Replaced Dev: 'Microsoft Actually Cares About the Indie Market' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 August 2021 / 2,094 Views
Sony Interactive Entertainment has faced controversy with its lack of support for indie developers recently. A number of smaller developers have come forward saying that in order to get promoted on the PlayStation you have to jump through hoops and beg for even a small amount of promotion.
Microsoft has taken a different approach with being indie-friendly and supporting smaller developers. REPLACED developer Sad Cat Studio co-founder Igor Gritsay in an interview with Twinfinite said that Microsoft cares about the indie market.
"The biggest part of the partnership for us is that Microsoft actually cares about the indie market," said Gritsay.
"Otherwise, well, there would be much fewer games on all platforms. They really give a chance to small studios to actually produce something and provide marketing awareness to people. I would say that for indie studios, I can’t even think of a con (with partnering with Microsoft) because they provide funding and marketing reach."
Gritsay also talked about the positive aspects of Game Pass as it allows more people to learn about more games and to play the games.
"As for Game Pass, it allows more people to learn about the game, and actually play the game! Because there is frequently this situation for many players where they will see a game in the store and they want it, but at the same time it is $30, $60, or even more, and so you maybe Wishlist it, and then you usually forget.
"However, with Game Pass you just press a button and install. Of course, sometimes the possible con of this is that, you know, people might be too overflowing with games and so each game gets less attention. Still, equally, it is a chance for those games to shine. In other situations they might otherwise be drowned by thousands of other games.
"Game Pass allows us and many other developers to actually deliver our project to people. Also, from what I heard, Game Pass also boosts sales, but we’ll see about that! To summarize, it’s a win, win situation for us."
Sad Cat Studios' science-fiction retro-futuristic action platformer, REPLACED, will launch for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store in 2022. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass day one.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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They certainly do now, not so much in the past but glad they are changing for the better, unlike other companies.
It really shows how much having the right leadership makes all the difference. In 2013 Xbox fans loathed the leadership of Don Mattrick but now Phil Spencer has turned everything around with he himself being a gamer. In 2013 Sony fans loved the leadership of Shawn Layden with he himself being a gamer but now loathe corporate leadership of Jim Ryan. Obviously Sony is still doing amazing (and will continue to do amazing) compared to how dire Xbox was in 2013, but leadership truly makes all the difference not just in how well everything your company makes is selling, but public image is well. That's mainly what leadership at Sony has been doing, hurting their image.
From my recollection Xbox 360 was the first major console indies were given a big push. I wouldn't argue MS policies were always great, but worth noting.
I am sure Game Pass has helped given they likely need a stream of new content to boast.
Let's hope this lasts indefinitely, and not because it's a strategy to be used for the here and now and dumped later on when growth is achieved.
So does Sony, whats the point of this article?
