Indie games aren’t exactly pushing the market.
That said, they’re really a beautiful thing, allowing small developers to get their name out and making money while contributing to a distinctly unique sub-category of gaming and so far Microsoft seems to be a bit more lenient about their presence than Sony, call it a blessing or a curse.
However, besides the frankly embarrassing over-prominence of advertisements on the new Xbox Dashboard, the new style is efficient and simpler to navigate. But Indie Devs are not happy about being pushed to the sidelines.
Nathan Fouts of Mommy’s Best Games says the indie game menu is “more hidden and confusing than ever” and citing it correctly, if not a little self-righteously, “an advertiser’s dream”.
Microsoft responded with a stern slap on the wrist by saying “Indie developers have told us they are looking for an easy route to market … and we’ve provided that for them with Xbox Live Indie Games. But they’ve got to take that next step and do marketing after the launch.”, a sly, round-about way of saying “You should be lucky you’re on our network.”
What are your thoughts on the changes? And are Indie Developers right to complain? And does the lack of quality control in the market make the Indie section a vestigial option to begin with?
