't lack sales, it was the fastest selling title ever on US PSN.

http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

[MmaFan-Qc]

this "article" is coming directly from the "Official Xbox Mag", so we can pretty much assume that its totally objective and non-biased......

its kinda like when reggie told us that COD look and is WAY better on the wii u....

yep...

[fermcr]

If you take out the PC, the X360 does have the best downloadable games from all consoles.

[CalvinKlein]

shadow complex is not on PC and it IS the best DL game made this generation, FACT.

[HammadTheBeast]

I disagree completely.

[DigitalRaptor]

That's a cool sentiment, but they're still playable on my PC with bells and whistles.

@ CalvinKlien

Shadow Complex? Games like Braid, Outland, Bastion and Dead Nation are just as good if not better, FACT. ;)

[spicelicka]

The article is referring to xbox live as a whole, not specific xbla games that are better than others, those games are great but they wouldn't be developed without xbla setting a comfort for success.

I think the devs are talking about what xbla did for the community as a whole. Plus there's the indie games community which no other console really has.

[SilentNegotiator]

A certain service starting with an "S" and ending in a "team" absolutely does. Which in fact has Castle Crashers.

And they do it without dictatorial restrictions or timed exclusivity payoffs.

[morkendo23]

from YAHOO NEWS the xbox 360 was never going to make up the slack , and microsoft can no longer aford to keep investing in it. kinect is great technology but, for a company like microsoft, xbox not enough. so, nice as xbox is it's not going to be enough to boost sales ........ xbox 720 will be DELAYED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! from what is announced on YAHOO NEWS !

[ThatsGaming]

XBLA has brought more retro arcade games (with achievements) to XBLA through Game Room and single downloads than the other consoles.

Meanwhile, XBLA had Zen Pinball, Braid, Puzzle Quest, Castle Crashers, Outland, Portal Still Alive, Monkey Island, etc. as timed exclusives before they went to other platforms.

And they still have Trials Evolution, Minecraft, Trials HD, Limbo, Mark of the Ninja, Super Meat Boy, Geometry Wars, Geometry Wars 2, Rez HD, Shadow Complex, Ikaruga, Spelunky, N Plus, Comic Jumper, Bastion, Splosion Man, and Ms Splosion Man as highly rated exclusive home console downloadable games.

All consoles have quite a large selection of exclusive and non-exclusive downloadable games. XBLA has the most comprehensive selection of quality downloadable titles.

I will admit that Flower and Journey are probably two of the most unique, quality, downloadable titles on any console. And Sony has games like Fat Princess, Stardust, and Wipeout are good quality as well. But XBLA, has the strongest overall lineup.

[Godchild1020]

Limbo is on PSN. It's one of the free titles for European PlayStation Plus users. And a few are on PC.

The Xbox does have quite a good amount of titles that are only, on that platform.

[GribbleGrunger]

There is no doubt that MS and LIVE have contributed to the Indie scene in a major way, but when I consider games like Journey, Flow, Flower, Unfinished Swan, the Pixel Junk series and many other titles, I can't help but feel that it's actually Sony that are pushing the Indie scene now.

[spicelicka]

but that's due to the developers being amazing, Sony just happens to have those great studios. Of course Sony is helping them, but only now that the scene has been established.

[HammadTheBeast]

I can say the exact same about Microsoft. Then again, PSN has the upcoming Dust 514 which wipes the XBL market off the floor, and is also free.

[spicelicka]

@HammadTheOne
You said nothing but fanboy b.s.
I made a comment about xbla because i feel it did some innovative things, and came out a whole year before PSN and Nintendo's VC. I didn't mention any specific games, nor did i say it's soo much better than PSN.

I don't know what stroked your insecurity to bring up Dust 514...and compare it to the whole XBL marketplace-_-

[Shepherd 214]

Spicelicka was only commenting on how XBLA established the awareness of console downloadable games and Hammad somehow felt the need to be defensive and try to one-up Xbox as a whole...

[Knight_Crawler]

Go home Gribble Ginger you are drunk again.

[baodeus]

@gribblegrunger

here is why Sony aren't helping indie developers to get their foot into the consumer doors. Sony doesn't implement a demand that all indie game have some sort of demo/information/etc...therefo re some do post something, and many just don't even bother. Some just have pictures or just a short description; I jumped for joy when I recently start seeing some videos for god sake. How the hell does Sony expect consumers to buy anything if they don't have a clue of what it is (even if it is GOTY potential like journey)?

