Dog Problems
Banned
Yeah, Steam and iOS aren't the saviors for indie developers that a lot of people make them out to be. Some developers have had more success through Steam than other services, it doesn't happen for everyone.
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PSN game Derrick the Deathfin sells less than 5,000 units at a loss
- Thread starter Visualante2
- Start date
jim-jam bongs
Member
eh I'm not. it's possibly the most boring concept for a game in the history of gaming. like, it's even too boring to buy for the sake of it showing up in your activity stream for your friends to laugh at.
and drilling for oil? really? perhaps I'll play it in between sessions of that game about shooting endangered animals for their furs.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
Before this thread, I had no idea this game existed.
Those iOS sales are nearly 2 years worth of it too. Derrick on PSN sold more in 1 month. but i thought ios is the indie savior
No platform is an indie savior if you don't tell people your game exists.
And the iOS version still made more money as they will likely never see anything from Nintendo...
HueyFreeman
Banned
Game looked like a lot of TLC went in to it, and it actually didn't fare too badly in reviews either. I might actually pick it up on the basis of this - poor guy tried to do something innovative and got personally financially slammed.
Funny though - the blog did dedicate a dev video to him. Seems like it just didn't speak to people.
Funny though - the blog did dedicate a dev video to him. Seems like it just didn't speak to people.
jim-jam bongs
Member
that's not why it's a better place for Indies. the fact that you can make games for steam and Android without paying Sony $1200 for a ps3 dev kit is a pretty big plus for low cost development, don't you think?
neverknowsbest
Member
I pay attention to the PSBlog and look at every store update post, and the name made the game sound like a kid's game. I honestly thought it was one of those edutainment games, or some kind of kid's cartoon tie-in. The art style was interesting, though.
Mr. B Natural
Member
The indie scene is FAR more oversaturated than the AAA scene, and that is saying a lot. Many out there losing their wallets, but it's a whimper in a thunderstorm. Nobody hears them.
Dog Problems
Banned
Of course. But I was commenting on the idea that if it's on Steam or mobile then the developer will be fine, which is not always true. If I were developing a game on PC/Mac/Linux I'd be thinking about all of the other services. GOG, Desura, Indievania, and if it ends up on Steam then great.
There's never any guarantees of success but I see the allure if getting your game on a service like PSN or XBLA. Even if it cost me more out of my own pocket I'd honestly be tempted to do the same.
jim-jam bongs
Member
ah right, obviously
as for your other comment, that's a shame really. psn and live do almost nothing to promote your game and charge you for the privilege, so I think the "allure" you alluded to is based more on your personal biases than anything concrete.
Dog Problems
Banned
ah right, obviously
as for your other comment, that's a shame really. psn and live do almost nothing to promote your game and charge you for the privilege, so I think the "allure" you alluded to is based more on your personal biases than anything concrete.
Yeah, it's the whole thought of "awesome, I made a game that's on a console" that I'm sure a lot of developers wish for but is not always financially feasible.
True, but that has something to do with the strange choices of Nintendo and less with the iOS/WiiWare viability comparison. He wouldn't have gotten a lot of them anyway, it was done by another studio.
Agent X
Member
I watched a portion of Derrick the Deathfin being played on the PSN Stores Webcast a few weeks ago. I thought the game looked good, with an appealing art style.
I don't think the game was promoted very well, though. They did have a fewposts on the PlayStation.Blog leading up to release, but that's about it. A playable demo might have spurred a great deal more interest.
The game also had the misfortune of being released on an extremely busy PSN week. I had purchased several games that week (Retro City Rampage, Joe Danger 2, SunFlowers), and didn't really have room on my plate for anything else.
I don't think the game was promoted very well, though. They did have a fewposts on the PlayStation.Blog leading up to release, but that's about it. A playable demo might have spurred a great deal more interest.
The game also had the misfortune of being released on an extremely busy PSN week. I had purchased several games that week (Retro City Rampage, Joe Danger 2, SunFlowers), and didn't really have room on my plate for anything else.
kurtrussell
Banned
I decided to break my non-console-DD embargo and pick it up last night to support the dev.
