Tag: Indies
Feature Attending G-EIGHT, the Indie Convention with an Area for Erotic Games
“We shouldn't shy away from it”
For an event still in its infancy, Taipei-based indie expo G-EIGHT immediately appears accomplished far beyond its years. Its sophomore effort – conducted on the Taipei Expo Park on a sunny weekend in early December – was bustling with enthusiastic attendees, all eager to test drive the latest efforts from...
Feature 30 PS5, PS4 Indie Games to Watch Out for in 2024
Indie-licious
Every year is filled to bursting with wonderful indie games, and it looks like 2024 will be no different. While the big-budget side of the industry is also firing on all cylinders, it's often the indie space where you'll find the most creative, diverse, and interesting stuff to play. If you're keen to learn a little more about what...
News PSVR2 Is Truly Next-Gen, And Indies Will Lead the Software Charge
"Meta has done a great job promoting the Quest"
Shuhei Yoshida, the current indies bigwig at PlayStation but formerly the head of first-party, was one of the biggest early evangelists of PSVR. It stands to reason, then, that the executive believes PSVR2 is “truly next-gen” – but don’t just take his word for it, basically the entire media has...
News PlayStation Boss Jim Ryan Demanded Firm Reinvigorate Interest in Indies
Identified overwhelming focus on AAA titles and insisted on change
For many PlayStation fans, president Jim Ryan has become a pantomime villain. Despite working his way up the corporate ladder for decades and playing a major role in the brand’s European dominance, many attribute the firm’s more recent PR failings directly to the CEO – and...
News Sony Strengthens Indie Bond by Loaning PS5 Devkits to Smaller Studios
Indie win
Sony’s goal is to provide the best place to play, but there are always bumps in the road. Last year, the company was taken to task for its treatment of indie developers, with many citing poor promotion of its games and an obnoxious certification process as reasons why they’d rather release elsewhere. To be fair to the firm, it’s...
News PlayStation Indies Evangelist Shuhei Yoshida to Speak at Asia-Pacific Game Summit This Week
One to keep an eye on
As the Taipei Game Show nears, Shuhei Yoshida will speak on 20th January as part of the Asia-Pacific Game Summit on PlayStation’s indies initiative. The former PlayStation Studios boss turned indies evangelist will appear as part of a session scheduled to premiere on YouTube. It’s unclear exactly what his involvement will...
Report How PlayStation Is Failing Indie Developers
PS Store sale exclusion, backend mishaps, and lacking support
As Sony focuses its first-party efforts on delivering a wide range of PlayStation 5 blockbusters, the company is starting to fail the independent developers that produce the vast majority of games available on the PS Store. Smaller teams are struggling to work out how to put their own...
News Sony Under Heavy Fire for Handling of Indies on PS Store
"I have no idea how to succeed on this platform"
It’s becoming a story as old as time, but Sony is once again under heavy fire for its handling of indie games on the PlayStation Store. Hiding behind the veil of ‘Platform X’, Iain Garner, the co-founder of publishing label Neon Doctrine, said that he’s “mad enough to burn some bridges”...
News Indies Benefit Big from PS5 Reveal
Sony event helps small games gain exposure
Sony curated an excellent selection of PlayStation 5 software for its recent reveal showcase, and it did a great job hand-picking some exciting indie titles to complement its tentpole AAA software. These games have seriously benefitted from the extra exposure, with Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ reveal trailer...
Talking Point Can PS5 Make Sony the King of Indie Games Again?
The small time
It’s a hazy memory these days, but once upon a time the PlayStation 4 was colloquially known as the IndieStation 4 among some video game enthusiasts. Sony would be the first to admit that it was somewhat slow bringing major blockbusters to its next-gen console, and it filled the gaps with exciting titles from smaller studios –...
News 'We've Always Been There with Indies' Says PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan
Refutes claims Sony's indie focus has slipped
At the beginning of PlayStation 4's life, Sony earned itself a reputation as a huge supporter of indie games and developers. This focus seems to have shifted somewhat over the course of the generation, as the platform holder pours more and more resources into its own blockbuster exclusives. We've seen...
News Indie Devs Are Finding Their Feet with Cheap Platinum Trophies
"A lot of people will buy it"
There’s no doubt that the PlayStation 4’s audience is changing, and indie developers are finding it harder than ever to ensure their games stand out against both AAA blockbusters and their many contemporaries. This is particularly problematic for new studios, who don’t have a major hit to their name or an existing...
