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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Indies to continuing to be slow to appear on PS? AAA to start disappearing sooner off of Xbox One?

scrapking said:
konnichiwa said:

Well xbox has the ID@xbox initiative that seems to be a positive experience for Indie Devs. The only thing that seems troublesome is when you look to the last ten week digital only week releases in Japan....It is like 80% switch games exclusive/10% PS games/8+ xbox games that mostly don't have a physical version and 2% multiplatform games.

Now that's an interesting data point out of Japan.  I'm surprised that 8+ Xbox games made it onto the list!  Xbox likely outperforms on digital though, so perhaps that's why there's as much representation as there is.

No question that Switch is an indie games beast!  I think developers are favouring Switch over either PS or Xbox, and PC probably more than any of the three.

Yeah to point for examply this week releases:

Digital only:

DIGITAL-ONLY

  • Alien Destroyer (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Baby Storm (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • The Company Man (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Demon Hunter: Ascendance (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Go Minimal (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Lovelydoll/Wildmachine (Switch)
  • Menheraflesia: Flowering Abyss (Switch)
  • Mindcell (Switch) – Already available worldwide.
  • Nature (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Nobody Saves the World (Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC [Steam]) – Launching worldwide.
  • Queeny Army (PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Road Bustle (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • RPGolf Legends (PS5, PC [Steam]) – Launching worldwide.
  • Scrapnaut (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction (Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC) – Launching worldwide.
  • Windjammers 2 (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC [Steam]) – Launching worldwide.






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Other recent indie announces that appear to be skipping PS (at least at launch):

- Anuchard - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/453063/anuchard-arrives-april-21-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-switch-and-pc/
- Cursed to Golf - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/453029/cursed-to-golf-headed-to-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-switch-and-pc-this-summer/
- Rogue Legacy 2 - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/453203/rogue-legacy-2-arrives-april-28-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc/
- Loot River - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/453349/loot-river-arrives-may-3-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-pc-and-xbox-game-pass/

Seems like the list of indie games skipping PS continues to grow. Though this may be a trailing indicator, as these games may have been green-lit for the platforms they're coming out on (Xbox and/or PC and/or Switch and/or streaming) a year or two ago. Perhaps games being green-lit now are more likely to include PS, with Sony acknowledging they could/should be doing more to promote and support indies?  But it will come down to sales, if indie games continue to sell better on Xbox than on PS, they'll continue to come out more frequently on Xbox than PS.  A wildcard here is the degree to which Microsoft funds indie games to get Game Pass exclusivity, vs. Sony funding them to get PS+ exclusivity.

My other prediction, that Xbox One game support will die off sooner than PS4 support, hasn't appeared to come true yet with third-parties, but appears to have come true with first-party titles.  I can't think of any Microsoft first-party titles releasing in 2022 that are cross-gen (though some will be accessible to Xbox One owners through Xcloud streaming), whereas Sony recently releases GT7 and Horizon Forbidden West.

Last edited by scrapking - on 25 April 2022

Sogreblute said:

The Xbox One and PS4 will die at the same time for AAA support. The Xbox 360 and PS3 pretty died at the same time which was 2016, the last year both systems still saw decent AAA support. I think 2023 will be the last decent year for both systems. Big AAA publishers want to maximize revenue, so if they develop for PS4 they'll do the same with Xbox One since both systems are identical in system architecture. Porting costs today are much lower compared to back then where each system was vastly different in developing games. It's this reason plus the increasing cost of game development that we're seeing a lot of games now going to Xbox or multiplat in general.

Looks like the other half of my prediction (that Xbox One games would start dying off faster than PS4) may be coming true.  There are at least two major examples that I know of now, Street Fighter 6 is coming to PS4 and not Xbox One, and that's also appears to be true of One Piece Odyssey.  If so, that's at least two titles that are coming to PS5, X|S, and PS4, but not Xbox One.  My prediction is that we'll see more over time.

Meanwhile, the other half of my prediction (that some indies are continuing to be slow to appear on PS) also continues to have more examples this gen than last, such as Floppy Knights (Floppy Knights Arrives May 24 for Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Game Pass (vgchartz.com)) and Arma Reforger (Arma Reforger Out Now for Xbox Series X|S and PC (vgchartz.com)), though there is a lead time with game development so it's possible recent Sony moves to improve their relationship with indies will eventually correct that.  However, with indie developers citing the many places that they can be featured on the Xbox Dashboard might be part of why they're doing better there recently has me remaining skeptical.



