Article
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/07/report_how_playstation_is_failing_indie_developers
Related articles
Sony Draws the Ire of Indie Video Game Makers - Jason Schreier
We've had off-topic discussions in threads about indie promotions/working with Sony in the past. The new articles here explain the recent state of indies working with Sony. I can't vouch for it obviously, since I've not seen that seen since PS3. But as someone who is making another title sometime, and others on this board working on their hobbies, yea this sucks.
Some painful stuff summarized:
* Developers need to pay 25K to show up on the promoted on the store front
* Sony gifting away copies of your game for free (no one pays)
* Can't sell your game at discount whenever you want, you have limited control over the price
* Support in general for indies is shit (doesn't sound like much has changed here since PS3, though I've never worked with MS so no clue if it's any different)
* Developer's own promotions getting better views than Sony
* Also difficult to get listed onto Sony's youtube channel
* Super Complicated to get your title onto the PS store listing (I didn't have this issue back then, but to be fair I think the publisher handled this)
* list goes on
// Personal Thoughts
It's always been tough to be a successful indie title (10K-100K units sold). Some of these practices are the norm. But as to why say, some developers choose to put their title on game pass, even if for free to be promoted, you can see above what some of the options are.
The purpose of the thread isn't to make Sony look bad here, but just to understand that making a game and putting it on a store and having 'success', the last part is either going to cost you an arm and leg, or you've had some crazy successful marketing that cost you big time, or you won the lottery.
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/07/report_how_playstation_is_failing_indie_developers
Related articles
Sony Draws the Ire of Indie Video Game Makers - Jason Schreier
We've had off-topic discussions in threads about indie promotions/working with Sony in the past. The new articles here explain the recent state of indies working with Sony. I can't vouch for it obviously, since I've not seen that seen since PS3. But as someone who is making another title sometime, and others on this board working on their hobbies, yea this sucks.
These developers say their contacts at Sony can sometimes take weeks or months to respond to queries—if they’re lucky enough to have contacts at all. And while massive blockbusters receive prominent display on the digital PlayStation Store, indie games are difficult for players to discover.
Some painful stuff summarized:
* Developers need to pay 25K to show up on the promoted on the store front
* Sony gifting away copies of your game for free (no one pays)
* Can't sell your game at discount whenever you want, you have limited control over the price
* Support in general for indies is shit (doesn't sound like much has changed here since PS3, though I've never worked with MS so no clue if it's any different)
* Developer's own promotions getting better views than Sony
* Also difficult to get listed onto Sony's youtube channel
* Super Complicated to get your title onto the PS store listing (I didn't have this issue back then, but to be fair I think the publisher handled this)
* list goes on
// Personal Thoughts
It's always been tough to be a successful indie title (10K-100K units sold). Some of these practices are the norm. But as to why say, some developers choose to put their title on game pass, even if for free to be promoted, you can see above what some of the options are.
The purpose of the thread isn't to make Sony look bad here, but just to understand that making a game and putting it on a store and having 'success', the last part is either going to cost you an arm and leg, or you've had some crazy successful marketing that cost you big time, or you won the lottery.
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