Vita’s Success Hinges on Indie Devs
Posted by ackpiff91953 on June 12th, 2012 | 1 Comment | Tags: E3 2012 , Pub Fund , Shuhei Yoshida
According to an E3 interview by Gamasutra with Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Worldwide Studios, smaller titles coming from independent developers are what will strengthen the backbone of the PS Vita.
Yoshida points out that Sony was keeping a watchful eye on the smartphone market during the lead up to the Vita. While smartphone owners may be more likely to purchase a casual game for a dollar, hardcore gamers are looking for a little of both worlds: the epic, immersive gameplay of a console title as well as the pick-up-and-play nature of casual games.
With large triple-A titles headed to the Vita, Yoshida wants to “make sure that small games can also be made.” This is where Sony’s Pub Fund is initialized. The Pub Fund was setup exclusively to help fund smaller projects and ensure that they not only see the light of development day, but also that these titles remain exclusive to PlayStation. A major upcoming title for the PSN is Guacamelee, a game produced through the Pub Fund.
So what does this mean for us, the gamers? Well, it means that Sony will continue to focus efforts on a number of small-scale projects. This solidifies the promise that when we log in to the PlayStation Store every week, we can expect games with more individuality and personality than on any other console.