Lots more data points that suggest that both these trends have continued.

One that points to both is is Lost Eidolons (https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454741/lost-eidolons-arrives-for-pc-on-october-13-and-in-early-2023-for-xbox-series-xs/) which has A) not announced as coming to PS, and B) has been cancelled for Xbox One (PC and Xbox Series only now).

Wordless (https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454704/action-adventure-platformer-worldless-announced-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc/) is coming to just PC and to Xbox.

Second Extinction (https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454687/second-extinction-arrives-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc-on-october-20/) for just PC and Xbox.

Inkulinati (https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454590/inkulinati-arrives-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc-in-early-access-this-winter/) for just PC and Xbox.

Ooblets (https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454588/ooblets-launches-september-1-for-switch-xbox-one-and-pc/) for PC, Xbox, and Switch.

Microsoft has now largely harmonized the development tools between PC and Xbox, making it relatively easily to release for both. And Microsoft appears to do a better job of promoting indies on the Dashboard.

So all indications are that indies will continue to favour Xbox over PS.  I don't doubt there will be exceptions, but I'm seeing a lot of indies being announced for Xbox that aren't also coming to PS.  Something that would have been pretty much unthinkable back in the Xbox One days, so it's definitely a change.

But conversely I continue to believe we'll see more cancellations for Xbox One than we do for PS4. So I continue to believe that the things in this thread continue to favour Microsoft in one way and Sony in the other. Presuming you see continued PS4 support as a good thing, vs. games moving to current-gen only being a good thing, that is.



Growing numbers of data points for both trends:

Indie (or otherwise non-triple-A) games coming out on Xbox but not PS:

- Palworld (Xbox and PC): https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454893/palworld-arrives-in-2023-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc/

- Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (Xbox and PC): https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454891/turnip-boy-robs-a-bank-announced-for-xbox-one-pc-and-game-pass/

- Song of Iron 2: https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454890/song-of-iron-2-announced-for-xbox-series-xbox-one-and-pc/

Bonus (on Series X|S but not on PS5):

- Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454899/ni-no-kuni-wrath-of-the-white-witch-remastered-out-now-for-xbox-and-game-pass-ni-no-kuni-ii-in-2023/

Games coming out on PS4 but not Xbox One:

- One Piece Odyssey: https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454901/one-piece-odyssey-launches-january-13-2023-for-ps5-xbox-series-xs-ps4-and-pc/

- Resident Evil 4 Remake: https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454903/resident-evil-4-remake-adds-ps4-version/

Last edited by scrapking - on 17 September 2022

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Some additional data points...

More indies coming at launch to Xbox but not PS:

We Are the Caretakers (this one's particularly odd... coming to Xbox Series at launch, and Xbox One post-launch) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/455859/we-are-the-caretakers-arrives-january-5-2023-for-xbox-series-xs-and-pc/

Inkulinati - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/455779/inkulinati-arrives-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc-in-early-access-on-january-31-2023/

Waves of Steel - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/455739/waves-of-steel-arrives-february-6-2023-for-pc-later-for-xbox-series-xs/

The Last Hero of Nostalgia - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/454947/the-last-hero-of-nostalgaia-arrives-october-19-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc/

And, conversely, another game coming to PS4 and not Xbox One

Street Fighter 6 (though this one might be contractual with Sony, or it might be because Xbox One is dying out faster than PS4... hard to know!) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/455686/street-fighter-6-launches-june-2-2023-for-ps5-xbox-series-xs-ps4-and-pc/



More and more data points for trend analysis.

