Sony on Why Indie is So Important to PlayStation

PlayStationing writes: "Journey is perhaps one of the most famous and successful examples of indie games in recent memory, being a critically acclaimed darling and winning several Game of The Year awards, despite many believing that a download-only game would never win such an award. Sony’s senior business development manager Shahid Ahmad has been leading the charge to bring more indie titles to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita for a few years now, and it’s definitely working."

[Hellsvacancy]

I LOVE indie games, don't care what other people think (unless they agree) i've enjoyed so many this gen, I recently finished Brothers, it's a superb game i'm really glad I got to play it (thanks PS+) it's such a charming game

The problem is some people have trouble having an imagination, their brains are locked off to new experiences

[gaffyh]

True, a lot of people can't imagine liking a game without guns.

[miyamoto]

The PS4 is the most powerful console today and with great power comes great responsibility. Responsibility to all game developers big and small. To get the balance right. Indie games are the saviours of the game industry last generation from the publisher's obsession with blown out budgeted "AAA" games.

[Gamer666]

I don't think that is the problem with Indies. Brothers is a perfect example of a good indie game.

I have a few issues with the way indies are on consoles.

First, most of the indie games we have seen so far on consoles are ports from the PC world. So playing the game again on a different platform is not that great. Especially, with Indie games that typically don't have the same re-playability over and over again as full scale games.

Second, I like Indie creativity, but the reality is that many of the games are just a bunch of shovelware or game concepts more than full games.

Third, why should gamers spend $400 on a new console when the ultimate indie experience is on PC. If you like indies so much there are 1000's of indie games already on PC. If you really like indies, consoles are not the place you should be. On consoles you are only getting a small selection of indie games, on the PC you can witness the full creativity.

[Hellsvacancy]

I didn't buy a PS3 to play Indies, I bought a PS3 to play games, it doesn't bother me if I play full retail games or smaller graphically inferior games as

I'll play/watch/read/listen to anything if it's good

Edit: And I do play/buy indie games for the PC, they're the only type games my laptop will run

[uth11]

What difference does it make what platform people play indie games on? I play indie games on my PS4 and Wii, I rarely play games on my PC. I could, but it's not my preference.

[user5669510]

@Gamer666
indie games are only good if they are on consoles. if it a indie game thats pc exclusive the game is irrelevant.

;-)

[incredibleMULK]

Indystation lately. Indies blow! Just kidding. Some are good. Reso gun is good,limbo. It justifies plus and it would justify gold if they had some. I prefer AAA games. Indy quality is coming up though. price is good too

[Jughead3416]

Little Big Planet started as an indie title. They became one of sony's biggest and important franchises. Most indie games may not impress, but there are some that every once in a while become big hits.

[lelo]

The problem is that 99% (being generous) of indies are crap or shovelware.

[MysticStrummer]

That's true of bigger games also, and books, and movies, and TV shows, and paintings, and sculpture, and music, etc

[Spotie]

Just like 99% of all other games.

Why single out indies? Is it because they've found a home on a console you don't want to like?

Go into any game store and look at all the crap shovelware that populates the walls. AAA games, large budgets, and they suck. They constitute 99% of non-indies, too.

[lelo]

@Spotie

Stop being a fanboy and grow up.
I have the PC to play the most and best indies I'm interested. I didn't buy my PS4 to play indies.

@Spotie and @MysticStrummer

As for 99% of AAA games suck, you guys must be playing the wrong kind of AAA games. Are you telling me that only one big budget game out of a 100 is good? Let's see... there's probably 30 (guessing) AAA games released a year, so according to you guys, there is only one good big budget game released every 3 years ! :O

[DigitalRaptor]

If you didn't buy a PS4 for indies then that sucks for you cause there's going to be a lot of them. There's also going to be a lot of AAA games, MMOs, free-to-plays etc, but you don't have to get mad because you're seeing a lot more creativity in the downloadable space.

In fact, when i think about it, it's pretty selfish for you to criticise games you haven't or never will play, cause you haven't played 99% of indies. It's pretty selfish to deny small developers business on consoles where gamers might not have played these games before.

