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Xbox One vs. Indies: Microsoft Bullies Developers Into Signing with Publishers
- Thread starter Poetic.Injustice
- Start date
thesuperfunk
Member
Pretty self explanatory as to why so many indies have been flocking to the PS4 then ...
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Notch knows something.
dragonelite
Member
Notch knows something.
Native WinRT full hardware access plox.
strikeselect
You like me, you really really like me!
Let me play devil's advocate here....
I think the fact that Microsoft has a degree of quality control is great. Do we really need Xbox Live to transform into another iOS app store with tons and tons of shovelware?
I think the fact that Microsoft has a degree of quality control is great. Do we really need Xbox Live to transform into another iOS app store with tons and tons of shovelware?
Flatline
Banned
The issue of self-publishing has nothing to do with quality control and everything to do with control of the developers and their games by corporations.
but it wouldn't matter if that happened as generally the good stuff always floats to the top
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
i actually am more of that mindset, personally. i dont want waves of crapware flooding the store "just because."
but it doesnt necessarily mean you get "quality" out of doing what MS is doing right now.
only if the store is built to support that. most likely it wouldnt be.
Not letting games self publish isn't the same as allowing every game ever on a system. Sony and MS can still say "no thanks, we don't want that on our platform" AND allow devs to self publish.
PSN and Steam seems to be doing fine.
As long as the store has a good tag and search system I'm OK with more choice.
There's plenty of random shit on Steam that I will never buy but I can easily find the stuff I want.
That's fine, indie publishers can still prove there worth on other platforms some more popular some less so. If I'm buying a X1 it isn't, because of indie support. It's still sad how XBox 360 opened the doors voor indies on consoles, but they never capitalized on it and now Nintendo and Sony have gone the extra mile.
dragonelite
Member
Miles Quaritch
Member
I don't doubt that MS have some incredibly backward thinking requirements, but his games lack of success on other platforms is probably more to do with the fact that it's simply not very good.
Steam Greenlight is the most hostile process an indie studio can go through right now, so no, Steam is absolutely not.
travisbickle
Member
Considering the hot topic the last few weeks has been about developers getting money for their creations, all MS's policies do is reduce that money.
Miles Quaritch
Member
I thought they fixed Greenlight?
http://steamcommunity.com/greenlight/
Clearly not.
Anyway, Microsoft needs to update its policies, it's clear their environment is not too attractive for indie devs.
Yeah you have XBLI, but I never saw anything of it in the Netherlands. >_>It should help that the marketplace is not divided anymore and region free
If quality is a focus for Microsoft, then why charge an exorbitant amount of money for indies to fix their games?
Steverulez
Member
Microsoft has always been very picky about the indie games they let on XBLA, and because of this they've discovered some fantastic games that have been great successes and sold much better than anything i've been able to find about PSN game numbers (not much data available that i've been able to see).
I wish they were less selective in some ways, i'd have loved the Oddworld games and others on XBLA etc for example, I think if they're not prepared to be as open as PSN is, they should at least try to be less restrictive.
I wish they were less selective in some ways, i'd have loved the Oddworld games and others on XBLA etc for example, I think if they're not prepared to be as open as PSN is, they should at least try to be less restrictive.
MightyHedgehog
Member
Pretty much. Honestly, as much as damage as MS has inflicted upon themselves for waiting so long to reveal their X1 indie plans and changes to publishing on XBL 3.0, I think it's probably going to be end up being similar to everything else out there. Perhaps the main reason for them taking so long to officially address it has to do with trying to offer both a bottom rung path for those just starting out, like a new XNA/XBIG approach, where there is no forced ratings to factor into costs and much less certification, while also working out a higher tier for big publishers and independent developers that allows them flexibility for pricing and promotion. How are they going to solve longstanding issues that plague all DD marketplaces with options that grant greater visibility that don't end up in the pockets of those who are already successful and known, leaving everyone else to be forgotten?
Care to elaborate?
I thought it plays a minor role in the Steam indie scene, as far as I can tell the bulk of the games don't even come from that channel.
All of those discoveries end up being completely pissed off at them.
Take Braid and Fez for example. They'll probably never go back on XBL again.
Poetic.Injustice
Member
All indie games must come through Greenlight if I'm not mistaken.
Steverulez
Member
I know that, but what happens if they don't have the same success elsewhere? There will always be plenty of developers for Microsoft to choose from in that sense and discover new games, im not concerned.
Woo-Fu
Banned
How did that quality control work with Castle Crashers?
MightyHedgehog
Member
But this only applies to X360 and has been known for years. They haven't revealed their plans for X1 yet, so people have been presuming that it will be the same.
Yeah, you can't even cheat your way in afaik if you get a publisher at a later date. The selection of games isn't what's quality checked anymore, but what studio has the best pre-release marketing aimed at a really specific group of people.
They were already going to be successful before Microsoft screwed them.
Any other place would have been better for them.
Why?
Before greenlight somebody at Valve decided yay or nay without any kind of explanation.
Now, there are answers. Public interest beeing the most important.
Look at Unepic for example.
There's only 39 released Greenlight games, and a lot more indie games than that in the category.
Steverulez
Member
Sony do a poor job in my opinion of promoting PSN games, we will see when these developers release their PSN games on PS4 if they have the same success without the promotional stuff MS do (e.g. Summer of Arcade, House party) I wish them all well, but I think MS certainly played their role in the success of those from a publisher point of view.
Poetic.Injustice
Member
This was a recent change, All indie games released since quite a while back now have to go through greenlight.
Moral Panic
Member
This. The way steam forces Greenlight is horrible, especially when it has so many problems.
It's like you've never been on PSN before.
Indies advertised even on the XMB menu where Microsoft killed XNA and loops indies in with the other AAA publishers.
dragonelite
Member
Aah an fellow country man
Yeah i just hope they make the marketplace also region free.
Its kinda sad that a company that big can't roll out a worldwide marketplace.
Steverulez
Member
I have been on PSN before because I own a PS3 (and Vita), I didn't say Sony don't promote these game, I said they don't do a very good job of it in comparison to Microsoft.
MightyHedgehog
Member
That doesn't say anything except that they're still officially operating like X360 because we're still in current gen and they were not ready to talk all things next-gen. There's nothing there that definitively states that will remain as it is now for next-gen.
I'll second that. Castle Crashers was a complete mess with the save problems and everything else. The time it took to get a patch was ridiculous.
Impeccable
Member
How hard is it to promote Minecraft?
Steverulez
Member
There have been many more success than Minecraft on XBLA.
statham
Member
Notch knows something.
Hmmm..