PlayStation has been working incredibly hard in the indie space over the last few years to address some concerns held by developers about the support from the console manufacturer in bringing their games to the platform, as well as the concerns by fans that they were missing out on indie gems to Xbox or Nintendo. Since the former head of PlayStation Studios, Shuhei Yoshida has transitioned over to the role of Head of Indies, things have begun to turn for the company, and he recently sat down to talk to MCV UK about his indie work, but also what possibilities there are for indies to collaborate with PlayStation, giving their games the best chance on the platform in the future.
Yoshida was asked in the interview what tips he would provide independent developers who wanted to work with PlayStation, and he responded by saying,
I also think a small independent developer should show their game to the public. I did a panel at PAX West a couple weeks ago and I was talking with people like TJ [Hughes] who’s making Nour: Play With Your Food and Jay [Yu] who is making the game Eternights, with dating game scenes and action role-playing scenes. Both of them have had the same kind of experience. They were posting their creations on the internet and someone who had the funds approached them saying “Can you make it into a game?”
They were not thinking of making commercial products, but because they were encouraged they thought “Uh, maybe we should do it?” In the case of Jay, he had a very stable job in one of the largest companies in the world, in smartphones … and he quit that job and became a game developer, because that’s what he wanted to do. So things like that happen. I always encourage indie devs to show their work, so they might find their fans or sometimes even investors. That said, we’d love to see the games in early stages. So if they have a chance to come talk to us, we’d like to see the game, and we might be able to help them to promote the title out in the world
So there you have it indie developers, words of wisdom of the head of PlayStation’s indie initiative, highlighting how to get in with PlayStation. Recently Shuhei, along with colleague Greg Rice have been doing the indie game showcase circuit lately, trying out games from Australia, India and more at a range of events. If the opportunity emerges, get your games in front of them!