In fact, if Sony hadn't been so on top of the indie scene, we wouldn't have had 2012 GOTY winner Journey, The Unfinished Swan, and we wouldn't be getting games like Rime, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, SOMA, Helldivers, Secret Ponchos or Octodad on PS4. The next Thatgamecompany game will be stronger for having been supported by Sony, and so will Giant Sparrow's next project. So will DrinkBox's next game. etc etc etc.

And yes.... the ratio of good indie games to bad indie games, is not far from the same as good AAA games to bad AAA games - and you'd be stupid to believe that isn't the case. A larger budget doesn't make a better game. You HAVEN'T played most indie games, just like you haven't played most AAA games, so don't bring the crap that indie are worse by default.

You are the prime example of a closed-minded gamer who prefers developers only focus on big budget rehashed sequels, when what most level-headed gamers want is diversity, creativity and fun. You can get all of those from both, but indies offer that far more because if low overheads required for risk-taking in that space.

[MysticStrummer]

I'm glad indies are important to them. Some current AAA devs got their start that way, so Sony is supporting the future of AAA as well. Anyone who's honest and has paid attention for the last three generations knows Sony will bring the games, big and small.

[Exies7]

I used to play a lot of point and click games, and while the title 'indie' couldn't be given to sierra studios, my point being simply, I grew up on games without guns or violence, and purely led by your imagination. Because the graphics were worse than most indie games.

With that being said, I don't think every person who thinks Sony should focus on a few more triple A titles, is a person who lacks imagination. I think a lot of people are just frustrated with Sony's game plan for 2014. Their indie selection is nice, but by no means a reason to own a console.

I really just wish they'd focus on bringing out more triple A exclusives, because providing us with a plethora of indies isn't something that makes the lack of decent exclusives, as a problem, go away.

[MasterCornholio]

Talking about point and click games, the first one that I've played on consoles was Machinarium and that game is amazing. Much better than many AAA titles that I've played.

[Chevalier]

It's been 6 months some people in this now generation expect things instantly, the games are coming. If you think otherwise just look at last 3 years and how many games PS3 has exclusive, whereas 360 floundered away their start. There is Drive Club, The Order 1886 and Uncharted to name a few.

The indies have been good as well and with games like Child of Light, Don't Starve, Outlast and stuff like Transistor how are people not excited to just play games? Does not having AAA budgets change how great a game is?

[Exies7]

Chevalier,

It's not necessarily that an indie budget makes the experience less for me. I'll probably play transistor and child of light at some point.

It's that my biggest focus when it comes to why I play a game, is always the story. It always is and games like super time force don't provide me with that experience. It's not about the budget, it's that triple A games are more likely to have a story.

And while I don't belong to the "now generation", it's more or less to do with how much hype there was with this generation. Massive hype, and for me, the ps4 hasn't come close to matching that hype or even touching it standing on their toes.

XB1 has released a few blockbuster feature exclusive games. We got Infamous. Awesome. Infamous was our baby. Apparently we all bought a ps4 at launch because of Infamous. *shrug* Just an opinion, man. Not arguing to be self righteous or me-centric, but I do expect more with a launch like we just saw. I do.

[3-4-5]

Indie games need to step up though.

* They've had their chance to be...well...indie, but they need to start doing something with that.

* There are a lot of good looking indie games, but there are WAY TOO MANY generic BS games that only 20,000 people want to play.

[XiSasukeUchiha]

Sony truly loves indies because they are the filler for AAA and AA for what we are waiting for months on end and Sony knows this!

[SuperBlunt]

Its true lol

[DualWielding]

Indies are o.k but consoles need triple A (because the PC will always be the best platform for indies and unlike triple A titles, you don't really need a high end pc to play indies, so consoles have literally 0 advantages over pcs when it comes to indies)

[gaffyh]

I think it depends on the developer tbh, like ThatGameCompany or Q-Games. I'd take their games happily, because they are almost AAA level.

[CBaoth]

no offense but I find your logic flawed. PC will always be the best platform for ANY multiplatform game. Whatever your reason; modding, forward compatibility, or cheaper pricing, PC versions will always trump their console counterparts.

Indie games are the one exception where visual discrepancies & performance are muted. Don't Starve on the PS4, for example, performs almost identical to its PC counterpart at 1080p. Sure, in games like Minecraft we might get smaller sandboxes but essentially it's the same end experience. I get disappointed with this disparaging dogma by console-only gamers who consistently denegrate indie budgeted games.