Played it for an hour or so, but the game doesn't really click with me. For one, the art style lends itself to exploration but I can't do that in the game as I have a time limit artificially imposed on me where if I don't eat within 10 seconds or so, I die, so I'm constantly having to push forward looking for food to stay alive.
I also found the controls a little hit and miss and quite often struggled trying to jump out of the water to collect things.
I'm glad I was able to offer support to a dev trying new things, but apart from the quirky style, the game is a sold 5/10 IMHO.
Played it for an hour or so, but the game doesn't really click with me. For one, the art style lends itself to exploration but I can't do that in the game as I have a time limit artificially imposed on me where if I don't eat within 10 seconds or so, I die, so I'm constantly having to push forward looking for food to stay alive.
I also found the controls a little hit and miss and quite often struggled trying to jump out of the water to collect things.
I'm glad I was able to offer support to a dev trying new things, but apart from the quirky style, the game is a sold 5/10 IMHO.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
So I guess they are putting this on PC now: http://instagram.com/p/UhE7u0J5sS/
Tizoc
Member
Nice hope it'll sell well there.
The game is on sale on EU and US PSN if anyone's interested.
Night_Trekker
Member
I had never heard of this before.
Graphically, the game looks great, but, judging from the trailer, there might not be much to the actual gameplay. I would like to be wrong.
Graphically, the game looks great, but, judging from the trailer, there might not be much to the actual gameplay. I would like to be wrong.
HamPster PamPster
Member
Looks like its out on PC and Mac now. Hopefully they recover some of their costs... and can afford to make a vita version!
So they can sell 12 copies?
It's not a super in-depth game -- you're basically swimming around and collecting items the whole time, or trying to get through a level in a certain amount of time. Not much more to it than that at all. But it's a lot of fun and deserves more attention than it's getting.
Trogdor1123
Member
Is the game any good though? Thats the question. What abotu price?
HamPster PamPster
Member
Strangers Wrath actually sold much better on Vita than on PS3 despite the huge gap in the userbase, so Id say that the possibility of a port is at least worth looking into.
Yeah, the game is good. I said it's fun. It's not award-winning, ground-breaking or super amazing, but it's worth looking into.
Hellsing321
Member
Its posted on Steam Greenlight.
Gave it a thumbs up. Getting on Steam could go a long way to helping this guy recoup his losses.
Gave it a thumbs up. Getting on Steam could go a long way to helping this guy recoup his losses.
Criminal Upper
Banned
Why would you ONLY release your indie project on PSN is beyond me.
And "Derrick The Deathfin" sounds like the kinda fluff that would be perfect for iOS.
And "Derrick The Deathfin" sounds like the kinda fluff that would be perfect for iOS.
GoldenHelmet
Member
I'm told its been developed with UNITY so quick ports to other platforms should be easy to do.
I'm friends with one of Gordon's friends, I shall reach out to him and see what can be done
I'm friends with one of Gordon's friends, I shall reach out to him and see what can be done
funkystudent
Member
So what has caused the great DD game sales collapse over the last year or two?
PSN and XBLA games dont seem to be doing that hot.
Is it the rise of Steam?
General public disinterest in console platforms?
PlayStation Plus making buying new games seem dumb?
MS burying games on the 360 dash in favour of mountain dew adverts?
All the above?
Outside of Minecraft and Journey I havent seen a lot of people happy with there sales the last year.
PSN and XBLA games dont seem to be doing that hot.
Is it the rise of Steam?
General public disinterest in console platforms?
PlayStation Plus making buying new games seem dumb?
MS burying games on the 360 dash in favour of mountain dew adverts?
All the above?
Outside of Minecraft and Journey I havent seen a lot of people happy with there sales the last year.
Johnny Cage In The Shower
Member
Nope.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42843075&postcount=97
Then in this case, as a PS + subscriber, We should probably download every single Free indi game possible, even if we don't play them, just to boost their popularity?
I would also imagine there would be a lot more competition on the iOS platform, just because the marketplace is more popular and generates more traffic, I'm not sure people will notice it, if there's literally 100 other similar games like it.
Duxxy3
Member
For me it is definitely the rise of steam. I try not to do any DD for consoles because i don't expect to still be using them in a year or two. I fully expect to be using my PC and steam for the foreseeable future - so for me it's a better investment.