In an interview with Xbox Achievements today, Microsoft corporate vice-president Phil Harrison told the website that he is confident that independent games are also capable of being "system sellers" in the future.
Harrison notes that the success of recent indies are is good for their platform, presumably the Xbox One, and the industry as a whole. "It gives an on-ramp for developers to get into development, which was previously not available to them, so I think that’s a positive thing. But we know for sure that games like Minecraft, like Limbo, have been system sellers in the past. There’s no reason to believe that that won’t be the case in the future," he told the website.
It's hard not to be skeptical about his claims regarding Minecraft and Limbo. While both games reaped critical and commercial success, it's worth remembering that these games are also available in several platforms in addition to ones owned by Microsoft. Thus, Harrison's claims may have been too far fetched.
Additionally, the ID@Xbox program might as well be the development access he is referring to. For those who don't know, it is a publishing program for independent developers who wish to release their game on the Xbox One marketplace. He was quick to defend that the program was not a mere reaction to developer and public criticism. He notes that it has always been part of the plan for Xbox One.
On another note, Harrison was evasive when asked about release date parity. It is an issue that a handful of developers especially Lorne Lanning are particulary outspoken about. More information on the issue is available including Sony's stance on it in our recent report. He chose not to talk about individual contractual elements and instead wanted to assure players that the company is committed to bringing the most amazing games to the Xbox One.