I'm not lumping you in this mindset poet, I'm just making a blanket statement. I can't grasp this concept of alienating oneself from games because they don't have 100 million dollar budgets and marketing campaigns. Especially games where all the creativity left in the industry originate from.

[DualWielding]

I'm not attacking indies, I'm just saying one of the main reasons people choose consoles over pc is that they don't want to bother about system specs, having to update their pc frequently to keep up, hate that games have performance issues on older pcs....

but those are issues that only apply to triple A games, you don't need a high end video card to run them, a 5 year old laptop can run most indie games......

[CBaoth]

agreed amigo, the plug N play nature of consoles has always been a primary reason for owning them over a PC rig. But it has absolutely no bearing on why some console gamers have grown to resent indie titles. I would even argue that the indie scene is just as largely responsible for the resurgence in PC gaming as the elongated duration of the 7th console generation was.

[uth11]

@fertepoet - Bingo!
I used to game on my PC, but I got tired of that crap. I have better things to do with my time and money than upgrade perfectly good hardware every six months, and pull my hair out over driver issues.

Consoles just work for the most part.

[user5669510]

CBaoth
dont bother they are going to make excuse and bs everytime you state facts. even dont starve is different with the mods on pc. it have coop but people are waiting for the devs to release it. when that happens we will have both. they will constantly use any ammo against pc gaming every chance they get. they downplay it when its not on their console than hype it up once its ported. if h1n1 devs stated its exclusive ps fanboys would be singing a different tune.

@ferthepoet
once in a blue moon do you run into problem on pc. they wait for updates and download updates on they consoles but some how use it as ammo against pc gaming the dumbest thing ever. i cant even use my ps3 when its installing updates. i can with my pc. all my updates on my pc is done automatic. on my ps3 i have to launch each game to update them then another wait.

people try to state that games has performance issues on older pcs but completely ignore that you have to buy a new console for those same games. what happening now if someone want to play infamous i have to buy a ps4 their is no BC so stop using this as an excuse. you cant even say your ps4 have performance issues playing games from one year ago let alone 5 years ago. they give you no choice.

i find it funny people use dumb excuse and deny the obvious pros oc pc while ignoring the cons of consoles.

@uth11
see this is what pc gamers hate the constant disinformation from console fanboys. i updated my pc last year, before that it was four years so 2009. TRY HARDER

[incendy35]

My favorite PS4 game by far is Resogun, at least as far as exclusives go. And Journey was probably my favorite game on PS3 last gen. And my favorite game overall this gen is Super Time Force. The indie scene is killing it!

[DragonKnight]

I have nothing against indie games, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Sony is going after them so much so they can bolster the PS4's offerings and put out less AAA content, or at least have something in between long years of development.

That's just a feeling I've had ever since this huge indie push started.

[guyman]

Put out less AAA content?

Nope

[DragonKnight]

I know Sony's history, but history doesn't mean that the Future is written in stone.

[Software_Lover]

There has only been one new game, Knack. I still need to play that. I got bored of Killzone. Infamous I didn't like. Multiplats and Resogun have been holding the fort down for me.

That might change this holiday though because I will be getting an XBone.

[MysticStrummer]

"I have a sneaking suspicion that Sony is going after them so much so they can bolster the PS4's offerings and put out less AAA content"

Sony knows what brought them from gaming upstart to major player in the industry. I can't believe they'd abandon that, especially the way they've been restructuring their business.

[Inception]

"I have nothing against indie games, but i have a sneaking suspicion that Sony is going after them so much so they can buying some of them as Sony 1st party and raise them into AAA level, just like they did with Naughty Dog, Media Molecule, Sucker Punch, and Guerilla Games. Or at least, Sony will make them as 2nd party like Housemarque, Quantic Dream, Insomniac, or Ready at Dawn."

Fixed for you dragonknight :)

[DragonKnight]

That's unlikely. Sony doesn't have the money to buy up so many indie devs. I can see 2nd party though. That would likely be mutually beneficial. They get all the benefits of being first party, but can reassert their independence after the contract is up.

