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[Jose92]

Back in July, a number of indie publishers publicly called out Sony for its apparent ongoing dismissal of the immense challenges facing small developers trying to publish games on PlayStation. While publicly Sony offered no official comment on these complaints at the time, it appears that the company was quietly listening after all -- and has recently begun to take some action.



Looking back at our conversations with these publishers at the time, a number of key issues were brought to light. Sony, indie publishers and developers said, had overly complex tools and forms, unclear processes, and poor communication with its indie partners when it came to getting answers, guidance, or issues resolved. They also expressed that while discoverability was an industry-wide issue, Sony was at best indifferent or at worst actively adversarial to these struggles, making PlayStation a very challenging platform for indie game sales.

“They were obviously crushed at the news, and it was clear that the account managers at Sony had been working hard for a long time to push through a lot of the ideas the indie developers flagged in our initial discussions,” he says. “After the articles, that seemed to give a huge boost to initiatives they had already been planning, because rapidly after Sony started rolling out a bunch of big changes.”

What were those big changes? Logan, who says he’s “always had a solid communication frequency” with Akupara’s account manager, tells me that his issues with Sony support response times have drastically improved, for one. While previously he had complained of having a support ticket open for nine months, he says now response times are down to an average of about five days, with most responses coming within 24 to 48 hours. Meanwhile, others we spoke to who had previously struggled with Sony’s communication, like Whitethorn Digital CEO Matthew White, says that the issue has improved across the board.

Sony Wants to Repair its Relationship With its Indie Partners - IGN

Back in July, a number of indie publishers publicly called out Sony for its apparent ongoing dismissal of the challenges facing small developers trying to publish games on PlayStation. While publicly Sony offered no official comment on these complaints, it appears that the company was quietly...

www.ign.com

Changes in response to this:

Platform X (aka Sony) and their relationship with indies

So, I found this Twitter thread where an indie developer is talking bad about the relationship a platform holder has with indies. Lots of other indie developers quoting the thread and agreeing with what's being said. One of those is this which claims only 3% of their sales are on platform X...

www.neogaf.com

Sony Charging Devs At Least $25,000 For PlayStation Store Visibility

PSN makes getting noticed far too expensive for indies

kotaku.com

 

[Imtjnotu]

Sony is failing this gen

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Sony is failing this gen

This gen? This isn't a new problem. It actually started last gen. Things are changing for the best right now...exactly the year after this gen started. Make it make sense at least, lol.

 

[BreakOut]

Glad to see this. That was rough to see especially after the whole Vita incident. A lot of any devs got crushed by that and It sucks because that system actually had a lot of third-party support still. But hopefully Sony makes some more moves to correct and draw indies, there were a lot of great games discovered through their independent developer push in the past.

 

[kyliethicc]

Good.

 

[Dream-Knife]

Didn't they make a big indie push at the beginning of last gen?

 

[Mr Hyde]

Feels like a lot of indie developers are focusing more on Switch than PS. Nintendo has embraced the indie scene in a great way, locking down timed exclusives and pushing them hard in Directs and their social media platforms. Sony has seemingly forgotten the little people in favor of big, burly AAAs.

 

[ButchCat]

Sony is like that bitch ex that wants to get back with you to use you again. They pulled off a similar stunt early last-gen when their first-party output was scarce, as soon as the first-party games are rolling Sony will abandon indie devs again.

 

[Kilau]

Sony really got burned on Life of Black Tiger.

 

[Nikana]

Whats weird is they know exactly how to have good relationships with all developers but they simply just stopped caring for no real good reason other than money. Games are the lifeblood of your platform. Yes, your AAA first party games will always bring you the most revenue. But those smaller games can be just as important for other factors than money.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Didn't they make a big indie push at the beginning of last gen?

Sony pushes indies when their big AAA games arent ready yet. The second they are, indies get booted out the door.

Last gen was the worst. It changed a lot somewhere around 2015 I think. It changed to become big third party publisher shows, and then it changed to that banquet hall E3 where all Sony did was focus on 4 first party games, then no E3 show at all.

 

[Jaysen]

The minute they didn’t need indies anymore last gen, they shit all over them and then Nintendo welcomed them into the fold. And then Game Pass welcomed them in. Stupid shortsighted move by Sony.

 

[Topher]

Sony really misses Adam Boyles, I think.

 

[Dick Jones]

Since Bryan is gone

JIMMMMMMMMM!!!!