On the xlive, they have an entire section dedicated to just indie games. Furthermore, when you, as a consumer, click on any indie game (or any other game for that matter), it gives you all the information, demo (available for every games), pictures, related contents (if any), sale notice, advertisment, etc.......that is how you expose the game to consumer by giving them enough information to make a purchase decision. MS also release XNA for people to create games for free, but they do have to pay $100/year (pretty cheap for indie developer) for admission to the XNA creators club.

[Zha1tan]

lol ok...

[BanBrother]

I actually agree with the author. The downloadable part has always been in Xbox's favour IMO, too bad not so much in the retail part.

This year Sony has fought back very hard though; Journey, Dyad, Papo and Yo to name a few.

[Zha1tan]

The console indie market is really not that big. Xbox may have a big share of it but PC is where the indie market really comes through.

[BanBrother]

I agree. I was talking about XBLA. I don't even have the indie games in my country lol.

[Jinkies]

Yeah but recently MS are restricitng Indie Devs and are not giving them a lot of freedom. Since Kinect launched they seem to care less and less about the indie community. I think Sony can put up a fight with there indie games.

If you were an indie dev would you rather work on a game for a money hungry company who will restrict what you do or a company who will give you the freedom.

[NeverEnding1989]

SONY is just as money hungry as Microsoft. Actually, considering SONY's financial difficulties, they are more money hungry. It's called capitalism. SONY's #1 priority is shareholders.

Looking at some of the top rated PSN games: Braid, Castle Crashers, Super Stardust HD, it's evident of the effect of XBLA. These games were either made for Xbox 360 originally or direct copies of XBLA games.

God article. M$ deserves the credit for bringing indie games to the forefront this gen.

[Jinkies]

If Sony were so money hungry like MS then they would of caved into the casual audience especialy under the finacial situation they are in but they havent.

[SDF Repellent]

@JinkieS, Xbox live does have the best games and developers are not restricted. Please play with a x360 for once and go look at the selections of Xbox Live Arcade games to see for youeself. Indies company will go make games that can can make them the most money and Xbox Live is the place. It is strictly business 101.

[Sephiroushin]

Castle Crasher dev John Baez and obviously Itagaki are always biased anyways ...

Oh, and Dead Nation says Hi!

[ziggurcat]

flower, flow, journey, sound shapes, the about a blob games, the pixeljunk games, critter crunch, and the countless other indie games exclusive to PS3 say, "hi!"

[JellyJelly]

Ok...

Trials HD
Trials Evolution
Bastion
Mark of the Ninja
Castle Crashers
Shadow Complex
Dust: An Elysian Tail™
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Zombie Driver HD
Deadlight
Spelunky
Fez
SINE MORA™
Assault Heroes 2
Dungeon Defenders
GUARDIAN HEROES (TM)
Crimson Alliance™
Radiant Silvergun
Rock of Ages
Toy Soldiers: Cold War
Fruit Ninja Kinect
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Ms. Splosion Man™
Torchlight
DEAD RISING 2: CASE WEST
ilomilo
Super Meat Boy
The Dishwasher: VS
Comic Jumper
Monday Night Combat
Hydro Thunder
Zeno Clash UE
Perfect Dark
PB Winterbottom
Defense Grid
Banjo-Tooie
Banjo Kazooie
The Maw
Ikaruga
N+
Rez HD
Alien Hominid HD

...say goodnight.

[indubitably]

Don't forget about:
The Geometry wars games
Murder Miners
Happy Wars
Hybrid
The Doritos games (lol)
Breach
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1

[DEATHSTROKE-cro-]

Castle Crashers is on PS3 XD
LOL Banjo is shit.
Fruit Ninja Kinect. are you serious ?!
half of those games is shit

[portal_2]

Nice try but:

Castle Crashers
Zombie Driver HD
SINE MORA™
Dungeon Defenders
Rock of Ages
^^^^
ON/Coming to PSN...
Almost as bad as Reggie ;)

[blackstrr411]

Mark of the ninja

[IronFistChinMi]

Have to agree. I checked out the "My games" section on my 360 the other day and had 65 titles downloaded from XBLA alone (excluding full blown 360 titles).

[yesmynameissumo]

Have to disagree. I have 45 PSN games (excluding PS+ and full PS3 games). That has nothing to do with Microsoft or XBLA.

[SOULJER]

WOW. This dude be smoking that new and improved CRACK. LOL.

[Chrono]

Steam is still better for indie developers.

[FordGTGuy]

Actually not as much as it used to be but Steam's new greenlight voting system is now forcing indie developers to compete with larger developers. On top of that unlike the larger developers who only have to get a game through once the indie developers have to do it for every game on Steam.

Sent from Galaxy Tab 2

[Shadonic]

cant wait for state of decay from MS

[IronFistChinMi]

Yeah, that game sounds awesome. Probably top of my XBLA list for next year.