[Inception]

I didn't say sony will buy a lot of indie devs, i said SOME, like maybe two or three devs. Don't forget, Sony had new project like Morpheus. I'm sure they need more devs who had fresh ideas for the project and one way to search those talented man are by scouting indies devs.

Also, don't underestimate Sony. Yes their financial not doing so good this recent years. But the fact they can bought Naughty Dog, Media Molecule, Evolution Studios, Guerilla Games, Sucker Punch, and even Gaikai when their financial isn't good shows that there still a lot we didn't know about Sony.

[Chevalier]

Wow pretty baseless considering their track record, just look at how the PS3 is still churning out exclusives whereas 360 which apparently MS is continuing 'support' has had nothing for 3 years. Until otherwise proven your basis is a gutt feeling?! Has no bearing on reality or fact. Which is Sony is still destroying competition in games, period.

[DragonKnight]

I want you to point out anywhere in my comment that I said this was definitely going to happen, that it is a fact, and that everyone is wrong.

I'll wait.

Also...

"I know Sony's history, but history doesn't mean that the Future is written in stone."

[Chevalier]

Your feelings don't change facts which are Sony systems have released a regular stream of quality games. Your guessing they will release less AAA games even though while MS was scaling back all 360 games and making them into Xbone games Sony still released and still are releasing GOTY's.

Really good games takes Years to develop?! Your surprised games can take years to develop?!

Sorry your comment is idiotic. We're 6 months in not years into this cycle and you seem shocked it's not raining games?! A good game has nothing to do with budget.

[DragonKnight]

Ok, I'm convinced you either don't understand English well or are just stupid.

Not only are you putting words into my post "Really good games takes Years to develop?! Your surprised games can take years to develop?!"

You're also reaching/reading into things that aren't there.

So forgive me if I am completely dismissive of your comment, as it is ridiculous and you're the only person who hasn't been able to address it properly. Everyone else was able to take the comment for what it was. You just felt like going on a Sony Defense rant when there was no attack to begin with. People like you make legitimate fans look bad.

[Chevalier]

You say Sony is bolstering PS4, to put out less AAA content except they've been putting out the best and most AAA content of the 3. Your reasoning is simply that there's so much indies? It is far too early to make those assumptions based on only 6 months, it's not even been a year.

Having a variety of content is never a bad thing. The idea that Sony is pushing indies to put out less AAA is absurd. If we were talking about the 360 you'd be right as they've had almost no exclusives the last 3 years and indies were mostly what they had offered. Sony has been more focused with variety and a mix of AAA content and truly excellent indies like Journey on PSN alongside AAA releases.

[DragonKnight]

Allow me to be emphatic since you don't get it.

THERE IS NO ATTACK BEING MADE AGAINST SONY!

Calm your panties.

I said I had a suspicion and you're the ONLY ONE who thinks I made an insider statement of absolute fact that you have to pounce on. You don't know what the Future is going to be like so you don't know what kind of sustainability there's going to be in terms of AAA offerings yet you're acting like you have 100% certainty about what's going on and what will go on.

Unlike you, I was voicing a suspicion. And I repeat, NOT attacking Sony.

You seriously make legitimate fans look bad. You're foaming at the mouth and ravenous just looking for someone to say something even remotely negative about the PS4 so you can just jump on it. It's pretty sad.

[LightDiego]

They should create an indie racing game and call it Formula Indie.

[qzp]

in the last 3 years i've played better indie games than AAA

[sanosukegtr123]

Good for us

[SG1_dapunisherX]

sony is doing better job then Ms, because indies games come faster then aaa games so i have to agree with sony there. If only ms can stop being greedy.. by now ms can have the same exciting games that ps fan are enjoying right now

[Exies7]

The difference being, you can play an indie game for a week, tops (most of the time). Triple A games provide a much longer experience.

Even though I spend most of my gaming time playing FFARR on ps4, MS's lineup is still superior imo and I haven't found a title yet that I couldn't play on PC or XB, to make the experience of the PS4 worth its price.

[incendy35]

True, plus games like Max: Curse of Brotherhood, Spartan Assualt, LocoCycle, Powerstar Golf and Peggle 2 while not actually Indie games are priced in the same range and in some cases really great quality. Not to mention Super Time Force might be the greatest bullet hell game ever created : )

[Ryan741]

"On why why so important" because we have ran out of money to make games ourselfs. That's the line you won't here from Sony but probably closer to fact than fiction.