 

[isoRhythm]

PS4 was carried pretty heavily by indie games (content-wise) during the first year. It's only fair Sony should be putting more resources into their indie support.

 

[TheGodfather07]

yeah where is indiestation 5? remember that early period with ps4?

 

[kyliethicc]

"Logan mentioned a new fund that Sony has rolled out recently that helps indie developers get their games to PlayStation by financing porting costs."

Smart move.


"The same anonymous self-published indie developer I spoke to for the original piece also affirmed faster communication, adding that Sony had also been including more resources and links in its emails since the initial complaints. And Neon Doctrine co-founder Iain Garner, who wrote the initial Twitter thread that sparked the July discussion, told me that Neon Doctrine’s recent release, Lamentum, had been featured prominently on PlayStation’s YouTube channel when it was launched in August."

Good steps.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It's either because Sony wants to bolster its Project Spartacus subscription.

Or it's because they see a soft spot in their lineup they want to mitigate, which is sorta related to the first reason.

 

[cireza]

They are obviously doing this because they want to further fill their lineup.

 

[Zok310]

Hope it’s a good investment. Indies are too privileged in my opinion. If it don’t help the brand then fuck ‘em, focus on what works.
In the press It’s cool for pubs to be hip with indies, yet I can’t remember the last time I bought an indie game.
It must suck to invest in helping indies only to turn around and have their games on other platform.

 

[ZywyPL]

I read that as their 1P games are more far away than Sony would want to, and they need to fill the few upcoming years with something, the same way the PS4 was carried exactly by indies, 3rd part cross-gens, and lazy PS3 remasters for its first 2-3 years before they could start rolling out their AAA blockbusters on a regular basis.

 

[captainraincoat]

Didn't they make a big indie push at the beginning of last gen?

Indie games were used to pad in the large gaps in sony first party releases..the first 2 years were pretty much an indie fest
once their first party got up and running indies were pretty much thrown out the door

you will probably find a similar thing this gen as there are going to be some pretty large gaps in first party game releases on ps4/ps5

 

[Nikana]

Sony really misses Adam Boyles, I think.

I know I do.

 

[Topher]

Indie games were used to pad in the large gaps in sony first party releases..the first 2 years were pretty much an indie fest
once their first party got up and running indies were pretty much thrown out the door

you will probably find a similar thing this gen as there are going to be some pretty large gaps in first party game releases on ps4/ps5

Based on what? We know that's not the case for 2022.

 

[purpletentacle]

Hope it’s a good investment. Indies are too privileged in my opinion. If it don’t help the brand then fuck ‘em, focus on what works.
In the press It’s cool for pubs to be hip with indies, yet I can’t remember the last time I bought an indie game.
It must suck to invest in helping indies only to turn around and have their games on other platform.

did a AAA publisher write this post?

 

[Punished Miku]

The minute they didn’t need indies anymore last gen, they shit all over them and then Nintendo welcomed them into the fold. And then Game Pass welcomed them in. Stupid shortsighted move by Sony.

Pretty much my thoughts on it.

 

[JLB]

Hope it’s a good investment. Indies are too privileged in my opinion. If it don’t help the brand then fuck ‘em, focus on what works.
In the press It’s cool for pubs to be hip with indies, yet I can’t remember the last time I bought an indie game.
It must suck to invest in helping indies only to turn around and have their games on other platform.

Yeah, privileged. Work 18hs a day Monday to Sunday, put all your savings on a hit or miss bet. Go read the story of the Cuphead devs.

 

[Nikana]

Hope it’s a good investment. Indies are too privileged in my opinion. If it don’t help the brand then fuck ‘em, focus on what works.
In the press It’s cool for pubs to be hip with indies, yet I can’t remember the last time I bought an indie game.
It must suck to invest in helping indies only to turn around and have their games on other platform.

Tell me you don't know what you are talking about without telling me you don't know what you are talking about.

 

[Lethal01]

Sony is like that bitch ex that wants to get back with you to use you again. They pulled off a similar stunt early last-gen when their first-party output was scarce, as soon as the first-party games are rolling Sony will abandon indie devs again.

Sure, the indies should use Sony, nothing more.

 

[Punished Miku]

Hope it’s a good investment. Indies are too privileged in my opinion.

It's really just a matter of staying competitive with the other platforms. If they don't cater to them as well as MS and Nintendo, then they just stop putting out the games.

 

[Midn1ght]

Sony really misses Adam Boyles, I think.

