Is Self Publishing the Revolution the Industry Needs?

From GamesReviews:
"When computer games were first created in the late seventies, they were created by only a couple of people. Technology, at the time, only allowed these first games to be extremely simple. There were no real distribution methods and so people had to resort to, in some cases, heading down to their local computer store with a bag full of cassettes, selling directly to the manager in hopes of getting their game available to purchase."

[Donnieboi]

Yes, absolutely. The recent influx of indie games on PSN has reinvigorated my interest in games. Publishers don't like taking risks anymore. But indies are a breath of fresh air. Games like Octodad (n PC and coming to next gen) as well as recent releases like Stealth Inc (aka Stealth Basterd) are just so amazing and creative.

[darthv72]

its just a sign of the times. the ability to self publish takes the burden off the bigger publishers who (as donnie points out) arent as much into taking risks on these smaller ideas.

its like how the music industry has changed over the years. The bigger studios are not as much into signing bonus and throwing gobs of cash to these up and coming artists. They have to see them prove themselves before committing to contracts.

the real money to be made is on the back end. Marketing and merchandising and publicity. So in gaming, these smaller indie devs are looking for their shot at success and possibly being picked up by a bigger more profitable company. or they choose to go it alone and see where the road takes them.

there are pros and cons to self publishing. the pro being notable success and a possible shot at big fame with the next game. The con would be risking losing everything because the games isnt as appealing to others as the devs believe it to be.

They just need to remember...many of these big companies (EA, activision, konami...) all started out small and worked their asses off to get where they are now.

[Twitched_]

Yes, self publishing on all levels of gaming would greatly do the gaming industry good (end users mostly). If only we can help the developers out some how.

[negative]

Maybe!

It’s just one example of the challenges tech companies face in the modern era, where everything from doorknobs to refrigerators is connected and therefore at risk.

[MonkeyOne]

(N)

[Sadist3]

I'd rather play games like Batman, Splintercell, The Division than play a game called freaking Octodad. I don't know about you guys, but I grew up on Contra, Castlevania, Strrets of Rage, Ninja Gaiden. These are what games are to me...not games like Fez and Octodad. They have their place on mobile/tablets. I'm not buying my X1 and PS4 to play games that I can play on my ipad.