E3 2016 EA Unveils New Program To Help Foster Indie Talent
Indie apologists queue here
Perhaps the only surprise at EA's E3 press conference this morning was the firm's announcement of a new program to help support independent developers. Titled EA Originals, the plan is a response to the success of Unravel, and aims to foster talented and unique small developers. In a canned
Feature 10 Under the Radar PS4 Games to Look Out for in 2016
Sticking up for the little guy
Last year, we previewed 25 games that would make 2016 an excellent one for the PlayStation 4, including huge blockbusters like Final Fantasy XV, Mass Effect Andromeda, and The Last Guardian as well as a couple of smaller titles such as Firewatch and The Witness. While it gives a great picture of ju
Soapbox Why PS4's Indie Influx Isn't as Bad as You Think
Sam Brooke reckons you should embrace this imaginitive space
The new Instant Game Collection for PlayStation Plus has been revealed, and once again it contains many indie games. But many people in the PlayStation Nation (are we still called that? I hope not) are a little miffed about the selection – after all, PlayStation 4 players have to pod out...
News Sony Wants to Amplify Indie Scene in Japan
Bold goals
Indie games represent a gigantic part of the market in Europe and North America right now, but they're less popular in Japan. We're starting to see developers like Yu Suzuki, Keiji Inafune, and Koji Igarashi break away from big publishers in order to go it alone, but these examples are rare. Speaking at the BitSummit convention in Kyoto,...
Feature 15 Awesome PS4, Vita Indie Games That We Haven't Had Time to Tell You About Yet
Catch up
Not every indie game is amazing, but we very much appreciate the existence of the space. While this week has proven that blockbuster titles are not going anywhere – Grand Theft Auto V! Far Cry 4! LittleBigPlanet 3! Dragon Age: Inquisition! – we like to think of the smaller content as the palette cleansers that prepare you for your next...
News Sony's Done a Great Job with Indies, Says Former Nintendo Man
Little and large
Dan Adelman knows a thing or two about indie games. The industry veteran previously spearheaded the launch of Microsoft’s wildly successful Xbox Live Arcade, before switching his attention to Nintendo’s digital push, where he secured a slew of top titles for the House of Mario’s machines, including World of Goo and the...
News Sony's Considering a Steam-Style Early Access Program, Says Adam Boyes
Let the games begin
It seems that Steam's famous Summer Sales may not be the only thing Sony's thinking about borrowing from the digital download service. In a recent interview, SCEA big-wig Adam Boyes suggested that the firm may be adopting an early access program. If implemented, it would allow studios to release unfinished games for purchase as a...
News Former Last Guardian Staffers Show Off Open-World Adventure Vane
Former Battlefield and Killzone developers involved, too
Two former The Last Guardian artists have splintered away from Team ICO and co-founded a new studio called Friend & Foe, and the company's first game looks a bit like a cross between Journey and Shadow of the Col
News Sony Wants PlayStation 4 to Be the Perfect Place for Indies
So do we
Sony's unflinching commitment to indie games on the PlayStation 4 is undoubtedly one of the ways that the firm has managed to so successfully capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of gamers worldwide. With a whole host of titles already adorning the console's storefront, and a bunch m
News The PS Vita Could Be Getting A Game About The Holocaust
Luc Bernard's Imagination is the Only Escape has caught Sony's eye
"I find modern war games to be highly distasteful," says games designer Luc Bernard, the man behind the PS Minis title Mecho Wars. "They teach players to kill, but not understand anything about why they're killing." Bernard is hoping to change that with his next game, Imagination is...
News So, Sony's Still Not Done with That Whole Indie Thing
More savings than you can shake a Move controller at
As the sun sets on one PlayStation Network promotion, the moon is rising on another. Just a week after the conclusion of the PlayStation Play initiative, the platform holder has announced PS Vita Summer Select – a month long celebration of delicious indie gaming goodness. Best of all, it means...
News Sony's Secret to Indie Success: Don't Be a Jerk
Wise words
Sony has the indie development community eating out of its hand like a hedgehog hovering over a plateful of mealworms. The platform holder has turned its third-party relations around, assembling a dream team of taste-makers who have become the focal point of the brand. And during that transition, the company has learned some important...
News Unprecedented Number of Developers Working on PS4, PS3, and Vita
"We've never seen anything like this"
As the war for developer support rages on between Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, the PlayStation maker has admitted that it’s seeing an unprecedented level of interest in its platforms. Speaking with Develop, SCEE account manager Agostino Simonetta noted that after four years in the job, the current surge of...
News Sony's Loaning PS4 Development Kits to Indie Studios for Free
Keeping costs down
Microsoft’s latest Xbox One-Eighty has changed the conversation yet again. Overnight, the firm confirmed that it will allow self-publishing on its next generation platform within the system’s first year on the market. That puts the console in line with the PlayStation 4, but the Redmond-based organisation’s trump card is...
News Sony Santa Monica Partners with Honeyslug for Indie Hit Hohokum
Twirling onto PS3, PS4, and Vita
Sony Santa Monica may be best known for the God of War games, but the studio has also played a pivotal role in some of PlayStation’s biggest indie hits. For those out of the loop, the company helped thatgamecompany realise its vision for Journey, and it even set aside floor space for Giant Sparrow to finish off The...