Still the greatest beatboxer the industry has ever known.

 

[Ezquimacore]

I remember back then sony was the indiestation and Nintendo was like "indie? peasants... fuck you"

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

I've played some excellent indie games on PSN so far this year and they have some really great ones coming down the pipe.

Sony doing more to sweeten the deal for indies is only a good thing.

 

[RoboFu]

Has there really been any great indie games in the past 2 years?

 

[Codes 208]

Has there really been any great indie games in the past 2 years?

Phasmophobia?

 

[Captain Toad]

They need to stop. They're trying to repair their relationship with the WRONG indie developers.

The PSN Store is now dominated by shovelware games in the forefront by making the same mistake Nintendo has made - giving every new game equal attention, no matter what it is, on the New Games section.

There are companies that are putting out 5 games a week that are clearly made in 20 minutes with literally no substance. These games are shamelessly selling 99 cent platinum trophies that can be earned in minutes and are complete non-games.

Just look at the games coming out of Breakthrough Gaming. These games shouldn't even get allowed on the store, much less get equal attention as genuine AAA games or high quality indie games.

Redirect Notice

 

[Guilty_AI]

Has there really been any great indie games in the past 2 years?

More than AAAs thats for sure

 

[RoboFu]

More than AAAs thats for sure

Should be easy to name some them.

 

[yurinka]

Good news, let's hope they continue improving their relationship and communication with indies, and making their job easier.

Has there really been any great indie games in the past 2 years?

Yes, many of them. I suggest you to use Google to find them.

I read that as their 1P games are more far away than Sony would want to, and they need to fill the few upcoming years with something, the same way the PS4 was carried exactly by indies, 3rd part cross-gens, and lazy PS3 remasters for its first 2-3 years before they could start rolling out their AAA blockbusters on a regular basis.

What are you talking about? They released many games during the first year like Astro, Sackboy, Miles Morales, Demon's Souls, Returnal, Ratchet and stuff like Death Stranding Director's Cut or GoT DC. And have huge stuff for the 2nd one like Horizon 2, GT7 or GoWR. And this is not counting big AAA 3rd party exclusives or big AAA 3rd party multis, or even indies. They have zero issues with their recent or upcoming catalog.

 

[Batiman]

To be honest the main reason I wanted a PS4 at the beginning of the gen because they had the best indies and on Xbox I was missing all of them. Now it seems the tables turned and Xbox puts a lot of spotlight on smaller games and gets them attention.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Should be easy to name some them.

Ori and the will of the wisps, Blasphemous, Deaths Gambit, Hades, Afterparty, Cuphead etc to name a few.

 

[RoboFu]

Ori and the will of the wisps, Blasphemous, Deaths Gambit, Hades, Afterparty, Cuphead etc to name a few.

Those launched in the last two years?

 

[BennyBlanco]

Those launched in the last two years?

Everything except Cuphead did.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Should be easy to name some them.

Its has been actually pretty hard since there are so many to pick from

-Slay the Spire
-Touhou Luna Nights
-Disco Elysium
-Amid Evil
-Hades
-Factorio
-Deep Rock Galactic
-Risk of Rain 2
-Noita
-Black Mesa Xen
-Teardown
-Valheim
-Inscryption
-Cruelty Squad
-The Forgotten City

 

[MonarchJT]

wasn't just about blockbuster AAA productions?

 

[odhiex]

Kena just won the best indie game at TGA2021.

Or you could also say, It Takes Two (indie scale published by EA) the GOTY winner at TGA.

 

[remember_spinal]

Its has been actually pretty hard since there are so many to pick from

-Slay the Spire
-Touhou Luna Nights
-Disco Elysium
-Amid Evil
-Hades
-Factorio
-Deep Rock Galactic
-Risk of Rain 2
-Noita
-Black Mesa Xen
-Teardown
-Valheim
-Inscryption
-Cruelty Squad
-The Forgotten City

-Chicory
-F.I.S.T
-Kena

 

[BennyBlanco]

Its has been actually pretty hard since there are so many to pick from

-Slay the Spire
-Touhou Luna Nights
-Disco Elysium
-Amid Evil
-Hades
-Factorio
-Deep Rock Galactic
-Risk of Rain 2
-Noita
-Black Mesa Xen
-Teardown
-Valheim
-Inscryption
-Cruelty Squad
-The Forgotten City

-Monster Train
-They are Billions
- Darkest Dungeon 2
- Loop Hero