Content Is King At PlayStation And They Plan To Deliver
The games industry is fast approaching a new age. One that greatly compliments the “quality over quantity” sentiment. That fact has independent developers salivating, and companies like PlayStation are embracing the future wholeheartedly.
In a recent conversation, SCEA developer relations manager, Brian Silva was quick to point out,
I think we already see that games are games, and the source matters less and less. When you see AAA publishers experimenting with smaller scale projects and the high production value seen with indie titles, labels mean little. Content is king and everyone (developers and gamers) reaps the rewards of having amazing games available on PlayStation platforms, no matter the source.
That statement is greatly legitimized by the sheer amount of content Adam Boyes and SCEA developer relations are bringing to PS4. Although most of these titles are already announced as coming to PS4, I wanted Silva to summarize some of the indie games we can look forward to in 2014,
Don’t Starve, the first of the titles we announced at E3, is now available on PS4 and is currently free
as part of the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection. With Mercenary Kings, Outlast, Octodad: Dadliest Catch and others on the way soon, along with Transistor and The Witness, 2014 will be an amazing year for PlayStation fans. We will continue to make more announcements of exciting new exclusive content throughout the year.
You can expect us to continue support for all the titles we announced last year that will be releasing across all of our platforms throughout the year, while continuing to bring more developers on board to bring the best, most original games to PlayStation.
I also wondered if the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection would continue to introduce PlayStation gamers to new and exciting indie games. It’s been a very successful means of broadening the horizons of many gamers in the past, so I inquired about future plans with the program,
PS Plus has been another great example, like those listed above, of ways we can help indies showcase their content. I can’t speak to the future of PlayStation Plus because that’s not my specific area of focus, but we’re constantly working with our internal teams and with developers to bring the best games to our platforms.
It’s been a few years since PlayStation started making an earnest attempt to attract indie developers via the Pub Fund. I was interested to know how the success of the program was measured. Sales are undoubtedly one of the determining factors in success, but I was also looking for some insight as to how the team itself measures its achievements,
It’s been great to work for a company that knows gamers and understands the importance of great games. We’ve helped to set an example of flexibility and advocacy for developers that continues to shape the industry. Gamers have been excited with our efforts to bring them the most original, innovative and fun titles to PlayStation platforms, and we plan to continue to deliver.
At the outset of this piece, I mentioned that the industry is evolving, and PlayStation seems to be adapting very well with that evolution. This is wholly due to what Sony has learned about their audience over the years. Silva explained that,
The PlayStation audience is large and gamers aren’t all the same—they have differing tastes. We have attempted to find games for Pub Fund that service these widely differing tastes, hence our robust portfolio with games like Divekick, Guacamelee! and Sportsfriends. There is no one type of game we look for. We look to work with creators that are passionate, and we often encourage them not to bring us a game they think we want, but rather the game they always wanted to make. We are constantly amazed at the passion that drives the developers we work with and the fans that fall in love with their games.
It has to be a tall order for Adam Boyes and company to continually deliver unique experiences, but it doesn’t hurt having a very welcoming atmosphere for developers to populate. As Silva explained to me earlier, SCEA doesn’t look at developers differently, they’re on an even playing field at PlayStation. We’re looking forward to attending GDC 2014, where developer relations has promised exciting announcements for developers and gamers alike. I wanted to thank Brian and the developer relations team for their time over the past weeks.
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