[uth11]

Indies are important because that's where the innovation is. The AAA games spend too much money to take chances with, so they stick to the tried and true.

you need both.

[goldwyncq]

It's not as black and white as you think. Not all indies are innovative, some are merely imitations of other successful indie games. How many indie platformers with a twist did we have ever since Braid's success? A lot. Then on the other hand we have games like Little Big Planet and Heavy Rain which are proof that not all AAA games follow the same formula over and over again.

[sic_chops]

Some indie developers end up growing and putting out AAA games. They have to start somewhere. They need a chance too.

[breakpad]

THis is one of the upcoming biggest mistakes ..Sony MUST not emphasize on indies but on exclusives normal production games (from AAA to whatever quality) ...nobody will buy a PS4 or Xbon for indies they are not tablets for people who dont play games..they are consoles and need some hardcore games

[eferreira]

I don't see outlast, resogun and super time force on tablets and they're great games. Sony owns many studios. Every platform they release has a ton of exclusives. Relax, AAA will come and while waiting enjoy the indie games.

[Nocando]

Let's be honest Sony, it's because your broke.

[MegaRay]

That was harsh lol

[Zero-One]

You know absolutely nothing do you?

[DigitalRaptor]

Nope, troll.

A company with a now $20.2 billion market value, $151 billion in assets alone and lucrative entertainment divisions, is not "broke".

You could assess the fact that Capcom only has $152 million in the bank, and yet even they still aren't "broke".

It's pretty simple, PlayStation is a gaming company. They care about gaming, gamers and developers... of all kinds. They know their heritage that games like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro came from independent developers. They nurtured independent development houses for years on projects that established them as household names.

This is just business as usual for Sony. But again, we know that it's also a business strategy. So indies are also there, not only to showcase Sony's penchant for scouting talented individuals and incubating their development cycles, but having a diverse lineup of smaller games to fill the gaps between larger releases.

It's okay though. I understand if you feel the need to do that Xbox fanboy thing, and declare Sony's financial situation when you have practically nothing else to hang on to.

[francknara6]

Come on, the real reason is that their BIG games are not ready, so they try to make us wait with smaller projects.

I love indies, but i'm waiting for the big ones. E3 should be fun.

[GiantFriendlyCrab]

Indies of today AAA company of tomorrow

[SpiralTear]

Indie games are filling the gap that B games left behind. Huge AAA budgets killed off B games, so now it's up to the indie devs to make inexpensive, but interesting and creative games between major releases. Sony knows that.

[Tross]

Indie games are so important to Playstation, because Playstation is about variety. Playstation has always been home to a big variety of IPs, across virtually all genres. Sony was smart to set up an avenue for indie devs to produce content for their system, without Sony having to do very much on their end. It's a win-win. And, no, it does not have any bearing on the rate of AAA games being produced. That is a myth.

What a studio like Zoink does, has nothing to do with what Naughty Dog is currently working on, so such logic is flawed. If anyone is unhappy with the number of AAA offerings, it's because the bigger studios are still working on their IPs, and even they aren't to blame for the impatience and self-entitlement of the modern gamer, but leave indie games out of it.

[SoulSercher620]

Finally! Someone with logic

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

Outlast was a very good game...

[TheTwelve]

I don't understand how gamers could disagree with a love for indie games.

[user5669510]

funny thing is they are all ports of pc games but then their fanboys state how they are now games worth playing on pc and continue to ask for them in our articles. gotta love the hypocrisy of the ps fanboy

[Ol_Boy]

Sony is pumping out quite a bit of quality indie games. I for one am enjoying them. People here see the number of indies on PS4 and think that they're substituting the AAA games when it's not like that at all. Not only does Sony provide ps4 owners with great indies but they're also delivering a good amount of exclusive AAA titles. It's only been 6 months since launch. We will see what Sony has in store for us in E3.

[tulholdren]

Loving me some indie games so glad Sony giving some indie love to them so I can also enjoy them too..

[ninjahunter]

I think that theres a common misconception that indie games are just mini games. And they usually are pretty short, but where they really shine is their innovation on gameplay mechanics.