PS4 indies versus triple-a: "I don't see a divide", says Sony's indie man
PlayStation 4 is treating indies and large triple-a entities as one and the same, according to the man behind Sony's indie charge Shahid Ahmad. He sees the next wave of next-gen stars in the indie circuit, and he's keen to get them on board.
If Ahmad's name seems familiar, it's because Johnny interviewed him about the whole PS4 indie thing in this cracking interview here. Check it out if you missed it at the time.
GI.biz asked him if - due to the increasing number of indies flocking to PS4 - we might see the divide between both independents ad the triple-a juggernauts of today disappear over time. Ahmad replied, I don't see a divide. I see a continuum of one person creating a game and an enormous corporation creating a game. They're just games.
"The tag is useful because I think it kind of bundles up a revolution that's happened over the last few years, and the revolution has, I guess, three main legs. You've got digital distribution, you've got games everywhere and you've got better tools, and all of that has facilitated this explosion in the number of developers. I think it's allowed more people to make games than ever before, and some of them are going to move on and do bigger things. They're going to work with larger teams to do bigger things, and of course some of those teams will get bigger and bigger.
"So right now I think what we're seeing is the birth of a new wave of next generation developers. Some of them will stay small, and I'm really pleased that we're helping evolve PlayStation to a point where we're as accommodating to the smallest developers as we are the largest. And the thing is we've done this in the past, so for example Minis was really, really good for smaller developers.
"PlayStation Mobile has also helped in some respects as well. And going back into the distant mists of time you've got Parappa The Rapper, Ico, Super Stardust HD. We've always dealt with this level of developer, it just wasn't always as easy as we've made it [now], and we're going to make it easier and easier. So yes, hopefully in a few years time no one will be talking about indie in relation to games. They'll just be talking about games, and it will be just as valid to have made something coming from a small developer as from a large."
What's your view on this matter? Do you feel indies could rise to a new state of prominence in the console world thanks to Sony's assistance and openness on the platform? Or perhaps you feel indies are still playing second fiddle to the triple-a studios out there? Either way, let us know what you think below.