Sony to court Japanese indies for PlayStation 4

Sony worldwide studios head Shuhei Yoshida says he'd "like to get that indie flow going in the Japan market as well," since the smaller-studio games are handy for filling in schedule gaps between big releases.

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Sony has made a point of actively courting indie developers in the run up to the PlayStation 4. Most recently it announced a batch of timed exclusives like Hotline Miami 2 and Rogue Legacy. Worldwide studios head Shuhei Yoshida says he'd like to echo that strategy in Japan, where the console is set to launch in 2014.

Yoshida told Polygon that the push for indie games helps fill the post-launch gap. After a burst of new releases at launch, it takes some time for developers to make the second wave of games, which is where indie games come in handy.

"Huge titles from large makers take time to develop; they can't just be brought out immediately," he said. "However, with the indie scene, especially in the West, we're seeing really neat games coming out from there pretty much every week. I'd like to get that indie flow going in the Japan market as well, with unique titles coming out one after the other. More and more users are making digital purchases these days, so even studios making games with small teams can make it into a business."

Sony's strategy is counter to Nintendo's policy. Wii U does not allow independent devs to self-publish.

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  • reply
    September 13, 2013 2:00 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Sony to court Japanese indies for PlayStation 4.

    Sony worldwide studios head Shuhei Yoshida says he'd "like to get that indie flow going in the Japan market as well," since the smaller-studio games are handy for filling in schedule gaps between big releases.

    • reply
      September 13, 2013 6:53 PM

      God, I'm so CONFUSED. I was raised to hate Sony... they are EVIL... why am I starting to like them so much? I don't want to like you Sony.. but I JUST... CAN'T... HELP it lately!!

      • reply
        September 13, 2013 8:00 PM

        Because they are learning from their fuckups and actively making things better going forward.

      • reply
        September 13, 2013 8:52 PM

        They are knocking it out of the park this round.

      • reply
        September 14, 2013 5:57 AM

        I was under the impression this time around that the ps4 has been engineered and promoted more directly by Sony America / Europe than Japan. Probably easier for them to reflect on the mistakes of Japan, than them to do it directly themselves.

    • reply
      September 13, 2013 7:57 PM

      You can see larger companies like Ubisoft latching onto a similar philosophy, embracing the indie scene as complementary to the expensive AAA titles, rather than focusing purely on one or the other. Personally, I think this is great. I think indies have a permanent place along side larger titles going forward. Something for everyone.

    • reply
      September 13, 2013 9:08 PM

      Japanese Indies all make porn games, though.

      • reply
        September 14, 2013 5:49 AM

        yeah i can see it. Rayman in High school. ahhh ahh ahhh what is this ... This is outrage , Tentacle Monster

      • reply
        September 14, 2013 6:06 AM

        You make it sound like that's a bad thing.

        • reply
          September 15, 2013 10:18 AM

          I`m all for for some pro translated Elyushu and Alicesoft srpgs/tbses (Kamidori and Daiteikoku are great ;))

    • reply
      September 15, 2013 11:35 PM

      Sony wins again... I'm actually kind of concerned at how they seem poised to dominate this generation. Competition is good. We all remember what happened after the last time Sony blew away its rivals, right? Nobody liked that Sony.

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