John-ShepardJust a few days ago, Sony released a master list of over 100 PlayStation 4 titles that are currently scheduled to launch in 2014.
That's not the only good news to pop up on the company's official blog : Did you know that there are over 1,000 developers licensed globally to self-publish on PlayStation platforms?
200 of those developers were licensed in North America since the new console was originally revealed in February 2013. Self-publishing lets smaller development teams put their creations on the PlayStation Store, and as PlayStation Vice President of Developer and Publisher Relations Adam Boyes notes, that's how great little titles like Don't Starve and Outlast got into your hands. And don't forget about The Witness , N++ and Rogue Legacy .
For years, we've been hearing how indie designers are often very happy with Sony's business practices concerning the PlayStation brand. It's great to have new blood constantly pumping into the PSN!
Good news!
I'm all for that for the industry but it really means a lot of junk to sift through for me, like cell phone games man.
I want some indication that big budget games aren't dying instead of assurances that PS4 will absorb all games released on PC and flood my PS Plus account with free games that are itty bitty wastes of my time.
Many of these games have more creativity and character than many big budget AAA games as well as bringing many genres to their roots that have lost their way. Survival horror too scewed towards action? Indie titles like Amnesia, Outlast, Daylight and even Lone Survivor are making things scary again. Many other indie devs are stripping games of the excess and concentrating on fun and challenge. And there hasn't been shovelware type games coming from these devs on PlayStation. I completely welcome this. Fun games are fun games. Great experiences are great experiences. Doesn't matter what scene they come from.
Pretty much this. I mean, a thousand titles on the platform is great, but if 980 of them are poor quality or derivative trash, then it isn't much to be crowing about.
What World said.
Outlast was great, but can I ever care about something like Don't Starve? Nope, and I doubt I'm alone.
I loved Don't Starve. I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment either.
The Indie game scene is seriously about to become one of the more over-hyped things this gen. Sure, there's gems, particularly for those who are looking for retro-style gaming.
But there's also a lot – and I do mean *lot* as in "the overwhelming majority" – of junk out there. Stuff made by a few guys more or less on a null budget doesn't automatically translate into great games. Quite the contrary, obviously.
So yeah, like World say above, this can potentially make the marketplace appear much more like a mobile games marketplace, with a ton of junk you have to sift through.
That again puts very high requirements on the marketplace itself and the functionality to browse through vast amount of titles. Is Sony ready for this? Are they prepared? One can only hope.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/31/2014 1:52:13 AM
Then there's games that get tons of press just for being hard like Flappy Bird.
yup for sure new stuff is always gud we need great creative minds behind games and AAA isn't and usually isn't the best way to get creativity bk into gaming
happy gaming =)
PlayStation used to mean quality over quantity. Now the hype are just numbers. 100 PS4 games to be released in 2014. 1000 selfpublishing developers, media did you hear me? A 1000!!!
If I wanted to play those indie games I don't need a playstation console, my old windows laptop is more than capable to run that kind of games.
The PSN is going to get a lot of clutter as time passes by.
Last edited by Ignitus on 3/31/2014 3:13:41 AM
again indie.
seriously, who goes and buys a 550 dollar next gen console to play frigging indie games!
christ $onys going so frigging PC i wouldent be surprised if they start charging us for the OS, updates, force us to install updates every few weeks for all our games, force us to install that useless steam, and force us to download regular driver updates!
seriously, if people want indie titles they would of kept their old ps3!
whole point of next gen systems is to produce amazing technical achievements, something not possible on last gen consoles, and the sad unfortunate fact of the matter is thats never going to come from self published studios simply because they do not have the funding required for it!
now, $ony, more cock waving about your amazing first party studios, and less cock waving about pointless indies!
christ, $onys turned into the new kid at school chucking new trends together just because the "cool" kids are doing it.
kinda sad!
The reason I picked the PS4 over the Xb1 was because of the PS4' more powerful hardware AND Sony's first party studios.
It turns out Sony is killing it's own studios and is excited to give us lots and lots of indie games that the PS3 can run or any other laptop with integrated crapgraphics.
The world is turned upside down now.
yup, amazing how much things can change in such a short period of time!
i never thought we would ever see the day where M$ actually has a more attractive exclusive lineup for a year than what $ony does!
D4, sunset overdrive, halo 5, project spark, titanfall, quantum break and fable legends.
to $onys puny ISS, and the order, IF that releases this year which i seriously doubt!
oh how quickly things can change……..
Yes and in other news, we're about to begin a drought of games for the rest of this year – Which was to be expected as a lot of developers really contributed into an amazing year for gaming in 2013. But then I see articles like this I do get so concerned in the direction of the gaming industry.
The indie market is becoming the FPS shooter of this generation. It is taking the lead in sales, publicity and volume. But as indie games this really puts a huge thread onto the quality of games in the future. From a Gaming Developers stand point, why bother putting so much hard work into a grand production if someone in their basement can create a game like the recent Flappy-Bird' epidemic (& I use the word epidemic without compromise.) which has become a sensation overnight? From a bussiness stand point it just doesn't make sense to put millions into a gaming production if the outcome in revenue can be made by something much cheaper.
This is why I believe it is up to the consumers ourselves to take part of that responsibility. We're the ones offering the profit after all. Do we support productions of a lower scale and quality to define the future of the industry of not? Of course what I say makes no difference, I cannot stop the invasion of the mobile market to console. But if you value real innovation in gaming I believe you should support the gaming developers which are really pushing the industry forward through their product and not just adding gimmicks. I want the PS4 to have legendary titles equal to the quality of The Last of Us or Metal Gear Solid but I fear with this direction that next/current gen consoles will only be known for holding the next fad in mobile gaming… which as someone who loves the industry for quality of creativity, I feel very sad about this switch around.
-yawns- how many of those games out of 1,000 well actually be decent enough to warrant a purchase. Im starting to regret my Ps4 purchase. i should have want with the XBone then the XBone is the same way. i think i'll b sticking w/ my Ps3 till they stop making games for it
Although there are a few indie games I'm interested in, for the most part they just leave me feeling like if I wanted to play a PS2 game, why wouldn't I just dust off the PS2 and play some real games made by real developers with real budgets? There must be about 100 "forgotten gems" on that console that I never got around to playing.
Last edited by JackC8 on 3/31/2014 11:03:15 AM
Every time I hear statistics like this, I take it with a grain of marketing salt.
I mean, is this HONESTLY true, like there are 1000 studios registered, so does that mean there are at least 1000 indie titles coming? I highly doubt it.
Just like when Sony said at the PS4 reveal there was over 140 PS4 titles in active development. At the time I thought "My body is ready", little did I know they meant third party, first party, and indie titles all combined for the next 3 years.
Not like Sony is the only one doing this, everyone does. Just saiyan.
Last edited by Akuma_ on 3/31/2014 10:28:33 PM