[yesmynameissumo]

Their growth is a result of XBLA. That, in no way, means no one can rival MS. PSN (on the console side, Wii U eShop doesn't have enough releases to compare) has some stellar exclusive games and, well, the same games as XBLA. Bastion, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Mark of the Ninja, Minecraft, Trials and Deadlight are examples of quality exclusive XBLA games, but they aren't the end all be all. Everyone has an ecosystem that has something for everyone.

[Blankman85]

Hmmmmmm, who am I going to listen to? An N4G SONY Champion, or an actual indie developer. Tough choice.
Also, why are people bringing up Steam when the man was clearly quoted saying "I think without a doubt the indie CONSOLE community would not exist as it does today. . ."
What is PSN's equivalent of XBLIG?

[yesmynameissumo]

You know I give a shit who you listen to, right? PSN doesn't need an indie channel when the amount of indie games keeps increasing. Just sayin.

[Christopher]

PS Minis....

[TitanUp]

steam was better is better and will always be better. paying to play online is crappy

[from the beach]

I can agree with that, it seems MS was the first to actually not care whether its important games launch via a download or on a disk.

[XboxInnovation]

It's because Americans buy games and Xbox is dominated by Americans.

Ps3 is a Euro console and Europeans only play fifa and cod

[The_Klank]

wow... I reckon u just pissed off two thirds of the world with that one comment.

[Ben_Grimm]

I agree with this article, hands down XBLA is the brightest spot when it comes to downloadable games. Especially compared to its first couple of years when all it had to offer was retro gaming downloads.

Games like Mark of the Ninja, Toy Soldiers, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Bastion and of course the excellent Ms. Splosion Man.

Those and the many, many indie titles is what makes XBLA a true winner.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Yep, and future titles like Loco Cycle, Matter and State Of Decay should be great.

Not to mention the F2P game Ascend 2 Gods. I really can't until MS starts releasing AAA F2P games in the near future. XBLA would be THAT much better.

[deletingthis34675334]

If I was a developer I would just use Steam. Screw MS. PC > console for indie games.

[rainslacker]

If you were a developer you would want to get your game out to as many people as possible. Console wars and fanboy bickering has nothing to do with business. There are pros and cons to all distribution methods.

[Chrono]

Zeboyd released their XBLA games on Steam, and made more revenue in less than a week on Steam than they have in over a year and a half on the XBox Live Indie Games service.

http://zeboyd.com/2011/07/1...

[DomceM]

"Nobody can rival Microsoft and Xbox for downloadable games"

I agree completely. Minor correction though... Need to replace "Microsoft and Xbox" With "Valve and Steam". I know im nitpicking but may as well be on point.

[FordGTGuy]

Actually I'd like to see indie sales between both Xbox 360 and Steam. Steam sells a lot of full games but not as much Indie games.

[Norrison]

Steam got 95% of all the indie games, it got hundreds of indie games, and with the greenlight system any indie game that the community likes can join the enourmous steam's library

[FordGTGuy]

Greenlight doesn't allow any Indie title to enter Steam it just lets the community choose which sounds like a good thing till a bunch of great not really known Indie games get no votes and don't make it.

[DomceM]

the fact that 8 people pressed "disagree" under my post doesnt change the fact that steam has more indie games. Go and look for yourself if you don't believe me.

Perpetuating lies and misconceptions to make your console look better makes you weak.

[isarai]

Steam?

[SprigganN4G]

Buy all consoles and play all, THANK GOD we have competition between three brands and the PC (and Mobile Android/IOS/WPhone), that only benefit us, the gamers.

Stop wearing any company's shirt

[josephayal]

nothing can beat Minecraft

[Omnislash]

Journey, a downloadable title gets nominated for game of the year and these castle crasher devs think nobody can rival?

lol nope.

[BitbyDeath]

Warhawk is my favourite downloadable title this gen.

[TekoIie]

.....

[Belking]

Xbox live has no equal. It is the best. Psn has some good games but not near as many as XB Live. This will most likely continue on into next gen. Sorry, but it's the truth.

[asmith2306]

Sorry, but explain your reasoning please...

[Belking]

I just did. It's a superior service. It goes like this.

PSN= best price
XBL= best service.

[paybackprahl]

Journey says otherwise.

[Skate-AK]

Castle Crashers is awesome. I'm happy it came to PS3 cause I had never played it until then.

[Moncole]

The Wii U will attract the indie deva because it will be free for them to patch their games unlike PSN and XBL that you need to pay 40k and the devs pick the price and they don't need a publisher. involved.