There are a great many indies that are coming to Xbox now, but not also PlayStation (something that would have been unthinkable, at least in this volume, in the PS4-era):

- Shoulder of Giants (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/455972/shoulders-of-giants-launches-january-26-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc/
- The last case of Benedict Fox (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456219/the-last-case-of-benedict-fox-launches-april-27-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-pc-and-game-pass/
- Homestead Arcanada (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456305/homestead-arcana-headed-to-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-pc-and-game-pass-in-april/
- Valheim (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456320/valheim-launches-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-xbox-game-pass-in-game-preview-on-march-14/
- Magical Delicacy (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456323/metroidvania-magical-delicacy-announced-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-pc-and-game-pass/
- El Paso, Elsewhere (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456366/el-paso-elsewhere-launches-this-fall-for-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-and-pc/
- The Lamplighters League (Xbox and PC) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456480/the-lamplighters-league-announced-for-xbox-series-xs-pc-and-game-pass/

This one's interesting, it's out on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PS4. But not also a bespoke version for PS5 (despite them going to the trouble of an Xbox Series version):

- Amnesia: The Bunker - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456162/amnesia-the-bunker-launches-may-16-or-xbox-series-xs-xbox-one-ps4-and-pc/

Finally, another data point that shows the Xbox One is dying out faster than the PS4:

- NeverAwake (previously released on PS4, PS5, PC, and Switch, and now also coming to Xbox Series) - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/456632/neverawake-launches-q2-2023-for-xbox-series-xs/



Re: indie sales performance on Xbox vs. PS, in a recent submission to the UK CMA from an indie developer:

"There are numerous means of players finding your game on Xbox, including in special sections on the store, and through the Xbox Game Pass service. As a result, we've found that, despite Xbox having much smaller player numbers and console sales than PlayStation, our games sell just as well on Xbox, since more players are finding our games there."



Dude give it a rest. No one is taking you or your thread seriously because you are obviously cherry picking games and announcements just to prove your point.

Here are a bunch of recently released or announced indie games that are on PlayStation and not Xbox with no release expected soon.

After the Fall (Vertigo Games)

Altair Breaker (Thirdverse)

Before Your Eyes (Skybound Interactive)

Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder

Cities VR (Fast Travel Games) 

Cosmonious High (Owlchemy)

Creed Rise to Glory: Championship Edition (Survios)

The Dark Pictures: Switchback (Supermassive)

Demeo (Resolution Games)

Drums Rock (Garage 51)

Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate (MyDearest Inc., Perp Games)

Fantavision 202X (Cosmo Machia, Inc.)

Garden of the Sea (Neat Corporation) 

GORN (Devolver Digital)

Job Simulator (Owlchemy) 

Jurassic World Aftermath (Coatsink)

Kayak VR: Mirage (Better Than Life)

Kizuna AI – Touch the Beat! (Gemdrops, Inc.)

The Last Clockwinder (Pontoco/Cyan Worlds)

The Light Brigade (Funktronic Labs) 

NFL Pro Era (StatusPro, Inc.) 

Nock: Bow + Arrow Soccer (Normal VR LLC)

Pavlov VR (Vankrupt)

Pistol Whip (Cloudhead)

Puzzling Places (Realities.io)

Ragnarock (WanadevStudio)

RUNNER (Truant Pixel, LLC) 

Song in the Smoke (17 Bit)

Startenders: Intergalactic Bartending

Swordsman VR (Sinn Studio Inc.)

Synth Riders (Kluge Interactive) 

The Tale of Onogoro (Amata K.K)

Tentacular (Devolver)

Townsmen VR (HandyGames)

Unplugged: Air Guitar (Vertigo Games)  

Vacation Simulator (Owlchemy) 

What the Bat (Triband)

Zenith: The Last City (Ramen VR) 

Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded (XR Games) 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1gWECYYOSo

Please Watch/Share this video so it gets shown in Hollywood.

This seems cherrypicked. Just off the top of my head, Tchia released a couple of days ago on PS/PS+ and PC with no Xbox version in sight yet. Well over 90% of Sony "exclusives" that Microsoft keep mentioning in the ABK sitcom are indies, VR content, and smaller Japanese games. AAA is probably the area where Xbox actually comes closest, and that only slightly changed towards the end of the last generation when more major SquareEnix games started skipping Xbox (If ABK goes through, I suspect Sony may buy them).

With that said, GamePass is an interesting/unique dynamic that is enticing a lot of publishers and developers to experiment with it. Especially when moneyhatting is involved. I wonder how much MS paid for Valheim :)

Last edited by Kyuu - on 23 March 2023